Financial impact of adult children returning home

If you have ever had an adult child leave home, you’ll understand that the chapter is never really closed, until they’re fully established or coupled. That said, many young couples also return to live with a parent to save money and buy a home.

Fortune 500 financial services company Thrivent’s 2025 fourth annual Boomerang Kids Survey found parents are now more likely than ever to provide temporary financial support for adult children returning home after having moved out. About 46 per cent of parents report adult children aged between 18 and 35 moving back home, a trend continuing from previous surveys.

After a divorce, father of two Ivan* moved into a two-bedroom apartment close to the city. His daughter and son decided to rent elsewhere with their friends.

Just as he was getting back on his feet and starting to enjoy single life, his son called and said he couldn’t continue renting and asked if he could move in with him.

“My grocery bills doubled overnight when my son moved back. I went from buying groceries as needed and picking up a handful here and there, to a full-blown grocery shop each week.”

While his son was studying and getting a study allowance, Ivan was also helping him financially by giving him money each week. “He still needed extra money for bits and pieces.”

Eight months later, his son landed a part-time job that was closer to his mother and moved in with her. Things were back to normal and bills gradually decreased, until his daughter was struggling with rent and asked to move in with him.

“Here we go again. My daughter does have a part-time job and I don’t have to give her money, but I still help her out. I am back to buying more food, more electricity costs, and she uses my car. I feel that this will be ongoing and, why I feel I will always need a two-bedroom place. It’s tough for kids these days.”

A 2025 study from online comparison service, iSelect, combined appliance energy use data, usage habits of Australians aged 18 to 29, and state electricity prices to uncover the cost of energy when living with an additional adult.

The data revealed how frequently these young adults living at home use different devices and appliances, such as showers, lights, and kettles and the amount of energy use and costs involved

Even a low-usage young adult uses around 1800 kWh per year, costing households approximately an extra $436 annually. At moderate usage, this rises to almost 3000 kWh per year, which equates to around $698 in extra costs. A high-usage young adult can add 4648 kWh per year or around $1061 annually.

Chartered accountant Selina Kulkarni said it’s the long showers, extra loads of washing, lights and heating, food disappearing from the fridge, toilet paper, shampoo, washing powder and all those little household expenses increasing.

For example, an extra $100 a week in groceries, $20 in utilities and $20 in household supplies is more than $7000 a year.

The second big cost people approaching retirement forget about is what that money could have become. Supporting an adult child for several years can quietly mean tens of thousands of dollars less invested for retirement.

“I don’t think the answer is trying to charge your kids market rent. If living at home allows a young person to save $15,000 or $20,000 a year towards a house deposit or investments, that can be a brilliant financial decision for the whole family.”

The problem she adds, is when mum and dad are spending thousands subsidising an adult child’s lifestyle, while the child is spending the money they’ve saved on eating out, travel and entertainment.

“That’s not helping them become financially independent. It’s just transferring the cost of their lifestyle to their parents.”

* Names have been changed.

Emily Chantiri is a Sydney journalist, bestselling author and regular contributor to Business, Money and Career sections.

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