How to Help Your Adult Child Transition to Financial Independence

As your children make the transition from teenager to young adult, you may want to keep supporting them financially. Maybe they’re working an entry-level job, or perhaps they are still searching for a position after finishing college. It can be challenging to stop supporting them, and you are not alone. However, supporting your kids when they are adults can hinder them from becoming their own person. Luckily, there are several ways to help your kids out.

Give Your Child the Tools They Need

Give your child a chance to learn how to manage their money. This can help them feel more confident, and they will have a better understanding on how to save and budget. You can have them meet with a financial planner to gain objective information on the situation. A planner can also help your adult child organize their money. Another tool you can give them is a way of making their student loan debt more manageable. They can refinance their debt to reduce their monthly spending. You can help them do this by cosigning. A student loan refinance with a cosigner often gives the borrower better rates than they would receive otherwise.

Be Transparent with Them

When you tell your kids you will no longer be helping them with living expenses, ensure you explain the reasoning behind the decision. It’s not because you no longer love them or don’t care about them anymore. Instead, it can help them in the long run, allowing them to provide for themselves, even if you pass away. Tell them the decision can also help you by allowing you to save for retirement and to live comfortable in the future. This can appeal to their sense of compassion, allowing you to treat them as adults. It will help your kids feel more empowered because they will know they are helping you.

Give Them a Realistic Timeframe

If your kids are used to living with you and having all their expenses paid, you can’t cut off funds right away. Give them some time to find a job and build up their savings so they can prepare to support themselves. This is a way of helping them be successful financially instead of going into debt. When your child has a timeframe, they can work toward a measurable goal. If you just tell them they will need to start supporting themselves when they feel ready, they may never feel it is the right time. Consider setting some ground rules as well. If your child has a timeframe but is not actively working toward saving money or finding a job, tell them you will cut them off sooner.

Know You May Still Feel Responsible

While you may no longer wish to financially support your kids, you might still feel like you should be helping them. Know you will need to deal with these emotions because expecting them lets you stop yourself from reacting to them. Even when you see your child struggling with expenses, know this can help them grow.