Almost half of American parents help pay adult children's bills, survey shows

It turns out that the pandemic has caused a lot of young adults to move back in with their parents. A survey from 2022 conducted by LendingTree found that 67% of these kids are still living at home. It is not surprising considering the increase in costs of housing, high-interest rates, and an overall unstable economy.

But it is not just a roof over their heads that these adult children are looking for. A new poll conducted by savings.com found that almost half of the American parents are financially supporting their adult children, paying for bills and housing costs. On average, these parents are shelling out $1,442 a month in order to help their kids stay afloat.

Most of the parents covering bills are paying for smaller expenses like groceries or adding their kids to their family cellphone plans. But almost half of the parents who are lending their kids some cash are paying for their rent or mortgage, which averages more than $800 a month.

According to Scary Mommy, the poll surveyed around 1,000 parents in February 2023 and found that most of the children receiving parental aid were between the ages of 18 and 24. It is the age range when most kids take their "boomerang" years, moving back home after college before transitioning to full-time work.

It is not a surprise that this trend is happening, considering the never-ending inflation, low salaries, surging housing costs, and looming student loan debt. According to a sociologist at Northwestern University, Christine Percheski, the situation for young adults today is much bleaker than for previous generations. We are not covering as much of the cost of college as we did for previous generations, and young adults are facing a tough housing market that is not of their making.

So, even if you have finished your studies and found a job, it can still be tough to afford a place to live. With everything getting more expensive these days, it is hard to make ends meet. Apparently, the average salary for someone with a Bachelor's degree in 2022 is about $59,600, but if you want to live in a cool city like Austin, Texas, you could end up paying a crazy $2,245 a month just for a one-bedroom apartment. That is almost half your paycheck gone just like that!

While it is nice to help out your kids when they are struggling, some experts say that financially supporting them could really hurt parents in the long run, especially if they have not planned for their own retirement. According to Jim Kinney, who knows a lot about money stuff, parents should take care of themselves first. If you are all set for retirement and want to help your kids buy their first home, that is cool. But parents have to make sure they are okay first.