Retirement comes with two critical challenges:
Challenge 1: Building your wealth toward a specific goal
Challenge 2: Avoiding the missteps that could delay your dreams by years.
While I love sharing strategies and blueprints for building wealth, today I want to address a pitfall that’s quietly costing many hopeful retirees tens and tens of thousands of dollars.
This misstep could set you back years on your journey to a happy, wealthy retirement…
Recent surveys and studies reveal a startling truth: around 80% of parents are losing as much as $143,000—or more—of their retirement savings.
The main culprit? Opportunity cost.
Here’s what I mean: at age 45, spending $1,000 today means you’re giving up the chance to invest that money and potentially grow it to $4,000 or more over time.
Now for the tough part: many parents are sacrificing tens of thousands of dollars in retirement to financially support their adult children.
Let me be clear—I’m not here to tell you how to parent or suggest that every situation is the same or easily solved.
But as your guide, it’s my responsibility to highlight the facts so you can make informed decisions about your retirement future.
Let’s look at the numbers…
A NerdWallet survey revealed that most parents have covered, or are currently covering, at least some of their adult children’s expenses. Take a look at the percentage of covered expenses the survey found:
Health insurance – 45%
Cell phone bills – 38%
Car insurance – 36%
Groceries – 58%
Housing – 29%
Clothing – 36%
It’s natural to want to help your children, no matter the cost. But if this sounds familiar, I urge you to pause and assess your own financial situation.
Every family’s circumstances are unique, and only you can decide how much you’re willing to sacrifice for your retirement dreams.
However, cutting back on support—whether you call it cutting the cord or closing the Bank of Mom and Dad—could save you upwards of $143,000 in retirement.
This isn’t about abandoning your kids; it’s about empowering them to become independent while securing your financial future.
Explore your options:
- Student loans
- Encouraging your child to get a part-time job
- Scaling back unnecessary support
Taking action now could be the difference between taking your grandchildren out for a happy meal and flipping burgers at a fast-food joint to make ends meet.
The choice is yours, but planning for your retirement today could pay off exponentially tomorrow.
