Preparing for a child can be overwhelming, especially financially.
Even though we can project what certain costs will be for that adorable little human, most of the time we underestimate just how much we will spend.
90 percent of parents are surprised by how much more money they spent after becoming a parent, according to a study by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave.
And this doesn’t just last throughout their childhoods. Parental support continues far into adulthood.
In fact, 79 percent of parents with adult children provide some financial support for their living expense, both large and small.
The widespread study revealed these startling results after interviewing parents and adult dependants about their financial patterns.
This means that parents spend twice as much on their adult children than they do on their own retirement fund.
60 percent of this amount was spent on their kids’ groceries, 54 percent covered cell phone bills, and 47 percent was for car expenses.
It also included money for school (undergraduate education), rent, vacations, and student loans.
A majority of parents feel they have been put in an impossible position, having to make trade-offs between their own financial security and their child’s best interests.
However, this major financial issue is not because grown children have become less fiscally responsible.
Most parents say they’ve taught their kids important financial lessons, but it’s important to them to serve as a financial role model for their children.
While it’s clear that parents are bending over backwards to make sure their children are financially stable, something needs to change so that all adults - children and parents alike - can sustain financial independence.
