One in two adults have moved back in with their parents. The financial media wants you to know this is an opportunity. A chance to get ahead. Park your money somewhere smart. Set goals.
The headline does not mention that the other metric here is that one in two adults have not moved back in with their parents. Those people are called winners. They pay rent. They buy groceries. They don't have to explain to their mother why they came home at 3am on a Tuesday.
The article promises five ways to make living with your parents pay off financially. Here's a sixth way: get a job that pays enough to live somewhere else. Revolutionary stuff. Technical analysis suggests that adults who require a five-step plan to benefit from free housing may struggle with more complex financial instruments. Like a lease.
The piece talks about setting goals and knowing where to park your money. Your money is parked in your childhood bedroom next to a poster of a band that broke up in 2015. The goal is to move out. This should not require a listicle.
Financial advisors love this trend. Captive audience. Can't leave the Zoom call when mom's making dinner downstairs. Perfect time to discuss index funds and savings rates. The millennial in the twin bed nodding along while his high school participation trophies watch from the shelf.
The math works though. Save on rent. Build an emergency fund. Accumulate capital. Then blow it all on a security deposit for a studio apartment in eight years when you finally can't take it anymore and your parents stage an intervention about the living situation they created.
Two adults can't afford housing so they move home, and the financial press spins it as a wealth-building hack instead of a systemic failure.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
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