The YOLO Generation: Meet the “Zillennials” who retreated to “Mom and Dad’s hotel” so they could spend their money on designer handbags and TEN vacations a year instead of rent and mortgages

Emily Stone rocks a beige cameo handbag from Prada, complete with the brand’s iconic triangle logo in gold — and a staggering $2,300 price tag.

It’s been just over six months since the 25-year-old bought her last “treat” – a $2,000 Louis Vuitton purse – but she’s ready for another splurge.

“It’s nice to be in this position where if I see something I like, I can buy it,” says the nurse-turned-content creator, who lives outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

While it may seem surprising that someone so young can afford designer handbags in the current climate, Stone is part of a growing Generation “Zillennials” who move back in with their parents to afford a better quality of life.

“Zillenials” refers to those who are about to become a Millennial – born between 1981 and 1996 – and part of Generation Z – born between 1997.

Last year, these two generations together accounted for 72 percent of the luxury goods market.

Tired of paying sky-high rents, these businessmen are disillusioned with rising mortgage rates. They gave up independent living in favor of designer goods and luxury travel.

Megan Zuckerman, left, moved home during the pandemic after paying $2,000 a month in Manhattan rent. Now she spends her money on dresses and events while saving. Nada Torbica, 22, right, spends her savings on travel

And with jobs that allow them to work from home, there is nothing stopping them from leaving the big cities and returning to their childhood homes.

About 48 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. now live with their parents, according to estimates by the Census Bureau — similar to the 1940s.

This amounts to about 25 million young people.

The trend has helped many of them adopt a more forgiving outlook on life, with experts claiming they are adjusting their finances to a YOLO (You Only Live Once) philosophy.

Meanwhile, their exposure to the 2008 financial crash as children helped them build “resilience” against economic uncertainty.

For Stone, it was a no-brainer. She briefly moved for two years while attending a nearby community college, but returned to live with her parents after she got tired of throwing away the rent.

Formerly a nurse, she took to social media after starring in the reality TV show The Real Love Boat.

Stone earns a six-figure salary, which allows her to buy designer handbags, most recently a $2,000 Luis Vuitton purse

Stone now has his eye on a $2,300 cameo beige ‘Saffiano’ mini bag from Prada

She now works part-time as a nurse and spends the rest of her time creating content. She earns a six-figure salary.

Her mother Laura, 51, a stay-at-home mother, and father Brian, 52, a machinist, insist they love having her there.

“There is a stigma to living at home, but I love my family, I can live with my best friends and I have so much more money,” she told Dailymail.com.

“I can save for big purchases like a car and a house, but I can also buy designer handbags and sunglasses.

“And I can get my nails done every two weeks instead of every four.”

Last year, a report by the management consulting company Bain & Co. said the US luxury goods industry is “recession-proof” thanks to its popularity among young consumers who live with their parents.

The industry is expected to grow another 21 percent this year, even as the rising cost of living puts pressure on household budgets.

According to Claudia D’Arpizio, a senior partner at Bain and Co., young people are sometimes trying to catch up on all the experiences they missed during the pandemic.

She added that many people in their 20s went through a financial crisis as children in 2008, meaning the current cost of living crisis is having a “reduced impact” on their consumer confidence.

“The luxury market has many drivers for resilience, including a diffuse YOLO culture, a desire to miss experiences and a shift in consumer attitudes,” D’Arpizio told Dailymail.com.

Just a few years ago, PR guru Megan Zuckerman would never have dreamed of paying hundreds of dollars to attend a luxury event.

The 28-year-old lived in Manhattan and paid $2,000 a month in rent, leaving little money for designer clothes and high society living.

But today her life is very different: she travels freely, buys expensive makeup, and next month she’s going to a charity ball that will cost her $1,000 once a rented Bronx and Bancho dress and professional hair – and makeup accounts for it .

Zuckerman said her biggest expenses typically came at similar charity events.

“I moved home at the beginning of the lockdown in 2020 and always planned to move back to Manhattan,” said Zuckerman, who earns a six-figure salary and lives with her parents in New Jersey.

“But I started to realize how much more income I had. Living in the city, it felt like all my money was going on rent.

Megan Zuckerman spent $2,000 a month on rent in Manhattan before moving in with her parents

Zuckerman, 28, pictured, has had more money for community balls and events since moving back in with her parents at the start of the 2020 pandemic

“I recently bought three dresses totaling about $500. I think before I moved home, I probably only bought one dress instead of three.”

Zuckerman has not lived full-time with her parents since she moved to boarding school at age 14.

After more than a decade away, she insists her parents are “fantastic” to have her back in the family, adding: “We’re very close.” She wants to move as soon as she can afford a house of her own.

But while Stone and Zuckerman’s parents both say they’re glad their kids are back home, critics question whether it’s a sustainable trend — some calling the generation “mooching millennials.”

Last month, personal finance guru Dave Ramsey labeled millennials and Gen Z who still live at home as “train wrecks.”

‘For clarity. You live in your mom’s basement, but you have a Coach purse,” he said on an episode of The Ramsey Show.

Similarly, TV host David Webb told Fox News’ The Big Sunday Show: “Here’s the” It’s a growing group of people from colleges, many of them college graduates, who are spending a lot of money, getting into debt and not get on with her life.’

“And look, it’s time to get out of the house.”

Nada Torbica (22) admits things haven’t always gone smoothly since she moved in with her parents a year ago after graduating from the University of Florida.

“My mom said at dinner the other day that she likes a full house,” Torbica said.

“But of course there are other times when my parents are like, ‘You have to move.’

“I like things in a way that you can’t if it’s not your home.”

Torbica, of Baco Raton, Florida, now wants to move as soon as she finds something.

But the supply chain manager knows it will be a sacrifice. The last year at home allowed her to travel the world – something she couldn’t afford while paying rent.

In the past 12 months, she has been on vacation 10 times, including trips to Europe, Mexico, Colorado, South Carolina and New Orleans. And in December, she went to Norway to see the Northern Lights — a vacation that netted her about $1,100.

Torbica regularly posts videos of her travels on Tiktok and often parades on the beach.

Nada Torbica, 22, says living at home allows her to travel much more often. Taken in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

“My friends who rent things definitely know me as the ‘Traveler,'” she said.

“I ask them to accompany me on a trip, but they often cannot come with me.

“I have phone bills and I pay car insurance that adds up to $300 a month, and I sometimes pay for groceries when I really want something, but other than that I can use my money to travel.”