This Summer Challenge Could Fast-Track Millennials to Financial Independence
According to Northwestern Mutual's 2026 Planning & Progress Study, over half (53%) of millennials are still financially dependent on their parents. With 51% believing it's harder for them to become financially independent than it was for previous generations, 17% of millennials don't expect to ever achieve it.
But here's the thing: Summer isn't just for beach trips and overpriced festivals. It's actually the perfect reset window to get your money right. We asked debt and bankruptcy attorney Ashley Morgan of Ashley F Morgan Law, PC to design a realistic summer challenge that could fast-track millennials to financial independence. Here's what she suggested.
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The Summer Challenge: Build an Emergency Fund
Most financial overhauls fail because they try to fix everything at once. Morgan's approach is different.
"I think it makes more sense to focus on a few targeted changes," she said. "For example, someone might set a goal to establish an emergency fund or finally save a reasonable emergency fund.”
Setting up your emergency fund can put you in a much better position to start creating financial independence, and these three steps will help you do it.
Step 1: Set Your Goal
If you don’t have an emergency fund, Morgan said, a goal to save $1,000 to $2,500 over the summer would be the best starting point.
She said ideally you will have three to six months' worth of expenses set aside for an emergency fund to deal with unexpected job loss, illness, etc. But depending on your finances, that might not be feasible to do right away. It’s important that millennials get into the habit of saving so they can focus on planning for the future rather than always playing catchup.
If you already have a minimum emergency fund, setting a goal of saving one to three months' worth of expenses is the next step. The summer challenge has to be measurable and realistic based on the person’s actual financial situation.
Step 2: Find Out Where Your Money Goes
The harsh reality is that most people don’t budget and don’t understand where their money goes each month. Morgan said most people don’t need a complicated system because even just checking your account balances and credit card statements once or twice a week can make a huge difference. You can also use one of numerous financial apps to track your spending.
Once you get into the habit of reviewing your expenses, you’ll understand what’s happening with your money and be able to build a budget that works for you. Just don't forget to factor in your emergency fund. Whether it's $50 a week or $200, figure out how much you can reasonably put toward your savings and start doing it.
Step 3: Adjust Income, Expenses or Both
Morgan acknowledged that if someone is trying to accelerate financial independence, they should review their expenses and be honest about whether they need to adjust spending, income or both. You don’t want to get serious about cutting costs when you really should be prioritizing increasing your income.
There are two additional targets that can help make this summer challenge a success:
Side income. Pursuing a side hustle can help you save more money and take a more serious approach to financial independence. For example, making an extra $1,000 to beef up your emergency fund can help accelerate financial independence.
Expense cuts. You can reach your savings goals faster by reducing one or two large expenses (such as eating out or online shopping) and reviewing your fixed costs.
When you consistently track your expenses, you can check in weekly or monthly to see how your savings account is performing and determine what adjustments are needed.
Morgan said adding an extra $300 per month can be just as impactful as cutting expenses. When you increase your income, you also don’t have to compromise your lifestyle.
How To Make This Challenge Work
Morgan emphasized that for any summer challenge to work, it has to be realistic, so the person doesn’t feel overwhelmed.
“I regularly see people get motivated for a short period of time and try to completely overhaul their finances overnight," Morgan said. "They cut every expense, set aggressive savings goals and expect to be perfect for 60 or 90 days. That usually works for a couple of weeks, then real life happens and the plan falls apart.”
If you want your summer challenge to succeed, you have to make reasonable adjustments going forward. The goal of this summer challenge is to have millennials in a much stronger financial position in September than they had in the summer.
She concluded, “One thing I regularly tell people is that financial progress usually comes from consistency, not just intensity. A short-term challenge can help build momentum, but the real goal should be creating habits that continue after the summer ends.”
To help Americans navigate the added cost of summer, MoneyLion is giving away $1,000 every day through July 4. Enter the Summer Break Giveaway here (No pur. nec. Ends 7/4/26. See Official Rules at mlion.info/summerbreakofficialrules)
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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