- Young adults said age 21 was a good age to start paying for some of their own expenses, but older generations said their children would need to be fully financially independent by then. more likely to think
- Meanwhile, 68% of parents are sacrificing their financial well-being to support their grown children, according to a new Bankrate report.
Most people feel mature by the time they turn 18, but young people these days may not be financially independent until years later.
Still, parents and their children can disagree on what that means.
Young adults said 21 was a good age to start paying for some of their own expenses, but older generations said their children should be completely financially independent by then. likely to think that New Report by Bankrate.com.
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Millennials and Gen Z are facing financial challenges that their parents didn’t face when they were younger. On top of having far more student loan debt, they earn less than their parents did in their 20s and her 30s.
Inflation, of course, makes it even more difficult for those seeking to achieve financial independence. Rising food and housing costs present additional hurdles for young people just starting out.
Today, 68% of parents with children over the age of 18 make financial sacrifices to provide for their children. Bankrate report.
From buying groceries to paying for cell phone plans to paying for health and car insurance, parents spend an average of over $1,400 a month to support their adult children. Reported by Savings.com found.
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But for parents, supporting grown children can be a considerable burden when their own financial security is at stake.
“Remember the saying, put on your oxygen mask before helping others?” said Ted Rothman, Senior Industry Analyst at Bankrate. “Providing financial assistance can backfire if your own savings, investments and financial well-being are at risk.”
About half of parents with adult children said help came at the expense of their emergency savings or ability to pay off debt, but helping children negatively impacts retirement savings Very few parents answered
“It’s hard to know exactly where to draw that line,” Rothman said. At least discuss it, he advised. “It may be helpful to attach a specific amount or timeframe.”
Professor of Economics at Boston University, maxifywhich provides financial planning software.
But “it has to go both ways,” Kotlikov said. “Parents provide a lot of support and children must realize that there is a price to be paid for being expected to care for them.”
He added that having an open dialogue helps. “Once that conversation starts, it could go on for the next 40 years.”
