Greetings Newsletter Readers, It seems here we are still, social distancing and staying safe as our numbers are again climbing. All of us at Money Management Counselor's hope this finds you safe and healthy. In evaluating what to feature for this newsletter, I have to be honest; it was difficult. So much information is still ever-changing with the pandemic and obsolete it seems before we can click the send button. One thing has stood out lately in my conversations with clients, community members, family, and friends – Housing. |
|
|
So many seem to be upside down in their housing cost. The housing cost for many superseding the standard income ratio of 30% with Utilities. Yes, with UTILITIES. First time home buyers not exploring all the additional cost of homeownership. Or I hear of older adults getting fleeced by rental cost, parents covering their children's bills/rents and taking out loans to do so, families with inherited properties they cannot afford, the list goes on. On the other hand, we are at an all-time low in interest rates, and the housing market is booming in many communities. Many people explore house purchases vs. renting, and with good reason when you look at the numbers on paper. |
|
|
Here's the rub, those black and white number comparisons of the monthly rent to a monthly mortgage can be deceiving. In a rental, you don't need to budget for house maintenance or repairs in many cases. Don't forget lawn care and snow removal. Property taxes and Home Owners Insurance is much different than renter's insurance as an expense. Add to that closing cost and, if applicable, a PMI. What is a PMI, you ask… Mortgage lenders make many borrowers who don't have 20% to put down on a home purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI) to protect the lender if the borrower cannot pay the mortgage. In other words, PMI guarantees your lender will get paid if you are unable to pay your mortgage payments, and you default on your loan. Do you have 20% to put down on a home? I could go on, but my point is there is more to homeownership that can often get ignored with the excitement of owning a first home. Or when seeing how much lower your immediate out of pocket expense can be between a mortgage today vs. renting. Your budget must be examined and look at all the hidden long-term costs when making that comparison. Finding a non-profit certified credit counselor is an excellent place to start and work through those budgets. Ok, not trying to do a self-plug, but we do fit that bill. And please don't get me wrong, I am not saying owning a home vs. renting isn't a wise choice. It can be and with today's rates very viable, but go in with clear vs. rose-colored glasses. Look at your long term goals and measure out how it all fits together. |
|
|
I also encounter many people who are renting or own a home and live on Social Security only. Some might have lost a spouse and are struggling to figure out how to continue as they did prior. Others want to reexamine their long term sustainability during the time of retirement or that spousal loss. I often experience families who share a cell phone plan, or a family member covers lawn care or snow plowing services. Families share groceries or club memberships. I also experience many families struggling to deal with child care issues. Especially now. It continued to seem like a familiar thread was developing, so here we are with this month out of the box topic - Multigenerational Housing. I hope you read through all the material as there are many thought-provoking ideas along with pros and cons. We covered some interesting stats and shared a link to a great support group addressing this issue. As I stress with every client - everyone is unique; no situation can be cookie-cutter though many might share a commonality. I hope these articles will stretch your thinking as you contemplate your Housing today, tomorrow, and in your future. Our lives are ever-evolving, and it is important to reexamine our long-term goals and see how our plans fit. Multigenerational Housing might be a new idea to you or an old one. Never the less a concept that might be worth revisiting as we move forward in a new world and look at our long term financial goals. Stay Safe, Healthy, and know we are here when you need us. For it's never JUST about the money! Elbow Bumps, Leslie Boden Director |
|
|
Modern families: Multigenerational households are on the rise, thanks to financial and emotional benefits By:Aimee Picchi "Starting a career or a family doesn’t always mean moving away from your family. In fact, multigenerational households are increasingly common in the U.S., with one in six Americans now living with parents, grandparents or other relatives. That’s according to advocacy group Generations United, which says the 51.4 million Americans who now live in multigenerational households represents a 10% increase since 2007.Choosing to merge generations under one roof reflects a number of changes, some cultural and some financial. Millennials have led the movement toward multigenerational households, with the Census finding about one in three people between the ages of 18 to 34 lived with their parents in 2015. While some adults move home to save money –such as the case of millennials, many of whom are saddled with student loans – others are drawn by benefits that reach far beyond the financial." Excerpt from article | | |
|
|
Weathering The Storm Together: The Pandemic Tightens Family Ties By Ken Dychtwald and Bob Morison "This mutual support is pragmatic as well as emotional. Some 24 million Americans, or one-fourth of all parents with adult children, have provided them financial support due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s on top of the regular financial support that parents commonly provide to adult children in their twenties and early thirties. Seven in ten of these early adults had already received financial support from their parents in the last year. Families are also moving in together as more early adults, sometimes with young families in tow, “boomerang” home to live with their parents, and as older parents move in to receive needed care. Multigenerational households (those with more than one generation of adults) have been on a steady rise for the past 40 years, and one on five American households is now multigenerational. Lost employment and health concerns in the pandemic are motivating families to combine, temporarily if not permanently." Excerpt from article | | |
|
|
Click on the Boxing Gloves below to listen to this great podcast! |
|
|
Elbow Room - Multi-generational householdsIn this episode Kathy and Camaya discuss multi-generational households. They dig deep into looking at your own values and feelings about multi-generational households, as well as putting yourself in the shoes of someone who may have to live in a multi-generational household. |
