Industry News
Children continue to cost as adults
Posted on 19th September 2007
Parents are continuing to pay for their children even after they have left education, it has been claimed.
MoneyExpert.com has found as many as 7.5 million parents have helped their offspring repay debt, with an average of £2,540 help.
It says 40 per cent of parents with adult children have helped with mobile phone bills, credit-card payments and car finance and nearly one in ten has helped their child with their mortgage.
Of those questioned, 13 per cent had spent between £5,000 and £20,000 helping repay adult children's debt.
Chief executive of MoneyExpert.com Sean Gardner said: "Having a child is an expensive business and unfortunately spending on your kids doesn't stop once they reach adulthood."
He added that the high cost of living and a buy-now-pay-later attitude have caused the trend.
Credit Action reports that UK personal debt stood at £1,355 billion at the end of July. It claims graduates now leave university with an average debt of £12,363.