Quantcast
Menu
Save, make, understand money

Blog

BLOG: Younger generations must cut financial and emotional ties

Joanna Faith
Written By:
Joanna Faith
Posted:
Updated:
10/12/2014

Joanna Faith on the worrying trend of young adults failing to break free from their parents.

Another week and yet another worrying story emerges about the lasting effects of the financial crisis.

This time it’s news of the generation of disillusioned and needy young adults who have spent the majority of their working lives in economically difficult times.

Most under 30s have never experienced the luxury of annual pay rises or fat cat bonuses and many will have struggled to find a job or even faced redundancy.

According to a report by the Co-operative, this has left them finding it almost impossible to break free from their parents.

Unsurprisingly, 84% have received financial support from the Bank of Mum and Dad since ‘coming of age’.

But they aren’t just turning to their parents for money.

A staggering 80% still rely on their parents for emotional support, notably for help with basic tasks and decision making.

Researchers put much of this down to the fact that earnings of 18-30 year olds don’t currently live up to expectations. Over two fifths earn less than they thought they would in relation to their age and education level and, on average, people aged 18-30 take home £7,187 less than they thought they would.

More worryingly, however, is the revelation that two fifths of 18-30 year olds are dissatisfied with their lives so far with the main stress being a feeling that they should have achieved more in their lives, to date. They also worry about not having enough money to buy luxuries, weight concerns and lack of sleep.

These numbers are disturbing, especially when you consider these are the people who will ultimately shape the future of Britain for years to come.

Gone is the stronger economy that surrounded this age-group while growing up, leaving them with a gap between what they are earning and what they think they should be earning.

Psychologist, Donna Dawson, said: “This perceived ‘gap’ can lead to feelings of disillusionment and helplessness.”

She says if parents also gave them more and expected less of them while growing up, it becomes more difficult for this age-group to self-motivate and to do things for themselves.

So, what’s the answer? Well, according to Dawson, it’s down to parents to change the mind-sets of their young adult children.

“In order to help this generation to cope better, parents should encourage independence, initiative and self-sufficiency. This in turn will generate the self-confidence needed to tackle work and money issues,” she says.

But it will likely take more than this.

There needs to be a realisation among young adults that times have changed.

Most will have grown up believing they’d make the same amount of money and live in the same sized houses as their parents.

For the majority, this is becoming less and less of a reality and this will be a hard pill to swallow.