Did you know that as of 2016, 64 million (yes, million) Americans are living in a multi-generational household, according to Pew research? That’s a significant portion of the population that is living this way.
So what do I mean when I say Multi Gen Home?
Multi-generational living is typically defined as 2 adult generations living together. In our case, it means we have 4 generations (great-grandparent, grandparents, parents, and children) all living together under one roof. I talk a little bit about how we all moved in together in 2016 on my About Me page. So, what are some main reasons to decide to all live together? Check them out below:
- Childcare. Any parents on here? If so, then you know how expensive childcare can be. Our girls are 7 1/2 years apart so while it helped to not have 2 in full time daycare at the same time, that only happens during the school year. Come summer time, I still had to go into the office every day, which meant both girls needed full time care. That summer, our daycare expenses for the month were more than our mortgage on our house. Yes, more than the mortgage. So by having my parents move in with us, it allowed us to save money on childcare, and may be able to do the same for you.
- . Shared Expenses. Think about all the bills you have: mortgage or rent, car loans, student loans, utilities, cell phones, daycare costs, health costs, insurance, etc, they all add up. But when you can share some of the expenses it can help if something happens. Like you or your spouse get laid off or get sick. When you share expenses, the whole family can help each other out when something unexpected occurs. I’ll have tips in future posts about how to handle finances when you combine households.
- Health and family support. This one seems like a no brainer. Most of us will need to have family support for health issues at some point in our lives. Health issues can affect any family member: you or your spouse, your kids, or your parents or grandparents. Having strong family support is beneficial to everyone when an illness occurs. In my case, I recently had a hip replacement. This means for the first 2 weeks I had to use a walker, which let me tell you, makes you very dependent on others. I also cannot drive yet, as it was my right hip that was replaced, again placing dependency on others. Having all of us together helped me when my husband was at work.
- Aging. Unfortunately, we cannot stay young forever. As your parents or grandparents age, they may need more of your help in the day to day living. Living together under one roof already makes the transition easier when elderly parents or grandparents need more help. While my parents help tremendously with our girls for my husband and I, we have been able to help with my grandmother when they’ve had to be out of town for work. I do believe being around her great-grandchildren has contributed to my grandmother still going strong in her mid-90’s. According to an article in Time, one of the common traits for centenarians is having tight social bonds (with family, friends, etc). So who knows, living all together just may make you and your family live longer!
Living in a multi-generational home can be beneficial for the entire family. Children learn a lot from being close to their grandparents, parents can help out with their aging parents, sharing expenses can lead to greater financial freedom, and having family support when an illness occurs can be indispensable. How many of you live in a mult-gen home?