Most Young Adults Receive Financial Help From Mom And Dad

Students take a break at Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA on April 23, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. According to reports, half of recent college graduates with bachelor's degrees are finding themselves underemployed or jobless.

Here's another sign that young people are struggling to make it on their own.

Of young adults between the ages of 19 and 22, 62 percent rely on financial help from their parents, according to new research by Patrick Wightman, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, cited by USA Today. On average, a young adult taking cash from mom and dad receives $12,185 per year.

The study found that parents are helping their children pay for recurring expenses -- a sign that young people are earning unsustainably low incomes. For example, 42 percent of parents help pay bills and 22 percent help their kids pay rent. Most high-earning parents give financial help to their adult children, while just under half of low-income parents do the same.

It's clear that young adults need the help. One in two young college graduates are jobless or underemployed, and even the lucky ones with jobs aren't getting paid enough. One-quarter of millennials, or young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, aren't making enough money to meet basic needs, according to a recent survey by WSL Strategic Retail.

Many young adults have had to move back in with their parents in order to make ends meet. One in four adults ages 18 to 34 have moved back in with their parents in recent years because of the economy, according to the Pew report.

This is not the first study to find that young adults are receiving financial help from their parents to get by. Fifty-nine percent of parents give financial help to their adult children that are no longer in school, according to a poll by Harris Interactive cited by ABC News last year.

For millennials, the lifeline may last long after they graduate from college. A full 8 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds rely on financial help from their parents, according to the Pew Research Center.

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Comments

[NovemberScorp]

01:32 PM on 05/06/2012

I saw where Mittens told a college student that he hopes she can find a low-cost loan somewhere or hit up Mom & Dad. News flash to Miitens from Mom & Dad .... WE DON'T HAVE IT TO GIVE and heaven help us if you are elected Mittens. It'll be much much worse!

[Carly freedom]

12:30 PM on 05/05/2012

For everyone posting today saying to be tough, almost all of your do it yourself stories are from a century ago. We now have a minimum wage that has not kept up with the living wage since the 1970's while food, utilities and gas are skyrocketing, not to mention, education. When I went to college I did it by myself too, but there were jobs, financial aid, and guaranteed student loans where the government paid my interest and then guaranteed a low interest rate until it was paid off. I had two jobs going thru college. I worked for financial aid and then I worked for the phone company which is now AT&T. A good union job with great benefits. Good luck finding a job like that these days. To get paid 20 dollars an hour 20 years ago for a job without a full college degree is unheard of in this generation. I have suffered along with my two boys. My eldest son and my youngest son both got all A's in school both mastering math and science. In spite of them both working full time I still have to help them or they would never make it. The world we live in has changed. I feel sorry for the kids and parents in this day and age.

[Dr Scott]

01:05 PM on 05/04/2012

That's what parents are for! Who wouldn't help out their own children if they could? We've invested a lot of time and energy in the ungrateful, little know-it-alls. We're not just going throw all that away because they finish school!
It is tough to get started in this country. Everybody expects you to get a job and become middle-class immediately. It just doesn't happen like that. People need to lower their expectations. Work hard and be smart. Sacrifice. Fun is over-rated. And there is nothing wrong with living with your parents. In my day, it was very common.

[unfoxworthy]

12:32 PM on 05/05/2012

I like the way you "spiked" this post for those of us who would chomp on the bait, Dr.
To think that people haven't already "lowered their expectations"...
is to have smoked too much in the 70's and be living in MisFit Romney's neighborhood.
How's life there, BTW?

[Carmen Stone]

11:19 AM on 05/04/2012

Nope. Worked 2 jobs, and at once - 3. Was an RA so I didn't have to pay for rent. I let my mom buy my books - once. Paid for tuition with scholarships and student loans. Graduated, got a job, and I'm paying off my student loans now. It's possible to do it on your own, but you have to work for it, and it's hard folks.

