Gen X Squeezed by Financial Pressures, Advisor Offers Help

Wealthspire's Zach Mangels assists Gen Xers juggling adult kids, aging parents, and job uncertainty

Mar. 16, 2026 at 8:19pm

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Gen X families, including affluent ones, face a range of financial challenges such as higher mortgage rates, education costs, eldercare expenses, and other rising costs that are squeezing their cash flow. Zach Mangels, a 40-year-old senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors in San Rafael, California, estimates that a quarter of his clients are in the Gen X demographic and he is helping them navigate these pressures.

Why it matters

The financial pressures facing Gen X, the generation between Boomers and Millennials, are significant as they try to simultaneously support their adult children, care for aging parents, and manage their own careers in an uncertain job market. Advisors like Mangels are playing a key role in helping this 'sandwich generation' develop strategies to cope with these competing demands on their resources.

The details

Mangels says Gen X clients are dealing with a range of rising costs, from higher mortgage rates and education expenses to increased eldercare and grocery bills, all of which are 'eating into their cash flow' even for those with higher incomes. He is working with these clients to help them plan and manage their finances so they can meet their various family obligations while also saving for their own futures.

  • The article was published on March 16, 2026.

The players

Zach Mangels

A 40-year-old senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors in San Rafael, California who estimates that a quarter of his clients are in the Gen X demographic.

Wealthspire Advisors

A financial advisory firm where Zach Mangels works as a senior vice president.

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What they’re saying

“Mortgage rates are higher, carrying costs are higher, educational costs are higher, groceries are higher, eldercare is higher—all of that stuff eats into cash flow. And even people with higher incomes are feeling that.”

— Zach Mangels, Senior Vice President, Wealthspire Advisors

The takeaway

Financial advisors like Zach Mangels are playing a critical role in helping Gen X clients develop strategies to manage the competing financial pressures they face, from supporting adult children and aging parents to coping with their own career uncertainties and rising household costs.