Leza and Anthony Dieli are saving about $1,000 a month for their 7-year-old daughter, Zoey. This money isn’t for college tuition or summer camp or medical expenses. It is to support her once she is an otherwise independent adult.
There is a novel strain of financial advice that suggests supporting grown children isn’t a reason to be ashamed. It is probably necessary, and sometimes even desirable. The Dielis decided to start saving early. Leza graduated college during the 2007-09 recession, worked a string of unhappy jobs and racked up credit-card debt. She doesn’t want that for Zoey.
“I want her to feel like she has options,” Leza said.
Whether they plan for it or not, plenty of parents are likely to find themselves in the same boat. About 60% of parents with children ages 18 to 34 said they had helped their kids financially in the previous year, according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Parents are finding that the rising expenses that trail them from their child’s birth through college are now extending well into adulthood.
They commonly chipped in for housing, debt payments and everyday expenses such as groceries, according to a Bankrate survey last year. A third of younger millennial home buyers got help with the down payment from friends or family, according to an April report from the National Association of Realtors.