What’s your opinion of millennials? Depending on who you ask, one group will say that millennials are self-entitled, lazy and selfish, while another group will argue that millennials have been dealt a bad hand and they will soon be contributing to society in a positive way.
One of the biggest excuses going around for why millennials are still living with their parents or are stuck relying on their parents for money is because of the financial crisis, which included a paucity of well-paying jobs to help cover their student loans.
USA Today writes: “Millennials aren’t moochers – it’s just a lot harder for them to become financially independent at the same pace their parents did.” This statement was made after the results of a new USA TODAY/Bank of America Better Money Habits survey was released Tuesday.
According to the poll, 40 percent of millennials admit to still receiving money from their parents, and today’s young adults are three times as likely to conceding they garnered financial assistance from their parents when they were starting out, compared to their parents at the same age (36 percent to 12 percent, respectively).
Moreover, the majority of the younger millennials, which is usually 18 to 25, is turning to their mothers and fathers for monetary help. However, close to one-quarter (22 percent) of older millennials, which is 26 to 34, are also continuing to turn to their parents for money. Additionally, one-fifth of married millennials are getting help covering their daily expenses.
Why are parents helping their millennial kids? Well, nearly one-third say their adult children “really need help” and nearly one-quarter feel it’s their parental responsibility to step. Overall, parents purport that they have a lot of empathy for the millennials today.
In addition, millennials are saving, but not very much. Two-thirds of millennials say they save, but most of them just have a savings account at a financial institution. For those who are saving regularly, only one-third have a 401(k) and a fifth have other investments. Sixty-one percent of older millennials are saving for retirement, compared to 22 percent of those between 18 and 25.
Despite suggestions to the contrary (SEE: 5 reasons why millennials should not move back home with their parents), financial experts recommend that parents should request their adult kids to contribute to the home if they decide to live under their roof.
“Your kids have to learn a very basic lesson in life, which is money is earned,” Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an author and personal finance expert, told the daily newspaper. “It shouldn’t just be, OK you can just live here for free. (Otherwise) you’ve set up a dynamic that whatever goes wrong in their life, you’re the plan B. All adults should have another plan B besides their parents.”
Final Thoughts
As we have previously written, millennials should refrain from moving back home, and perhaps parents shouldn’t amiably cave into their kids’ demands so easily. Instead, millennials have to learn independence in life, even when they are strapped for cash. Khalfani-Cox was correct in her assertion that all adults should have a plan B that does not include their parents. Otherwise, you’ll have zero self-respect.
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