More Than Half Of Louisiana Parents Sacrifice Finances For Their Children

(KPEL News)  Almost half of Louisiana's parents are shelling out a lot of money to help their adult children financially, paying their credit card bills and funding vacations, according to an annual study by savings.com.

While digging into the numbers of their report, we find some very interesting things. Parents really make sacrifices.

Many Louisiana Parents Are Supporting Adult Children

According to the study, 58% of parents report sacrificing their financial security to help their adult children.

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The Alarming Rise in Financial Sacrifice of Louisiana Parents

Officials at savings.com say the percentage of parents who put their own futures in jeopardy to help their kids has soared from 37% last year to 58% now.

How Louisiana Parents Spend Money on Their Adult Children

There is no judgment in this story; we are just sharing the facts. Here are some other key findings of how our parents are helping adult children:

• 61% of adult children living with their parents DO NOT contribute to the household, meaning they don't pay any rent.
• 46% of parents give their kids money to spend on whatever they want, including vacations.
• 18% of parents say they give their children money to pay off their credit cards.

40% of Louisiana Families Use Credit Cards to Make Ends Meet

In addition to this survey, we reviewed a story from debt.com reporting that two out of every five people are using their credit cards just to make ends meet.

Even more frightening, one in three people has maxed out their credit cards due to inflation. While prices for some goods have come down, inflation isn't going away.

READ MORE: THE FEDS ARE GARNISHING LOUISIANA WAGES FOR STUDENT FINANCIAL DEBT

Louisiana Parents Could Be Risking Their Retirement

Most parents are helping their children and not putting that money into retirement. How much money are parents giving to their adult children? The average amount parents give is $1,384 for all children aged 18 and older.

The number appears when parents are supporting Gen Z children. Those are children aged 18 to 27. Parents give them, on average, about $1,515. Parents supporting children between 28 and 42 (millennials) give $907. Those in Gen X get about $960 in support.

What It Means for Louisiana Parents Financially Helping Their Adult Children

One pretty interesting graphic about how parents feel about retirement shows that the numbers are relatively close when asked whether they feel stressed about retirement and whether they are supporting their children.

That's very telling. In the financial world today I think everyone is worried about the future especially when it deals with retirement. No one knows what the future could hold.

Parents in every age category help their children most with food and other grocery items. That makes plenty of sense, as prices for some items still have not come down from the pandemic.

You can click here to see the entire report.