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Are you Out of College and Living at Home? Get Out Now!

Erik Folgate

I’ve got plenty of friends who left college and went back to their hometown and moved back in with their parents. I’m not so sure that the parents were happy about that, but most of them love it, because they get to collect a real paycheck and live rent free and get home-cooked meals. It sounds like a sweet deal, but is it really?

This is solely my personal opinion, but I think that you are doing yourself a disservice both financially and emotionally by living at home with your parents after college for an extended period of time. I understand if you want to crash back at home for a couple of months to get your feet under you before you tackle the real world, but if you’ve lived with your parents for over 6 months now, something is wrong!

We need to think in terms of what kind of habits it helping you to form as an adult. When living at home, your budget will never be the same as when you live on your own. You won’t start learning to budget your money properly and you won’t even get in the habit of paying your bills in a timely manner. This will hurt your wallet and your credit in the future if you don’t establish good financial habits early on in your twenties. And let’s be honest, your parents don’t want you there! Sure, they’ll take you in, because they’re your parents! But do you really think they want you back after having 4 years of getting to do whateve they want without kids in the way? Is your room still your room, or did they turn it into an office or a personal gym? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Anyway, think twice before you decide to call your parent’s house “home” again. It could have a big straing on your finances in the future and on your relationship with your parents.

Categories: College & Education

Erik Folgate
Erik and his wife, Lindzee, live in Orlando, Florida with a baby boy on the way. Erik works as an account manager for a marketing company, and considers counseling friends, family and the readers of Money Crashers his personal ministry to others. Erik became passionate about personal finance and helping others make wise financial decisions after racking up over $20k in credit card and student loan debt within the first two years of college. Another one of Erik's projects is the site, Stuff We Google.

Learn more - including co-founders Andrew Schrage and Gyutae Park.

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Comments

  • http://financeninja.wordpress.com/ finance ninja

    I have to disagree with you. Living with my parents was awesome! They are so cool and way better roommates then all the ones I go through. As for becoming an adult and making adult decions you are right. You also shouldn’t get “comfortable” not paying rent. I think most parents, and my own, want you to pay some rent or usually help out more then when you were a child. I think most bumming college kids get away with getting free rent just because their parents do miss them unless you have family issues that were never resolved in that case you probably don’t even want to live back at home. I miss living at my parents house. One big bedroom to myself, a guaranteed parking spot, healthy fresh meals, tons of food in the fridge, solid internet, cable tv, the list goes on, and did I mention my sweetie kitty is still waiting for me to come back???

    Although many college students fall into a trap going back home to distress and recharge their batteries for the real world you should keep in mind that I need to save up and move out and be an adult. If your cat is still at home and you couldn’t bring it because you moved to some exotic island destination be sure to see it regular when you move back and hug it.

    -the finance ninja
    i write a personal stock market blog and i miss my cat

  • http://www.erikfolgate.com erik.folgate

    Yeah, I took a hard stance on this to prove a point. Most people don’t like reading something that says, “well, you could do this, or you could do that” Wishy-washyness doesn’t help anyone in the long run.

    Again, i’m not opposed to living with the parents for a little while to get your feet off the ground, pay off debt, etc. But the least that someone can do as an adult coming back to live with their parents is do extra chores around the house, pay some rent, or buy some groceries on a monthly basis.

    • Beachgirl

      You took a hard stance because you want to gain attention, and it’s trendy to judge others rather than truly understand them. Making harsh statements is not helpful either. I know it just makes me angry when I have someone telling me about my life when they don’t really know me or my situation at all…and I’m not even a ‘young’ person. Mind, I didn’t get the choice to live with parents as a adult as my mother died when I was 28…and the rest of the family pretty much said if I moved back to the hometown they would see me as a financial burden. I had no choice post-divorce but to try to keep myself and a child clothed, fed and housed…and to do it on my own! Yeah, I did it but I don’t see myself as superior to someone who lives at home with parents or gets help from them. I wish I had that sort of support system when I was struggling single mom putting myself through college. It would’ve made my life a lot easier.

  • Elizabeth I

    I think this is terrible advice for a couple of reasons both financially and culturally.

    I’ll start with my financial comments. Graduating college and being able to move in with your parents is a tremendous financial advantage. First, you may not be making a lot of money but you can max out your 401K with the money that is NOT going toward excessive rent. Think about how much money you will have when you retire if you start maxing out your 401K at age 23! Also, paying your parents a couple hundred dollars a month for food and “rent” will be economically helpful for them. Additionally, this is a great time to pay off student loans, pay off the car, and start saving up for a house.

    Yes, you can do all these things later, when you make more money, but if you live in New England and I am sure other parts of the country, you will find yourself in the 30′s and living at home trap. Many people move out right away and are spending $1000 – $1800 in rent ($1000 living with a roommate and $1800 living alone) because they live in very expense parts of the US. If you do not marry you will never be able to save for a house, because housing in these areas of the country are so expensive. Thus, you will be come a thirty-something year old who is moving in with your parents to save for a house, because by thirty-something you realize that you cannot rent forever.

    When you are 27 and living in your own house and paying your own mortgage all by yourself, you will look back and be pleased that you lived with your folks to make this happen. Your folks will be pleased too that you have made such wise financial choices.

    Culturally, in America we seem to want to have as little to do with extended family as possible. If you live at home after college you will gain a greater appreciation for your parents as an adult and when your parents age, and they may need to live with you. You will want to extend the same hospitality you encountered when they let you live with them.

    • Beachgirl

      Who says you can’t rent forever? I’m 52 and am a lifelong renter. I’d much rather rent to own a house. Why? Well, I don’t want to be stuck paying property taxes, don’t want to be bothered with maintenance (landlords pay for plumbers, not you lol) and also I like the freedom to come and go as I wish. Too many people are know are house poor. They spend the rest of their lives eating ramen and macaroni and cheese in order to make an exorbitant mortgage and as long as you have a mortgage, it’s not really “your” house anyway!

  • Beachgirl

    The author comes off as being very judgmental. I suppose he probably also thinks that anyone who is over 40 and not married or is doesn’t have a job with an executive sounding title making more than $100K a year is a “failure” as well. Yes, being independent is optimal, but in this economy not always realistic for many people. The author doesn’t know the whole story so he really has no right to say what is or is not “wrong” with someone else.

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