money and millennials

Parents of Millennials Likely Help Pay For These 6 Things

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The parents of millennials help their adult children pay for many different things. They foot the bill for everything from rent to vacations. In most cases, parents of millennials just offer some support. However, sometimes they pay the full cost of their adult children’s lives. Here are the six most common things that parents of millennials help pay for, according to a CNBC report.

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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Parents Expect To Support Adult Kids Longer Than Kids Think … But Also Find It More Embarrassing

support adult kids

Millennials and Gen Zers tend to think that they’re going to be financially independent by age 22. Parents expect to support adult kids longer than that. However, parents find it embarrassing to support adult kids much more so than the kids themselves do.

When Kids Plan To Be Financially Independent

The Young Money Survey asked,

“At what age did you become, or expect to become, completely financially independent from your parent(s)?”

On average, both young millennials and members of Gen Z said age 22. That’s the age many kids graduate from college, so it makes sense on paper.

That said, there was some wide variation. 42% of Gen Zers and 34% of millennials expect financial independence by the age of 20. On the other end of the spectrum, 9% of Gen Zers and almost twice that many young millennials don’t anticipate financial independence until age 30.

Moreover, 2% of millennials say that even after age 30 they will not be financially independent from their parents. There were no Gen Zers in that category. Is that because they’re a generation that’s better with their money? Alternatively, is it because they’re young enough that age 30 seems impossibly far off?

How Long Parents Expect to Support Adult Kids

Most parents didn’t think that their kids were being realistic with those ages. More than nine out of ten parents surveyed expect to support adult kids to the age of 25.

Parents who have to support adult kids much longer than that are embarrassed by the idea. On average, they say it’s embarrassing to support adult kids past the age of 27. In fact, 60% of parents say it’s embarrassing to support adult kids between the ages of 20-29.

Only 25% of parents say that it’s okay to support kids up to age 29 but that sometime in the next decade, it gets embarrassing. A few parents aren’t embarrassed to support adult kids later in life. 4% said it gets embarrassing between ages 40-49 and 3% said it starts getting embarrassing after age 50.

Kids Aren’t as Embarrassed to Receive Support

Members of both Gen Z and the Millennial generation say, on average, that age 30 is when it starts to get embarrassing to receive financial parental support. However, more than a third don’t find it embarrassing until sometime in their 30s. 8% of young millennials and 9% of Gen Zers say it’s not embarrassing until you’re in your 40s. And 5%+ say it’s not embarrassing to receive financial support from parents even after the age of 50.

Other Survey Findings

So, the younger generations expect to be able to support themselves sooner, even though they aren’t embarrassed if they can’t.

Here are some of the other findings from the Young Money Survey:

  • Most of these kids expect to earn as much as, if not more than, their parents.
  • About two thirds of them are setting aside savings, but most of them are saving less than $200 per month.
  • About 1/3 of millennials and less than 1/4 of Gen Zers have emergency funds set aside.
  • Fewer than half of millennials and less than one third of Gen Zers have and follow a budget.
  • 2/3 of those surveyed would rather contribute to their own retirement than donate to charity.

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Money Tips for Millennials

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Millennials and Money

Millennials follow a different path than generations before them, in more ways than one. This group is reaching milestones later in life, such as getting married and starting families, and focusing on life experiences more. We’ve been given all the job advice in the world growing up; the thought that all you need to do is work hard to make it big. However, someone along the way forgot to give more tips on money, especially given the difficulty of finding a job, especially in their field of study, for many millennials.

Although unemployment rates have been decreasing in recent years, millennials still make up roughly 40% of the unemployed in the United States, according to this Newsweek article. This fact can make it difficult for this generation to get ahead, but the good news is there are ways to leverage your finances even if you feel you are working a dead-end job.

Here are four money tips for millennials that I’ve used to help my own finances:

Make saving a social thing. 

I don’t know about you, but I can think of at least five friends off the top of my head who have yet to get that raise at work. While we all love hanging out together, sometimes that involves extra spending that we really should not be doing. But, a way to spend just as much time together without emptying your bank account is to take turns hosting a girls’ night in. Buying some cheap wine and snacks accompanied by some movies and laughter is a great alternative for a night on the town, which can be $81 per night on average.

Also, the crew can ban together to do money-free weekends together. Even if you are not physically hanging out, you can still help to keep one another accountable. Plus, it’s great to have an excuse to bond with friends, especially over common goals.

Create other streams of income. 

If you recognize that you are in a dead-end job, hopefully you are taking steps to get out in order to improve your financial situation. If you are having a difficult time finding a new job (another post for another day), another option would be to create some other sources of revenue as you continue the search.

Seasonal jobs are a great option for millennials as they are often a bit more flexible, but you can also offer to use some skills or talents you currently have to gain some extra income. House cleaning, babysitting and the like are all great ways to make cash fast, but you can also consider freelancing, especially if you want to land that dream job.

Get techy with it. 

Investing seems so unattainable and intimidating before you actually start doing it, not to mention it can also be risky. But, it is a great way to grow your wealth. There are so many online tools you can use now to improve your financial portfolio without the intimidation. These resources cost very little to get started and are great for millennials. The best part is many of them allow you to create your own minimum investment amount, giving you more control over than ever.

Be smart with your options. 

In desperate times, you may be tempted to apply for a payday loan or sign up for another credit card to pay off other expenses; however, by doing so, you are only creating more debt for yourself. These quick options may be easy to get, but they dig your hold even deeper. Don’t get caught up in these fast solutions to solve all your problems; instead develop a strategic and specific plan that will get you out of debt and get you ahead. This plan may include automating a monthly savings amount, consolidating current debt, starting a retirement fund, and cutting back on leisurely spending.

This is another reason why having an emergency savings fund is so important; it will keep you away from wanting to (or needing to) resort to these choices. Avoid accumulating credit card debt and instead work on building your assets and net worth.

 

Millennials definitely have had to face many challenges economically that may not have been expected or predicted by previous generations. By spending some time being careful about your finances, though, you can slowly but surely build a reliable and steady financial future for yourself.

These are just a few ways I’ve focused on improving my finances. What have you done that works for you?