[Dahveed1]

08:13 AM on 05/07/2012

Good on you. That's the problem for many of today's kids - its hard. They've never had to do anything hard in their life, especially something hard for years. Our education system has made it so anytime any effort is spent, a reward is given too them. We actually give people rewards for no reason at all. That doesn't prepare the kids for the real world where actual rewards are more difficult to earn.

[stavrosp]

09:20 AM on 05/04/2012

Imagine how much more unfavorable are the data in Greece for young adults?

[Cor]

08:44 AM on 05/04/2012

I find these findings to be sad, no not sad, unacceptable. When I graduated from HS I entered into college with a part time job. It was still affordable enough to do that. I did live at my parents since I was only 17. They never paid for books or anything other than the food I was eating. It was expected that when you turned 18 you began to make your way in the world and in those days, late 60's early 70's this was still possible. It should be possible today but for the poor management of our government. This lunacy began with RR. It has gotten worse with some hope only in the late 90's. Then we really decided to tank everything for our children and their children by electing W. I never voted for the man as I thought he was a half wit.
My sister had children later than I did and they are in their late 30's and she still has to give each one money every month. They have college educations and one has a job as a bartender the other works at a grocery store. What a waste of brainpower, but there are no other jobs for them at this time.
We need to really focus on ways to fix this mess and go back to where young people had realistic expectations, hope and knew they could work their way up.
I think I am rambling, but this really took be aback.

[frank day]

07:14 AM on 05/04/2012

62% get help and 25% lie about not getting help. That leaves 3% that are independent, most

likely because their families are dysfunctional/nonexistant.

There are also families in which EVERYBODY is working a low income/temp job just to

keep a roof over the head.

[RSGmusic]

08:38 AM on 05/04/2012

You are correct frank day! when i was a student 35 yrs ago had to assist me will my college education. She was a Single mother of 4 My older sister was also in college at that time.
I got a job for a big corp to pay the other cost of college. worked full time and full college hrs

I sent her back each month 250 $ a month, the eqivalent of her house payment and 50 $ for other things. When i got out of college i used Her basement as a music studio for 3 more years. At that time I paid the remainder of the house loan with the studio profits. She got to relax until my younger sister went to college to get her teaching Degree!
Mom was great and my sisters and I got the education she always wanted for Us.

I do not think the repubs will help with education for middle class and low income earner
Being born with 3 million in a trust for life Rom_ney will not help You.

longlife in good health!

[Natalie Worlow]

08:24 PM on 05/03/2012

I'm part of that 8%. I'm 27, employed full-time as a teacher, and I have to ask my dad for substantial sums of money at least every couple of months. I don't live beyond my means and yet I struggle to pay all of my bills. It's a tough economy...expenses keep going up, while my salary remains stagnant. I feel like I'm digging a hole that I'll never get out of. Kind of a depressing way to start one's professional life...

[stavrosp]

09:28 AM on 05/04/2012

Here(in Hellas) we call:Νο light at the end of the tunnel.

[DeanWormer]

10:45 PM on 05/06/2012

If you don't live beyond your means, why do,you have to ask dad for money???

[Natalie Worlow]

09:10 AM on 05/07/2012

I'm sorry, allow me to amend my previous post. When I think of what it means to live outside of one's means, I think about spending on frivolous things, eating out all the time, going out to bars and running up a tab, living off of credit cards. Perhaps your definition is different than mine. For instance, if I truly lived 100% "within my means," I'd be living in the neighborhood of Orange Mound in Memphis, which is truly, truly, TRULY a place no one should have to live; however, that would never happen because: 1) I'd be terrified for my safety, and 2) My parents would never in a million years let me live there. So I spend about $150 more on rent than I would like. I do have Internet, which of course I need for my job, but that I also enjoy like most everyone else. That and cable aren't "necessary" expenses, but for my generation they come close. So, yes, I suppose I could disconnect those and save $150 a month. Then, you see, when I was in college, I was a real idiot and ran up a lot of debt on credit cards. I have since consolidated those and thrown my cards away (and never plan on having another credit card ever in my life), but that's another $500 a month -- yes, that expense comes out of my own stupidity, but I'm not declaring bankruptcy, so I pay it every month.

