When Adult Children Move Back Home

The rising trend of adult children moving back in with their parents—often called “boomerang children”—is reshaping family life and financial dynamics. Driven by high housing costs, inflation, and mounting student debt, this arrangement can provide a much-needed safety net for the child, but it can also create challenges for the household. The following tips can help you support your children while maintaining healthy boundaries.

Establish Clear Expectations

One of the most significant challenges of welcoming adult children back home is setting boundaries. Many parents avoid conversations about financial contributions, but doing so can lead to misunderstandings, dependency, and strain.

●     Create a Financial Agreement: Collaborate on an agreement that outlines their expected financial contributions. You may choose not to charge them rent since you’re hoping they save enough money to move out eventually, but having them contribute towards food and utilities may foster a sense of accountability.

●     Be Clear on Household Responsibilities: Most kids don’t go off to college and come back mysteriously proactive in cleaning, laundry, and other household chores. At a minimum, expect them to care for themselves, but consider assigning them other tasks like lawn care, fixing dinner, cleaning dishes, or garbage.

●     Define a Timeline: Set clear expectations for next steps, such as securing full-time employment or paying off debt, along with a realistic move-out date. This is hard to do, but you may find that setting boundaries from the onset is easier than having tougher conversations down the road.

Teach Financial Independence

Living at home can serve as a valuable opportunity to teach financial lessons that might not have landed when they were in high school. Use this time to help your children learn money management skills, and be sure to enlist your financial advisor as needed. An outside voice can sometimes resonate when a parental voice does not. This is a great time to tackle:

●     Budgeting: Help your child map out their income and expenses, determine wants vs needs, and how to live within their means.

●     Debt Repayment: If student loans or credit card debt exist, create a realistic repayment plan together, emphasizing the importance of tackling high-interest debt first.

●     Saving: Encourage your child to save a percentage of their income for future housing, emergencies, or long-term goals. Talk about the time value of money concept and the importance of saving early.

Schedule regular check-ins to discuss progress on financial goals, career plans, and their timeline for moving out. Use these conversations to celebrate milestones and reassess goals if circumstances change.

Helping your adult children navigate a challenging economic environment is an act of love, but it works best with clear boundaries and mutual accountability. By establishing expectations and encouraging independence, parents can support their children’s transition to self-sufficiency while maintaining a balanced household.

This material was prepared for Bob Chitrathorn’s use.