Cost of Living Delays or Changes Life Milestones for 53% in New Canada-U.S. Study

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For generations, adulthood was often pictured as a fairly predictable sequence: finish school, establish a career, move out, buy a home, marry, raise a family and eventually retire. That timetable is becoming far less predictable. New research released August 26 by Cashew Research, based on 2,006 adults across four generations in Canada and the United States, found that cost of living was the most commonly cited reason people had delayed or changed major life milestones, at 53%.

The finding arrives as households on both sides of the border continue dealing with elevated prices, expensive housing and difficult decisions about what financial stability should look like. The result is not simply that milestones are happening later. Expectations surrounding adulthood and success themselves appear to be changing.

The 53% Figure Reveals a Much Bigger Timing Problem

The most striking finding is not simply that more than half of respondents pointed to cost of living. It is how few people said adulthood unfolded according to their original timetable. Cashew found that only 38% had achieved most traditional life milestones when they expected to. Another 20% said they reached most milestones later than anticipated, while 24% said they were still working toward many of them. Those numbers capture something increasingly familiar: the feeling that a perfectly reasonable plan can become unrealistic once housing, transportation, groceries and other recurring expenses enter the equation.

Cost of living was cited by 53% as a reason milestones had been delayed or changed, making it the leading factor reported in the study. Economics was not the entire explanation, however. Health and wellbeing were cited by 26%, showing that some people are consciously changing their priorities rather than merely waiting for their finances to improve. The distinction matters. A postponed home purchase may represent financial constraint, while delaying a promotion, marriage or move could reflect a mixture of money, wellbeing and personal choice.

Financial Independence Is Becoming a Milestone of Its Own

Traditional markers of success usually involve something visible: keys to a first home, a wedding, a new job title or the arrival of a child. Cashew’s findings suggest that something less visible is increasingly earning similar status. Forty-two percent of respondents said becoming financially independent deserves as much recognition as milestones such as marriage or homeownership. Improving mental health was cited by 27%, while 26% pointed to creating a healthier lifestyle as an achievement worth recognizing.

That shift changes the meaning of progress. Someone renting for longer while eliminating debt or building an emergency fund can appear to be moving more slowly according to the traditional checklist, even while becoming considerably more financially secure. Similarly, a worker declining an advancement opportunity that would damage work-life balance may technically postpone career progression while pursuing another definition of success. The study therefore suggests that delayed milestones should not automatically be interpreted as failed ambitions. For some households, financial pressure is forcing delay. For others, the same economic environment may be accelerating a reassessment of which milestones deserve priority in the first place.

Major Purchases Are Being Treated With More Caution

The effects are showing up well before someone signs a mortgage or makes another life-changing commitment. Cashew found that 43% of respondents now research more before making major purchases, while 29% said they postpone those purchases for longer. When important milestones feel financially out of reach, 39% said their most likely response is to save their money. Together, those findings describe consumers who are becoming more deliberate about commitments that could restrict their financial flexibility for years.

That can influence everything from vehicle purchases to weddings, renovations and housing decisions. A household that once viewed a major purchase primarily through the monthly payment may now spend longer comparing financing costs, maintenance expenses and what happens if income changes. Saving instead of spending can also create a feedback loop throughout the economy: a postponed vehicle replacement affects dealerships, a delayed wedding affects hospitality businesses, and a deferred move changes demand for furniture and household goods. At the individual level, however, waiting can be rational when the alternative is committing scarce income before enough financial breathing room exists.

Canada’s Current Cost Pressures Help Explain the Result

Canadian price data provide important context for why the 53% finding may resonate. Statistics Canada reported that the Consumer Price Index was 3.0% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier. Food purchased from stores was up 3.1%, while transportation costs were 7.8% higher. Gasoline prices were up 25.7% year over year. Even as some categories moderated, Statistics Canada noted that July marked the 18th consecutive month in which grocery inflation exceeded the overall inflation rate.

