Have you heard of the boomerang phenomenon? Boomerang kids refers to young adults who return home to live with their parents. My work place is too far from my parents’ place for me to seriously consider living at home after college. In some ways, I’m glad. This means that I never had to weigh the benefits of getting my own (shared with roommate) apartment against what I could be saving ($500+ per month) if I went back to live at home.
According to this article by Kiplinger’s Magazine, more than half of all college seniors move back home after graduation each year. Finances is probably the number one reason to do so. The temptation of saving so much money on rent and utilities, not to mention the prospect of free home-made meals, is strong indeed.
My parents didn’t pressure me to live at home, but if I wanted to they probably would’ve been happy to have me. Before I found a job, Mom did jokingly mention that that I can save a load of money if I live at home for just one more year. That’s true, but I ultimately decided not to do so. I have lived away from home since college, and it would’ve been a hard adjustment to live at home after four years away.
Did any readers/bloggers live at home after graduation? Did anyone decide not to despite the potential savings?
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I was in the same boat as you: my parents live halfway across the country from my first job (and my college experience, for that matter), so it was never a question. However, recently I was told that the CEO of my company, as well as my boss and another senior staff member, are all watching me for a promotion that would involve me moving to the state where my parents both live. Since I’d be working from home with this promotion, I’ve been thinking more and more that it might be a viable option for me to move in with my mom while I decide where to buy. (And save up some more money to buy!)
I don’t know if I’ll do it, but it would sure be nice to go for a while with no (or drastically reduced) rent!
I stayed at home for like two or three months before I moved into my own place with my boyfriend–does that count? They would gladly have had me for longer, but I would have gone insane. People think I’m nuts, because my parents’ apartment is beautiful and centrally located, but…no. Ain’t no price on my mental health.
Guilty as charged. By living at home, I’m able to save a decent amount of money, it’s down the street from my job. My mother was among the few of her friends who didn’t move back home after college 40 years ago, so she doesn’t see it as odd. My older siblings also lived at home for a bit.
I graduated last April, and I’m still living in a basement suite that my parents rent to me.
So in total, my boyfriend and I will have lived in their basement suite for 2 years after my graduation. In that time, I have paid off all my student loans/consumer debt, and will have $40k for a down payment.
If I had decided to live on my own, I would not be in the position I am today, and certainly would still have massive student loan debt to deal with, and probably nothing saved up.
Only in transition periods did I live with my parents during my adult years. I always had somewhere to go… After college, I was entering grad school in Hawaii, after grad school I bought a random plane ticket from VA to SoCal after a month of living at home (no job, no friends, no place to stay, no nothing; i started from scratch for reals). I am grateful that they let me ‘rest’ for my upcoming adventures at their expense; I had part-time, random jobs while there, but mostly I slept and relaxed and enjoyed my family during those times (I guess that would be called ‘mooching’ nowadays).
I dunno…maybe it’s cause my parents live in the boonies and I really can’t find a job near them making more than minimum wage, but it’s never entered my mind to move back home and live with them.
It’s interesting to note, that of 4 kids in my family, the 2 who moved home for awhile really haven’t gotten it together financially. They’re both waiting for someone else to motivate them to work harder, earn & save more. The two who said “it’s not worth my sanity” found a way to pay their own bills and still accumulate solid savings and retirement accounts.
Which happens to be exactly the opposite of what you’d expect.
My parents were actually angry when I moved out when I started college into an apartment with my now husband. Now I’ve tried BEGGING on my knees to my mom to let us move in…just for a year or so to save up money and get out of debt…I’ll be graduating next spring, but I’ll still have to rent.
I moved out of the house when I left for college and have not gone back since.
I think that the sense of freedom and of not having my parents worry about me going out late at night played a major role in my decision to not stay at home.
However, if I had not found a job after college… I would have definitely gone back home (as much as I wouldn’t want to).
