- Nearly half of young adults in the US live at home with their parents, according to US Census Bureau.
- TikTokers have shared the woes of living at home in their 20s despite the financial benefits.
- One small business owner says she’s able to travel more although her parents often ask how she’s affording it all.
More young people are choosing to skip out on rent by living at home with their parents, but the financial savings can have an emotional cost, and for some, the money saved on rent isn’t actually banked away.
Nearly half of Americans ages 18 to 29 live with their parents, according to US Census data reported by Insider’s Nidhi Pandurangi.
According to the data, however, the money young people are saving on basic necessities isn’t just going toward an eventual move-out; some spend on luxury items and travel.
Arielle Artist, a 22-year-old small business owner and college graduate, told Insider she lived with her parents during college to avoid on-campus housing costs, but stuck around after graduation for all the financial perks.
“I’ve been able to travel and spend more money on myself. I’m able to enjoy a lot more freedom because I don’t have to hold back on paying for luxury,” Artist said.
However, Artist said her parents are quick to comment on the number of Amazon packages she receives or how often she’s jetting off for a vacation. The added stress of operating a business out of her family home, Artist said, makes working and receiving shipments more difficult.
“They ask if I’m even saving money when they see me going out of town frequently, but I try to let them know ahead of time,” Artist told Insider.
Artist — who’s booked a trip to New York City for New Years and a cruise in summer 2023 — said communication has helped her parents accept her extra years at home.
Many agree that there are cons to being under the same roof as your parents, despite the high number of young people living at home.
TikTokers in their 20s have shared their own experiences of living with their mom and dad. A video of a mom, who is off-camera, asking her son where he is going and with whom, went viral on Tiktok.
It garnered more than 1 million likes and thousands of comments echoing the frustration with parental roommates.
“‘When are you going to clean your room?’ I’m 26,” one user wrote.
“Oh man this video made me feel better. I’m not alone! It’s expensive to live on your own. Especially coming out of school. It’s a hard knock life,” another comment read.
Medical assistant and single mom Shania Parker, 23, lives at home, but told Insider luxury goods are nowhere near the top of her spending priorities. She chose to move back home in January 2021 after transferring to a university near her parents.
“I pay for my own groceries, and, of course, having an infant doesn’t free up a lot of money for me to spend on myself,” Parker said.
She noted that being a young mom motivates her to spend less frivolously and put money away for the day she can move out.
“I’m constantly looking for an apartment in my price range because I’m getting older and space at my parents’ house is limited,” she told Insider.
And, Parker added: “I have no space in the refrigerator.”
