Millennials Feel Ashamed Asking Parents for Financial Help

Maybe they don’t know everything after all?

Over half of Gen Zers and Millennials consider themselves at least somewhat financially dependent on their parents, with 23% stating they’re still very reliant on their parents, according to newly released research by Experian. 

And while Gen Z had a higher percentage of financial dependency on their parents (61%), nearly half of millennials still consider themselves somewhat or very financially dependent on their parents.  

Simultaneously, Invesco-affiliated practice management and engagement software provider intelliflo found 84% of Millennials say there are financial topics they need financial advice on. 

According to Experian, two-thirds of young consumers feel ashamed when asking their parents for financial help—a sentiment that rings especially true for millennials, with 70% indicating they feel shame when asking for support. 

While many are relying on their parents for financial assistance, 27% don’t believe their parents are good financial role models for reasons including: 

• My parents didn’t teach me about personal finances (37%). 
• My parents avoided talking about money with me (16%). 
• My parents have/had bad spending habits (44%). 

Intelliflo’s survey findings include the fact that 82% of Gen Z (ages 18-26) and 84% of Millennials (ages 27-42) say there are financial topics they need financial advice on. Still, despite this need, 76% of Gen Z and 71% of Millennials report that they have not sought it.

Finally, just over half of Americans (53%) currently have under $100,000 saved for retirement (27%), or no money saved at all (25%).