How do boomerang kids affect your finances?

For over a decade now, financial security and growth have been struggling, to say the least. Harmed at first by a 2008 financial crash which helped create a deficit that still hasn’t been paid, the market has been further confused and hampered by the subsequent uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

As a result, the natural order of growing up and becoming financially reliant has changed. We already know that the millennial generation are going to be the first for some time to pass poorer than their parents — and that fact has had several knock-on effects.

Not only do most adults stay at home longer now — with the property ladder so difficult to climb on to — they’re also financially reliant on their parents for longer. This creates more strain and pressure both monetarily and personally than there has been in generations gone by.

What is a boomerang kid?

This is a term that refers to adult children who return home after long periods living away or on their own. These children are said to have ‘boomeranged’ back to their parents’ home.

Thanks to stagnating wages and spiralling living costs, this is happening with increasing regularity. As a result, both the rental and residential housing market have become erratic and inhospitable to many, forcing their hand where living conditions are concerned.

A term that is as concerned with those who return home upon graduating university as it is with full-time careerist adults who have been forced to recalibrate their living situation, it’s an issue much more heavily dictated by circumstance than choice. For those at the younger end of the scale the issue is finding a role that matches their qualifications and skills, while for those who’re already in work, the problem is stagnating wages and lack of opportunity to grow their career at the same rate as it was previously possible.

How can boomerang children impact your finances?

Boomerang kids can have a multi-faceted effect, as the impact is not purely financial, but emotional, too. While parents can feel additional strain and stress as a result of having their child return home and dependent on them, the notion that one has become a burden can severely affect the confidence and happiness of those who have been forced to boomerang. Where finances are concerned, it’s the rise in the cost of living that has the largest impact on those who have their children move back in with them. There are additional mouths to feed and bills rise as a consequence, as the home is being occupied and used by more people on a regular basis.