(cont'd)

[Natalie Worlow]

09:12 AM on 05/07/2012

Oh, and I also have debilitating migraines. Said migraines require that I take a ridiculous amount of meds every day, every month...that stuff adds up. Sometimes those same migraines force me to go to Urgent Care and get a shot and a prescription, sometimes they force me to go to the ER when I know I need something stronger than what the Urgent Care folks can give me. ER visits aren't cheap, even with my decent health insurance.The last time I went to the ER, they immediately ordered a CT scan, an MRI, and an MRA (whatever that is) because I told them it was absolutely the worst I'd ever had, the pain was off the charts. They immediately admitted me -- and I stayed for three days, hooked up to an IV full of dilaudid. That's how long it took for the migraine to dissipate. Oh, and and while I was in the hospital, I was missing work without pay. Oh, and the very next week after I got out of the hospital, I had a four day migraine that made me so out of it that I hardly have any recollection of it at all. That was another four days without pay. (You see, I'd already used my sick days earlier in the year because these migraines have been going on for awhile.) Needless to say, those paychecks were tiny and did not cover my expenses.

(cont'd)

[beobnoxious]

06:45 PM on 05/03/2012

The problem for alot of people is living above their means. not budgeting and spending wisely

[msmanatee]

07:56 PM on 05/03/2012

The problem is $8 an hour. There is not one state in the US where you can live "affordably" on minimum wage. In MA 100% of minimum wage wages goes toward rent. I guess a roof and food is "above their means" these days.

And everyone is paying minimum wage these days...because they can.

[figus mockum]

02:31 PM on 05/05/2012

Maybe the problem is that CEO's make 475 times more than their average worker.
This is up from 'only' 42 to 1 in 1989.

[Dahveed1]

08:24 AM on 05/07/2012

While I agree that we should raise the mini-wage, much of the problem is one of spending. My parents are 77, when they got married nearly 50 years ago, they could afford to buy only 1 used VW beetle. They lived in a little rented apt. They mostly ate in. They didn't buy much and seldom traveled. Most of today's kids have a different expectation. They only expect to work 40 hours a week, expect to have a nice car, expect to live in a good place with a pool, and expect to go out 3 or 4 nights a week and party. Expect to be able to take vacations a couple times a year.

When my parents were young, you'd never ask your parents for money to do those things, you just did without. For MANY of today's kids they do those things and when they can't afford it, they ask mommy and daddy for money.

[JWerner]

01:30 AM on 05/04/2012

The problem is unthinking and unlearning regressives such as yourself who seem to think that repeating the same lies and BS over and over will somehow fix the problem.

How about you twerps come up with a solution that actually works, and doesn't create more problems than it solves? Maybe then you'll be worth taking seriously.

[J R M]

05:58 PM on 05/03/2012

Isn't this the age period when many of them are in school? Wouldn't you expect dependence then for a significant fraction of the students?

Rent is not cheap. If they can live at "home" they may be able to pay off a substantial portion of their student loans in a few years with the savings from not having to pay rent.

Seems reasonable to me.

[frank day]

07:20 AM on 05/04/2012

The idea that parents should be able to pay for college and support a child to age 25

has always been ridiculous.

When I graduated High School, almost nobody in my class had parents paying for their college.

We were expected to be independent. I even paid rent the summer after I graduated. (had a job at age 15).

What has changed is that the jobs that used to be available aren't full time anymore and the cost of attending college is about 10x what it used to be.

[retromoderne]

10:50 PM on 05/07/2012

I attended a large catholic university; private school but less expensive than many. The cost now is roughly 10x what it was when I started in 1980. My daughter was accepted there this year but we couldn't possibly send her; our annual cost after her scholarship award, and with two kids in college, would have been nearly $30k/year. That's with a good income (thankfully, after losing all our savings and home due to extended unemployment) but no assets, and 2 years into a 30yr mortgage at 50 years old.

