Factor in the cost of raising children into the future housing demand – how much farther can the Bank of Mom and Dad go? Hat tip daytrip:
The average cost of raising a child until age 18 today is more than $230,000— but that number only gets higher when children leave the nest. In fact, many parents consider it to be the most expensive stage of parenting, according to Merrill Lynch’s new “The Financial Journey of Modern Parenting: Joy, Complexity, and Sacrifice”report.
The bank surveyed more than 2,500 American parents and found that 79% of parents continue to provide financial support to their adult children — contributing to an estimated $500 billion annually. That’s twice the amount they save for retirement — $250 billion annually — according to the report. There are 173 million parents in the US, according to Merrill Lynch.
“When emotions and money become intertwined, parents risk making financial decisions that can compromise their financial futures,” states the report.
Seventy-two percent of parents revealed they put their children’s interests ahead of their own need to save for retirement. On top of that, 63% of parents reported sacrificing their own financial security for their children’s sake. Specifically, Asian, Latino, and African American parents are more likely to give up financial security for their children, the report found.
So what exactly are parents paying for? The answer is both big and small, with parents covering necessities, like rent or mortgage, as well as luxuries, like vacations.
Of the $500 billion total amount parents are spending on adult children, college education comprises about one-fourth, according to the report; groceries and food cost $54 billion annually and cell phone service costs $18 billion, with many parents covering the full cost, not just handing over a few dollars.
But that total doesn’t count big-ticket items — about 60% of parents help pay for their adult child’s wedding and 25% help pay for their child’s first home.
Link to Full Article
BI has two articles on this topic, an excerpt from the other:
Ultimately, having kids can cause family spending patterns and investment patterns to shift, according to the report. “Grocery and health expenses rise, money goes to children’s toys, and childcare can suddenly be a major expenditure. Spending drops in categories around the parents’ entertainment, including dining out, automobile expenses and vacations.”
These costs only grow as children age, especially when it comes to food, clothing, technology, entertainment, school, transportation, sports, and other activities, according to the report.
While that’s to be expected, these costs are even higher than they should be because parents feel pressure to give their children with what their peers have — at least, according to 69% of those surveyed.
https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-raising-a-child-today-merrill-lynch-report-2018-10
Recentlyy little cousin is only like 21, and she needed a car, so I was just going to give her my old one for a song. It was in excellent shape, always garaged, low miles, all the bells and whistles, bose stereo, etc.
She was excited to get it, then someone sideswiped it while it was parked on the street, and totaled it, so my poor little cousin was out of luck. She’s so cute, and so nice to everyone all the time, you’d want her to be in a nice car too.
When your relatives are cute, and nice, it makes it a LOT harder to say no. My ugly cousins can rot, for all I care. It’s not just because of that. They’re rude, too.
In life, you can get away with cute and rude, or ugly and nice, but you can’t be ugly and rude, too. There lies the road to heck. If you have it in your power, be nice and cute! It helps beyond even what your dad can do!
Off Topic: Those Kavanaugh hearings were outrageous! Those guys really hated each other! He seems like a funny guy, tho!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Kn1pNIlq8