Gen Z is looking to the stars in wacky new money-making trend

A new brand of Gen Z investor has emerged, claiming they can make big gains on the stock market by relying on an age-old pseudoscience.

A new wave of young investors believes success hinges on knowing when the stars are aligned, with self-described stock market buffs now claiming astrology can be used to get rich quick.

Some Gen Zers are now turning to tarot cards, lunar cycles, and astrology to guide their day trading decisions.

The core idea is that everything from stock market fluctuations to planetary movements light-years away are tied together in a cyclic pattern.

As the cost of living continues to skyrocket and the prospect of owning a home becoming further and further out of reach for young workers, who can really blame them?

“We know that with cost of living at the moment, people are looking for ways to get ahead. And I think young people these days, we don’t have the same access to the property market. So they’re looking to get more creative about how we can continue to grow our wealth,” podcaster Maddy Guest told The Project on Tuesday night.

Some Gen Zers are now turning to tarot cards, lunar cycles, and astrology to guide their day trading decisions.

One social media influencer and trader, going by the name “TJR” on TikTok, explains how they invest according to the current star charts.

“What’s astrology? It’s like predicting something based off of past events that like something else is going to happen. That’s all trading is. Predicting something is going to happen, or something is going to do something a certain way based off of past events in the market because the market repeats itself. So yeah, I guess you could say I’m kind of into astrology.”

According to this perspective, certain times are favourable for trading, while others are better for holding off.

“Astrological symbolism does resonate with world events,” another TikToker, known as “MAREN”, said in one of her videos.

“I tend to long the full moon and short the new moon.”

TikToker ‘MAREN’, gives viewers her thoughts on the galaxy’s movements.

For older generations, the use of pseudoscientific practices in financial decisions may seem absurd. However, for Gen Z, astrology is muscling its way into the mainstream.

Stefaniya Nova, a 25-year-old astrologer turned day trader, claims everything on planet Earth is affected in some way by the stars above, and attempts to track patterns and invest accordingly.

“As I got more into astrology, into tarot, into intuition, all of that, I saw the correlation that I’m not the only one who’s being affected by these energetic influences,” she tells Fortune. Nova, also known by her TikTok handle @blonderwitch, claims in a video that her use of “intuition and astrology” netted her nearly $6,000 in trading profits in just one month.

A trend referred to as “loud budgeting” has also emerged among Australians under 30 in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis.

Loud budgeting is a term used to describe setting spending boundaries, being loud and proud about savings goals, and unapologetically prioritising your finances.

Personal banking executive at NAB Paul Riley said younger Australians were saving about $450 per month and the trend was gaining momentum overseas and on social media.

“In 2024, being cash conscious is officially cool, with terms like ‘loud budgeting’ emerging overseas and on social media,” Mr Riley said.

“Rather than going out for an expensive dinner with friends, younger Australians are confidently opting to stay in and choose to put that amount into a high interest savings account or pay down debt.

“The other hot budgeting trend is ‘no or low spending months’ which involve giving up alcohol, takeaway food or shopping for clothes or beauty for the month, not booking holidays, food prepping or bringing your lunch to work or finally asking mates to repay cash you’re owed,” he said.