Frugal Parenting

If you’re a young parent, you might worry about being able to provide for your child through college and beyond. After all, college is terribly expensive, and it only makes sense to want to help. However, there is something to consider: Studies are showing that adult children who receive monetary help from their parents are ultimately being financially crippled.

Adult children of parents who routinely give them money actually accumulate and have less wealth than those whose parents don’t do this. Check out the article here .

I’m not suggesting that you shouldn’t help your child in college or whenever you feel you should. There are times when children struggle and can use a boost. I know my parents helped me as much as they could while I was in college, and I was always very grateful for it. But I also worked during the summers and took a part-time job during the school year. I helped myself, too.

What I am saying, though, is that it might not be necessary or even wise to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars so that we can make sure our children have every luxury while in college. The message I’ve been getting is that if you don’t have $100,000 for your child’s college education, your kid is screwed. But that article is easing my mind a bit. Our children need to learn to make their own way, too.