# 34% of Gen Z Is Gambling Online. They Think It's Investing

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/economics-matters-with-laurence-kotlikoff-6614501/34-of-gen-z-is-gambling-online-they-think-it-s-investing
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/economics-matters-with-laurence-kotlikoff-6614501/34-of-gen-z-is-gambling-online-they-think-it-s-investing.md
Podcast: [Economics Matters with Laurence Kotlikoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/economics-matters-with-laurence-kotlikoff-6614501)
Published: 2026-08-29T15:48:14+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/economics-matters/episodes/34-of-Gen-Z-Is-Gambling-Online--They-Think-Its-Investing-e3nveve
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/e8bfdf7c/podcast/play/124811694/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-7-27%2F430647789-44100-2-2e0f4406de3a1.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/economics-matters-with-laurence-kotlikoff-6614501/episodes/34-of-gen-z-is-gambling-online-they-think-it-s-investing
Duration seconds: 3398

## Resource

What if the single biggest financial threat facing young Americans right now isn't student debt or housing prices, but a $22% credit card rate on one side and an online gambling habit disguised as investing on the other? Beth Kobliner has been writing about personal finance since she ghostwrote Sylvia Porter's syndicated column at age 22. She spent eight years at Money Magazine, appeared with Elmo on Sesame Street to teach kids about money, served on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans, and has now published five editions of her New York Times bestseller Get a Financial Life , the definitive money guide for people in their 20s and 30s, over 30 years and still going. In this episode, Professor Kotlikoff sits down with Beth for a wide ranging conversation that covers compound interest, credit card debt, the rent vs. buy decision, online gambling statistics that should alarm every parent, and the timeless financial principles that have quietly made thousands of readers wealthy over three decades. What You'll Learn: [00:33:04] Why starting early is the single most powerful financial move you can make: the compound interest case in plain language [00:38:13] Why credit card debt is worse now than it has ever been: the average rate has hit 22%, and even good credit gets you 18% [00:39:01] Paying off a 22% credit card is the equivalent of earning 22% guaranteed after taxes: there is nowhere else that math works [00:37:23] The index fund case: Fidelity at .015%, Vanguard at .03%, and you can start with as little as a dollar [00:41:42] When the stock market is the wrong place for your savings: the down payment scenario and the high-yield savings account alternative [00:50:48] 34% of Gen Z gambles online regularly, and one in four young pe…

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