[rewith85man]

05:17 PM on 05/03/2012

Because of the slow economy and greedy companies, students have to suffer finding a job, getting school loans, etc.

It is not fair. But, it is beneficial that parents help their kids who help themselves.

That is a sign saying that we should help others who don't have much. Therefore, they can help us back as well as other struggling people.

[sandiegoconservative]

06:48 PM on 05/03/2012

Having a job in college is not suffering. I still don't get why we treat our kids like pansies. I was in college from 1998-2002, not that long ago. I paid my own tuition, my own rent and utilities, and my own expenses including a vehicle and car insurance. I had a job and had student loans. And guess what? If you lay off the partying and live within your means and in a manner in which you would expect a college student to live, you wind up with a degree, reasonable loans for repayment and a sense of accomplishment. Heck, when I finished graduate school, the same formula applied.

[anniesez455]

06:51 PM on 05/03/2012

Great comment..and so true!

[JWerner]

01:35 AM on 05/04/2012

'Grats. You got to go through the college system before the prices really went through the roof. Now how about using that college education and doing some research as to just how unmanageable full-time college education is in terms of cost, for those not getting assistance from scholarships, grants, or their parents (a lot of people). And then drop the stale, stereotypical line about 'partying college students'.

[Ana Cohan]

05:16 PM on 05/03/2012

At least in Florida, wages are low and living expenses are high. I know many college educated, employed people struggling to get by.

[Sue-in-Jersey]

04:48 PM on 05/03/2012

For a long time, the two-wage family hid the sinking American paycheck from view. Now even TWO incomes can't keep a family afloat and the disappearing middle-class has finally realized what the great voodoo economic experiment has done to our nation, and especially to our kids' prospects for anything approaching a middle-class lifestyle. Less than a hundred families control MOST of America's wealth -- and much too much of it's political system and media outlets. Hope it isn't too late to turn this country around. We must elect President Obama to a second term, and put more pro-middle class politicians in Congress.

[gerald4]

05:55 PM on 05/03/2012

that President Obama should lead the US congress to create new legislation that will repeal all of the "FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS" laws, environmental laws, national healthcare, unemployment insurance extensions, and other anti-business laws that were created during the past 20 years by almost all of the elected Democratic and Republican members of the US congress and then approved and administered by every past president during that time. Those "FREE TRADE AGREEMENT" laws did away with our import taxes on foreign made products that ALLOWED, CAUSED, and ECONOMICALLY REQUIRED that our factories to fire their US employees and then to take advantage of the extremely lower labor and the extremely lower environmental manufacturing costs in foreign countries in order to meet the US consumer demand for the ABSOLUTELY LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICES.

[southred]

10:02 PM on 05/03/2012

off topic,blah,blah

[larmarch5]

03:06 PM on 05/03/2012

For every person turning 17 or 18, go to www.rockthevote.com and connect to the state where they will be living. Download a voter registration form and include it in their birthday and graduation cards.

Registering to vote is a patriotic step towards adulthood and having a voice in the decisions being made that affect their lives.

[gerald4]

02:51 PM on 05/03/2012

Poor people (like me) that go to college will major in things that will help them earn more money in their lifetimes.

Rich students that expect their parents to support them after graduation will sometimes major in their hobbies such as Art History, Philosophy, Humanaties, etc., because they do not need a job after graduation.

[silverstreet]

05:24 PM on 05/03/2012

I assure you, those students majoring in those liberal arts subjects will find jobs -- probably before you do

[sandiegoconservative]

06:44 PM on 05/03/2012

The world needs ditch-diggers too.

[gerald4]

03:09 PM on 05/04/2012

In the Fast Food Industry for the liberal arts graduates, unless their parents are wealthy, so that they can work for daddy's business.

[sgtstroganoff]

06:07 PM on 05/03/2012

wow, thats a nice thing to say.

[Patty Ann]

12:03 PM on 05/04/2012

hang around it get's better sgtstroganoff