Since the Great Recession, there has been a trend among millennials to move back home with their parents. Due to rising student debt, a paucity of well-paying jobs and the overall cost of living, the generation of recent post-secondary graduates thought it was a bright idea to return to the nest and depend upon their parents for food, shelter and clothing.
Last week, the Globe and Mail published an article that contained an interview with Christine Romans, author of “Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials.” The premise behind the piece of content is that it’s perfectly acceptable for millennials to move in with their parents and not face the world independently.
Here is what Romans told the newspaper when asked if there’s still a negative stigma attached to this trend found mostly in millennials:
“I don’t think so, and there shouldn’t be. Because you’re smart if you move back home and you bank your income or use that money to pay down debt. It’s the smartest thing to do,” Romans stated. “If your rent is more than 50 percent of your income, you need to move home. I would like to see rent at 25 per cent of income.”
Moreover, Romans suggested that when millennials do move back in with their parents that perhaps they shouldn’t have to pay rent. Instead, they could be paying the cable and Internet bills or putting money aside for first and last month’s rent for their own apartment.
But is this too much coddling on the part of parents? What happened to independence and facing the challenges of life on your own without the aid of your family? Ostensibly, the concept has pretty much been eviscerated. It’s now promoted by experts for millennials to lean on their parents at all times without having to overcome obstacles alone.
If you’re considering moving back in with your parents then here are five reasons why you should not:
Solving Problems By Yourself is Rewarding
If rent is late, your phone bill is past due and all you have is a jar of pickles and mustard in your refrigerator. Obviously, something is wrong and you have to come up with a reasonable solution to pay the rent, cover your expenditures and feed yourself. Whether it’s getting another part-time job or cutting back on expenses, you can solve these issues by yourself, which you’ll find later is quite rewarding.
You Have to Face Life
A part of being an adult is facing life on your own. Whenever life gets you down or there is a major hurdle to leap over, it can be easy to just lie back under the covers and listen to Sergei Rachmaninoff. However, that’s not what life is all about. Life is challenging at times, but you have to face it by yourself and not have others answer every single problem for you. If you never face the world alone then you will never truly understand what it’s like to be independent.
Parents Will Interfere in Your Personal Life
There have been many cases where someone who was 18 moved out but then returned to the nest at 25. After seven years of being independent and leading their own life, their parents interfered and became domineering. It can feel claustrophobic once the mother and/or father places restrictions on you – you have no other choice but to obey because you’re under their roof. When you’re independent, you can make any choice – good or bad – on your own and face the rewards or consequences by yourself.
Reverie is Part of Growing Up
When you live by yourself, you do a lot of thinking and you’re on a path of self-discovery. Introspection is a key aspect of being in your 20s: you find out what you like to do, you learn new things, you learn how to budget, you seek out a significant other. A lot of this can’t be done living in your parents’ basement.
Pride in Looking After Yourself
Once you hit your autumn and winter years, you will begin to look back at your 20s and realize what you did or didn’t do. If you were someone who looked after himself without any assistance then you will be proud of yourself. However, if you continually depended on the kindness of family members, friends and strangers for money, laundry or aid then you will certainly frown upon your early adulthood.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, society is promoting too much coddling by parents and encouraging millennials to feel entitled, even if they don’t wish to. Despite the inadequate economic conditions right now, millennials should still persevere and slay each roadblock in front of them. Besides, if you extend your hand way too many times your arms will be fatigued.
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