millennial Archives - Suburban Finance

1. Cell Phone

It’s no surprise that parents of millennials often help them pay their phone bills. Most likely, this is due to the ease, availability, and affordability of family cell phone plans. Kids are often already on the family plan when they enter adulthood, leave for college, or move out of the house. Parents may find it easy enough just to keep the kids on that plan. They’re used to paying that bill so it doesn’t feel like an added expense.

2. Rent/ Mortgage

13% of millennials report that their parents pay the full cost of their rent or mortgage bill each month. Many other parents help pay a portion of that housing cost. This is a big chunk of money. It’s certainly helpful to the adult kids not to have to pay the bill themselves. However, it can put a big strain on their parents.

3. Groceries

A large percentage of these parents pay for their adult children’s food including all of their groceries. Some of these kids might still live at home, in which case the parents are used to paying for all of the household food. In other instances, parents might pick up some groceries for their kids whenever they do their own shopping. But in other cases millennials buy their groceries on credit cards and their parents pay that bill when it arrives.

4. Automobile Costs

Millennials often get help from their parents when it comes to their cars. Parents might pay for some or all of the car loan. Alternatively, they may help out with car repairs when their kids can’t cover those emergency costs. Sometimes parents buy themselves a new car and pass the old one on to their adult children.

5. Vacations

It might be surprising that parents help their adult children pay for travel, but it’s a very common practice. In fact, it’s the third most common expense that parents pay a portion of behind groceries and the cell phone bill. In many cases, parents of millennials pay their vacation costs in order to spend time together as a family. Adult kids that have moved away may not be able to afford to travel back home without their parents’ help. The family might vacation together elsewhere each year. Whatever the reason, when millennials can’t afford a trip, they are generally comfortable asking their parents for financial help.

6. School and Student Loans

Many parents of millennials consider it their responsibility to pay for some or all of their children’s education. They pay the costs of tuition. They also help pay for books and other necessary supplies. Additionally, parents of millennials who have already graduated often help them pay back their student loans.

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Kathyrn Vercillo

Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer with more than a decade of experience writing about healthy living and personal finance. She lives in San Francisco, where she has learned to maximize frugal living tips in order to thrive as a freelancer in one of the nation’s most expensive cities. When she’s not writing, she’s exploring the city on foot with her rescue dog. Learn more about her at www.kathrynvercillo.com.
Kathryn also writes about saving money with coupons over at GroceryCouponGuide.com

Recently a news report has been making the rounds about how baby boomers are the generation making the most as workers of the gig economy. However, the report was based entirely on one company’s workers. Therefore, I got curious and wanted to dig deeper into this.

Are Baby Boomers Doing Best in the Gig Economy?

The Mercury News was just one of many sources that shared the news recently that baby boomers are thriving in the gig economy. Based on this report, baby boomers:

Took the most gigs
Earned the highest ratings from customers
Tend to do more of the physical labor jobs rather than admin work
Made the most money, out-earning millennials by $200+ monthly

The information comes from Wonolo, a company that gig workers can use to find jobs. The report revealed that workers range in age from 18 – 80+.

Why Baby Boomers May Thrive as Gig Economy Workers

If it’s true that baby boomers are the generation thriving most in the gig economy, then what’s causing that? There could be a any number of reasons.

First of all, if you’re Baby Boomer age and looking for work then perhaps you’re very motivated. Maybe you lost your job recently and find it hard to get new traditional work because of persistent ageism. Or perhaps you’re struggling as you support both your adult children and your elderly parents, so you have to take on extra gigs. Either way, you’re motivated to work a lot and earn as much as possible.

However, there could be more to it than that. Some suggestions in The Mercury News article include:

Maturity leads to a stronger work ethic and willingness to put in the effort
Experience means that you’re able to do the work effectively and efficiently
Baby boomers as a whole may be more reliable workers
After working other jobs for years, they find the work particularly enjoyable, so they put in the effort
With more experience, they may be able to command higher prices even in the gig economy

Are More Millennials Working in the Gig Economy?

The recent report indicates that Baby Boomers are doing better than other generations in the gig economy. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they make up a majority of the side hustle workforce. CBS News reports that nearly half of all working millennials have engaged in gig work for extra income. In contrast, less than 40% of Gen X and barely more than one quarter of Baby Boomers have taken gigs.

Gig Economy Differences Between the Generations

Members of Gen Z, Gen X, Millennials, and Baby Boomers are participate in the gig economy. Therefore, the question might not be who is doing the work but rather what’s the difference between their experiences. Fortune reports on twokey findings:

Baby Boomers often take gig jobs for better work-family balance. In contrast, younger generations seek to make more money with gigs as a “second job.”
Baby Boomers are most affected by, and worried about, the lack of benefits that come with working in the gig economy.

Deloitte Insights adds some additional information:

Millennials in the gig economy often rely on others (such as parents) to help pay some of their expenses. Those who choose the gig economy over a traditional job (instead of in addition to it as a side income) make less than their full-time employed peers.
Whereas Baby Boomers tend to get physical gig jobs, millennials often get jobs in admin and the arts. That said, maintenance is also high on the millennial gig list.

It’s also important to recognize that there are many different types of gig work. Some people participate mostly in the sharing economy (driving for Lyft, for example). In contrast, others take contract work in offices or do freelance jobs. The generations may vary in their job choices as well as their reasons for joining the gig economy.