Lamar Mangal at home in Manchester<\/p>\n
While many of his peers were starting new lives and leases in big cities, Lamar Mangal chose a different \u2014 and increasingly popular \u2014 path: to move back in with his father in Milton Keynes, England.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was pretty much just in the mindset of saving as much money as possible,\u201d the 28-year-old account manager for an IT company says of the decision \u2014 one he says has enabled him to put up to 80% of his salary into savings and investments. Mangal saved around 1,000 pounds ($1,323) a month when he lived with his father and now regularly saves up to 1,400 pounds. Having built a six-figure net worth, he says he\u2019s on track to retire in his 50s.<\/p>\n
While the rising cost of living has driven many young people to do as Mangal did, he cites his father\u2019s own challenges getting on the property ladder as his inspiration to save. “I thought I’d never want to be in a position where I wouldn’t be able to afford a house,\u201d he says. Although Mangal has since moved in with his fianc\u00e9e following his dad’s relocation to the U.S., he says he\u2019d still be living at home now if he could.<\/p>\n
Rain clouds gather behind a sign advertising a new housing development in Manchester. REUTERS\/Phil Noble<\/p>\n
A view of a row of residential houses in London, Britain. REUTERS\/Hannah McKay<\/p>\n
The Wider Trend<\/b><\/p>\n
Around the world, more young adults are opting to live in their family homes longer as soaring rents and shaky job markets make buying property difficult. A recent EY study<\/a> of 10,000 people aged 18 to 34 across 10 countries found that an average of 60% of young people still live with parents or caregivers. In Korea \u2014 where the percentage skews higher, at 78% \u2014 these young people are collectively referred to as the \u201cKangaroo Tribe,\u201d so called because they have yet to leave their parents\u2019 home, or pouch. In the U.S., where the average is 46%, they\u2019re dubbed \u201cboomerang kids<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Hwang Hyeon-dong has a meal with his father and grandmother at the family home in Guri, South Korea. REUTERS\/Kim Hong-Ii <\/p>\n Alex King, founder of the London-based financial education company Generation Money, says that although living at home has become more normalized as a way of supercharging savings, it\u2019s not without risk. “A lot of people have a plan to maybe live with their parents for a couple of years, save some money to then move out again or try and buy somewhere,\u201d he says. \u201cBut suddenly, once you are saving that money, it’s very difficult to then just give up that lifestyle.”<\/p>\n Takeaways<\/b><\/p>\n Editing by Yasmeen Serhan, Lauren Young and Lisa Shumaker; Photo editing by Morgan Coates <\/p>\n\n