N26 has published its latest research on consumer spending in 2023, focused on European spending habits across generations. The research analyzed 12 months of transaction data of over 9,000 customers across Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The study reveals distinct spending patterns among different generations, with younger Europeans focusing on learning, housing, and shopping, while older generations prioritized food, transport, and travel.
The data, derived from anonymized customer transactions made over the course of 2023, shows the average expenditure per category of spend as a percentage of the total average expenditure for each generation. This method provides a clear view of how different age groups allocate their budgets across various spending categories.
Baby Boomers in Spain Embrace Lifelong Learning

While Spain consistently demonstrated the highest percentages of money spent on learning across all age groups, it's the Baby Boomers and Gen Z who stood out with their unwavering commitment to personal growth. Expenditures in this category included but were not limited to school supplies, colleges and universities and other educational services such as cooking, ceramics, language, music schools and continuing education programs.
Generation Z consistently led the way when it came to investing in learning and self improvement in all the countries examined, with Spanish Gen Z allocating an impressive 32.63% of their spending towards acquiring new knowledge and skills, followed by Italians and French (23.5%), Germans (22.45%) and Austrian youngsters (13.34%).
While younger generations spending more on learning and education is natural, the Baby Boomer generation in Spain was found to devote around a fifth of their overall spending (19.56%) to acquiring new knowledge and skills. This dedication to lifelong learning sets them apart from their age groups in Austria (10.45%), Germany (13.39%), Italy (15.66%), and France (17.88%).