The majority of young adults are struggling to achieve financial security in their transition from college to adulthood, according to the latest report from a longitudinal study. Now in its 6th year, Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS), an investigation at the University of Arizona that follows young adults from their college years to the workforce, is discovering how this time of passage affects financial attitudes, behaviors and overall well-being.
New findings from the study show that 50 percent of the more than 1,000 participants continue to rely on their family for financial support after finishing school — including nearly half (49 percent) of those who are employed full time. Researchers note that it’s this financial instability that is interfering with young adults’ ability to achieve financial goals such as paying off student debt, making major purchases, buying a home and saving.
In their struggle to achieve self-sufficiency, young adults are redefining expectations which were long thought of as traditional goals. Many participants (28 percent) reported that marriage and having children (27 percent) were not important life goals; 19 percent feel home ownership is unimportant and 16 percent rate living on their own as irrelevant.
Financial independence is elusive for recent grads, but it does not have to be. Read more about the APLUS study and search our site for helpful financial planning articles.