Young adults spending parents’ money
March 6, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
The current generation of young adults still rely on their parents for financial handouts, according to research.
Scottish Widows says that many people have become so bad at banking and managing their finances that poor old mum and dad are having to spend their savings on helping out the kids.
The firm claims that ten million ‘adult children’ have used money from their parents’ savings, with 39 per cent of parents spending cash which they were saving for themselves.
Most parents give a total of £12,300 to their children as either a loan or a gift, meaning the UK’s parents are losing a total of £55 billion to their kids.
“Our research shows that parental responsibility no longer ends when your children reach adulthood but lasts for many years after that,” said Anne Young from Scottish Widows.
“Parents may be shocked to learn that their savings could be sapped by about £12,000 after their children leave home. We recommend they try to prepare for the possibility of this happening by creating their own Savings Sap fund.”
The money is generally put to good use, with 29 per cent of ‘adult children’ spending it as a deposit towards a mortgage for a new house.
A further 23 per cent spend it on buying a new car, 15 per cent on buying furniture and 14 per cent on clearing debts.
