Parents bail kids out of debt woes
24 September 2007
Over 7.5 million parents in the UK have had to help adult children pay off their debts, a report has revealed.
According to MoneyExpert.com, the average family has forked out over £2,500 to assist their kids with their financial worries.
Unpaid credit cards, student loans, overdrafts, personal loans and even missed mortgage repayments were all cited as primary reasons for financial help.
Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: "Having a child is an expensive business and unfortunately spending on your kids doesn't stop once they reach adulthood.
"With the cost of living so high at the moment and with so many people living a buy-now-pay-later lifestyle, parents are often forced to help out their children financially in later life.
"Whether it's an overdue credit card bill, an unauthorised overdraft or even a missed mortgage repayment, millions of parents are forking out on behalf of their children."
Nearly a quarter of parents have had to pay for their child's mobile phone bill, while a similar number have been forced to finance their child's car.
Credit card bills (23 per cent) and overdrafts (20 per cent) were next in line in the list of areas in which parents had to bail their children out.