Housing adds another layer. Statistics Canada reported that the average asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment across census metropolitan areas reached $1,740 per month in the first quarter of 2026. Average asking rents exceeded $2,100 in Toronto and Vancouver. For a young worker or student trying to establish an independent household, those figures transform moving out from an emotional milestone into a substantial financial calculation. Undergraduate tuition averaged $7,734 for Canadian students during the 2025-26 academic year as well. The pressure therefore often arrives simultaneously: rent, education, food, transportation and savings for future goals all compete for the same paycheque.

Americans Are Making Similar Financial Adjustments

The U.S. side of the economic picture shows why this is genuinely a cross-border story rather than an exclusively Canadian affordability problem. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer prices were 3.4% higher in July 2026 than a year earlier. Food was up 3.0%, shelter 3.2% and energy 14.7%. Gasoline prices alone were 24.6% higher year over year. Those increases affect the recurring expenses households must cover before saving toward a down payment, education, children or other major commitments.

Federal Reserve research offers another window into how households are responding. In its 2026 report on U.S. household economic wellbeing, 58% of adults said changes in prices during 2025 had made their financial situation worse. Forty-six percent reported delaying a major purchase in response to higher prices. Younger adults showed particularly visible signs of dependence on family resources: 47% of Americans aged 18 to 29 received help from someone outside their household with at least one expense, including housing, general expenses, car costs and phone bills. These behaviours closely resemble the caution identified in the Canada-U.S. Cashew findings.

Housing Has Become One of the Clearest Milestone Bottlenecks

Homeownership remains one of the most recognizable symbols of reaching adulthood, which makes Canadian housing data especially revealing. Statistics Canada reported in May 2026 that, after accounting for young adults living with their parents, the homeownership rate among millennials aged 25 to 39 was 49.9% in 2021. Comparable rates were 56.2% for Gen X at the same ages in 2006 and 55.9% for baby boomers in 1991. The differences cannot be attributed to one factor alone, but they illustrate how the housing trajectory has changed across generations.

Living arrangements have shifted alongside ownership. In 2021, 16.3% of Canadian millennials aged 25 to 39 lived in a census family with at least one parent, roughly double the 8.2% recorded for baby boomers at the same ages in 1991. The share reached 26.1% in Toronto and 19.3% in Vancouver. Statistics Canada also found fewer millennials aged 25 to 39 were married with children than comparable Gen Xers or baby boomers. Housing, leaving home and family formation are therefore not isolated milestones; changing the economics of one can alter the timetable for several others.

Younger Generations Are Showing the Same Pattern Globally

The Cashew findings are reinforced by much broader research focused specifically on younger generations. Deloitte’s 2026 Global Gen Z and Millennial Survey collected responses from more than 22,500 people across 44 countries. It found that 55% of Gen Z respondents and 52% of millennials had delayed major life decisions because of their financial situation. Examples included starting a family, pursuing additional education and launching a business. Cost of living remained the leading concern for both generations for a fifth consecutive year.

Housing also reached beyond personal finances and into career choices. Deloitte found that 69% of Gen Z respondents and 64% of millennials said housing availability or affordability directly influenced their career decisions and where they could work. Those findings illustrate why milestone delays can have consequences far beyond the date someone buys a home. An expensive housing market may determine whether a worker accepts a job, relocates to another city, remains with parents or delays children. The traditional divide between career planning and personal planning becomes increasingly difficult to maintain when the cost of housing connects both.

The Findings Point to Redefined Progress, but They Need Context

The 53% result is significant, but it should be interpreted according to what the research actually measured. Cashew’s public release says the study covered 2,006 adults across four generations in Canada and the United States. The publicly summarized findings present the 53% result for respondents collectively rather than providing separate Canadian and American percentages. It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that exactly 53% of Canadians, or exactly 53% of Americans, individually reported delaying milestones because of living costs based solely on the released material.

There is also a difference between association and cause. Saying cost of living influenced a delayed or changed milestone does not establish that prices were the only reason behind that decision. Cashew itself found that health and wellbeing influenced choices for 26% of respondents, while its other results show people actively redefining achievement. What is clear, particularly when the findings are considered alongside Statistics Canada, U.S. Federal Reserve and Deloitte data, is that the old adulthood timetable is under pressure. Increasingly, progress may mean achieving financial stability first and deciding only afterward which traditional milestone comes next.

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