Visits on the holidays is enough for me.. haha
I moved back home after my last (5th) internship didn’t lead to a job. initially my parents were happy to have me home but they started to drive me insane. And I didn’t save a whole lot because they lived in the suburbs and just to take a subway into SF started adding up.
I lived with my grandparents for almost a year after my first job didn’t work out. It was awful. It drove me nuts! They treated me like a 5-year-old. I couldn’t cook or go out without all the questions. I saved quite a bit of money but freedom is priceless. And I got the rest of my life together once I moved out and shared an apartment. I learned to cook, eat a lot healthier, freelance write and sleep whenever I want to. My grandparents used to nag me about sleeping at 3 or 4am and then getting up for work at 7. But I find that kind of routine a few times a week works just fine for me.
My family appreciates me so much more that I’m living on my own and managing my own money. My dad was impressed by my basic personal finance understanding and the types of funds I’ve invested for my 401K. But my dad thinks I should live in a better apartment with better roommates. I live in squalor compared to how they live at home. Different generation however.
I work about 100 miles from where my parents live so I’ve never considered moving back in with either of them. Some of my siblings moved back in after they’d finished University, and have now moved on. Its noticeable that they didn’t start getting their finances together until a couple of months before they moved out.
For me, it goes to show that personal finance is more in the mind than anything else.
I didn’t find a job right away when I graduated college, so I moved back home (well, sort of… moving into either of my parents’ places would have made me crazy, so I moved into my grandma’s house). I was there for a year and a half while I was working and going to grad school. I saved a bit of money, but not as much as I would have had I realized how expensive it is to live on your own outside of the dorms. I think moving home was necessary for me in the first couple of months before I was working, but after that I don’t know that it really was so crucial. If I were to do it again (knowing what I now know) it might have been more valuable… but I wouldn’t do it again.
I moved back home after graduation… mostly because I couldn’t find a job anywhere else. I liked it for the most part, I saved almost $20k and bought my first house with the money.
I am also glad that I went back home because I was just starting to get back on my feet after a nasty and prolonged break up with a boyfriend. I liked having people around who loved me for me and were very nuturing and supportive.
I lived at home for just under 2 years, but towards the end it got harder and snippier. It was time to go and I am glad I moved out when I did.
Overall, I would do it again… I got me a better head start than most of my peers have had.
For What Its Worth,
MGB
I haven’t lived at home since I moved out after I graduated from high school. While at college, I secured internships in different states and never looked back. While I’m sure I could have saved a lot of money living with my parents, it just wasn’t worth it.
None of us did that. IIRC, two of us took of for CA right away. One of us left the day after. I left a month later. Everyone else stuck around town and worked or went to grad school. I really cannot think of anyone in my collegiate class that I knew who moved home. Maybe one guy, but I can’t remember if that was because it was something to do before he started his PhD later on… Nope. That guy went to China to teach English, so no. I can’t think of anyone I know who did this.
FWIW, I did move in with my sibling and with OTHER family. Just not my parents. And I paid for the groceries and public transport for both of us while my sibling took an allowance from our folks to do some further studies.
Wait. I do know one person. She moved to CA. It didn’t work out. So she moved home, applied to Harvard Law and left for law school a year later.
DH moved out for grad school right after college. It was a specific plan. I moved out for college and haven’t been back. It would have been a huge money saver and I would have done it if the opportunity presented itself.
I lived at home during university, since the program I wanted was available at a good school close by. I graduated in April and got married in June, so I moved out then – the timing worked great! My husband had moved out during school and had an apartment – we rented there for about 7 months, then bought a condo. Best decision we ever made, since it ensures that our money goes to worthwhile payments!
As soon as I finished high school I left home and moved here to Japan. I’m going back to London in summer to start university but I can’t imagine living with my parents again. I want freedom and I want to grow up and earn my own money and pay my own bills. That’s what I’m doing at the moment and it’d be hard to go back. Having said that, who knows where I’ll be in a few years’ time. I do think I’m more financially responsible than most though – I do read personal finance blogs after all!