The New Rules of Growing Up: You're Not Behind. You're Just Doing Life Differently.

New Cashew study finds people are redefining what "making it" means.

CALGARY, AB, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For decades, adulthood came with a familiar checklist: graduate, get a career, buy a home, get married, have kids, retire. But new research from Cashew suggests that checklist is changing. People are not simply reaching traditional milestones later. They are redefining what it means to "make it" in the first place.

The study, The New Rules of Growing Up, surveyed 2,006 adults across four generations in the U.S. and Canada to understand how people think about achievement and traditional life milestones.

"The interesting story isn't that people have stopped caring about achievement. It's that achievement itself is changing," said Addy Graves, CEO of Cashew. "Financial independence, mental health and wellbeing are becoming goals people value in themselves, rather than things they focus on only after reaching the traditional milestones."

Success Isn't Just About Stuff Anymore.

The traditional markers of success are losing ground to things that make life feel secure, healthy and fulfilling. Forty-two percent say becoming financially independent deserves as much recognition as traditional milestones like marriage or homeownership. Improving mental health was cited by 27% of respondents, while 26% cited creating a healthier lifestyle.

There's No Such Thing as "On Time".

The age-based timeline for adulthood is no longer a reality for many people. Only 38% say they have achieved most traditional life milestones on the timeline they expected. Twenty percent say they achieved most of them later than expected, while 24% are still working toward many of them.

Cost of living was the most common reason milestones had been delayed or changed, cited by 53% of respondents. But changing priorities matter too. Twenty-six percent cited health and wellbeing.

People Aren't Just Delaying. They're Rethinking.

The shift extends beyond life milestones and into everyday spending. 43% say they research more before making major purchases, compared with 29% who say they delay major purchases longer. When major milestones feel out of reach, 39% say they are most likely to save their money instead.

The findings point to a broader cultural shift. People are not necessarily abandoning ambition or achievement. They are deciding for themselves what is worth pursuing, when it should happen and what a successful life should look like.

The full study, The New Rules of Growing Up, is available.

About Cashew

Cashew is an AI-powered research platform, helping brands uncover original human perspectives faster than traditional research methods. By generating fresh proprietary data with every study, Cashew helps brands create distinctive strategies, stories, and content.

SOURCE Cashew Research