|
|
Living With Your Adult Children Moving Back Home – How to Make It Work By Amy Livingston "Studies show that many parents’ fears about having their adult children at home are somewhat overblown. However, they’re not entirely groundless. Sharing a home with your kids most likely won’t derail your finances and could even improve them. However, emotionally speaking, it can be a significant source of unhappiness and tension — for them as well as for you." Excerpt from article | | |
|
|
Financially Supporting Your Parents: 7 Steps to Take By Rebecca Greig "It’s a fact: multigenerational households are becoming more common in the United States. In the ’50s, it wasn’t unusual for older adults to live with their grown children and possibly grandchildren. That living arrangement trended downward for several decades, but saw a big upswing between 2000 and 2014. In fact, in 2014, 19% of Americans — 60.6 million people — lived in households that included at least two generations of adults. Regardless of culture or background, many adults expect to have at least some role in caring for their parents when they’re no longer able to do so themselves. But what this looks like — and the financial and emotional toll it takes — can vary from family to family. If you think you might be in this situation in the coming years, start taking the following steps now. " Excerpt from article | | |
|
|
| | All in the Family: A Practical Guide to Successful Multigenerational Living This book covers the financial and emotional benefits of living together, proximity and privacy, designing and remodeling your home to accommodate adult children or elderly parents, overcoming cultural stigmas about interdependent living, financial and legal planning, and making cohabitation agreements. | | |
|
| | The Hands-On Guide to Surviving Adult Children Living at Home, 2nd Edition As an adult who has successfully lived with her parents after leaving home - twice - author Christina Newberry has learned a few key strategies. She's taken these winning strategies - along with a few mistakes - and combined them with proven communication tools and in-depth research to develop this step-by-step guide to surviving (and thriving!) when your child returns. But advice is only one part of the formula. You'll also need some practical, hands-on tools to help you put this advice into action, and see immediate results. This book comes with an exclusive 8-page customizable "Under One Roof" contract template to settle common challenges like rent, household rules, and length of stay, plus a fully-customizable household budget calculator that helps you determine your boomerang kid's impact on your household budget, and lets you assign a portion of the current costs - or the total additional costs - of having them live under your roof. | | |
|
|
| | All under one roof: the rise and rise of multigenerational lifeJames Tapper "With the young unable to afford to leave home and the old at risk of isolation, more families are opting to live together. It’s hard to tell exactly how many people agree with him, but research by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research indicates that the numbers have been rising for some time. Office for National Statistics estimates suggest that the number of households with three generations living together had risen from 325,000 in 2001 to 419,000 in 2013. Other varieties of multigenerational family are more common. Some people live with their elderly parents; many more adult children are returning to the family home, if they ever left. The Resolution Foundation says about 20% of 25-34-year-olds live with their parents, compared with 16% in 1991. The total number of all multigenerational households in Britain is thought to be about 1.8 million." Excerpt from article | | |
|
| | Under One Roof: How to Keep the Peace in a Multigenerational Household If you’re asked to picture a typical American home, you’ll probably imagine a single-family dwelling holding a mom, dad, kids and maybe a family pet. That picture isn’t as typical as it once was. Today’s family home may also house grandparents or a young adult or two. Multigenerational housing is a growing trend that makes sense to many. It’s one way of reducing expenses — but those who have experience say it has multiple advantages, as well as some challenges. Two types of multigenerational households are on the rise: two-generation and three-generation. The first is created when adult children continue to live with their parents or return to live with their parents at an age when they would typically be on their own. The three-generation type consists of grandparents, parents, and kids living together. | | |
|
|
This article is an older article but the historical outline of why we have seen a shift from 57% of people living in multi generation homes in the early 1900's vs 16.1% as of 2008 is noteworthy to read. |
|
|
The Return of the Multi-Generational Family Household "The multi-generational American family household is staging a comeback — driven in part by the job losses and home foreclosures of recent years but more so by demographic changes that have been gathering steam for decades. As of 2008, a record 49 million Americans, or 16.1% of the total U.S. population, lived in a family household that contained at least two adult generations or a grandparent and at least one other generation, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of census data." Excerpt from article | | |
|
|
We work to create a country where public policy and programs connect generations instead of separate or isolate them; and where the oldest and youngest members of our society work together to achieve transformational change. To reach this goal, Generations United works with our member organizations, partners and stakeholders, in the following areas of focus: Grandfamilies, Community Building and Intergenerational Programs & Spaces. | | |
|
|
| | "A poignant and heartwarming novel about friendship, ghosting, and searching for answers to life’s mysteries. Quirky, humorous, and utterly original, Sorry I Missed You is the perfect read for anyone who has ever felt haunted by their past (or by anything else)." -Comments on Amazon | | |
|
| | "Radical Housing explores the planning, technical, financial, health-based and social background for developing multi-generational homes and co-living. Abundantly illustrated with case studies and plans from projects across the UK and abroad, this book inform sand inspires the delivery of alternative approaches to affordable and flexible housing, and is an essential text for architecture practitioners, students, and community groups."- Comments on Amazon | | |
|
|
|
|
