Best Foot Forward – 9 Million Parents Want To Help Kids Stand On Their Own Two Feet
Press Release - 3 June 2013
- Almost two thirds of parents have times when they feel unable to lend the money themselves
- A third of parents would choose to act as a guarantor to help their child reach a career or business goal
- 23% of parents don’t want to hand everything to their children on a plate
New research from Amigo Loans1 reveals four in ten (40%) parents try to help out their grown up children as much as possible financially, although almost two thirds (63%) admit there are times when they are unable to – potentially because it will impact their own financial future. Over four in ten (44%) parents would lend money to their adult children if they were able to prove the money would be put to good use.
When it comes to parents’ views on lending money to their children, parents expressed a strong desire for them to be independent - 29% of parents would rather their adult children stood on their own two feet, and a quarter (24%) don’t want to hand everything to their children on a plate. A further 12% said they’d like to see their children build their own credit score as this will help them financially in the future.
Nearly half (45%) of all parents would be happy to act as a guarantor for their grown up child, with 50% believing it is a good way to help a child financially without them having to part with the money. A third (30%) were willing to do so to help them reach a career/ business goal and half (53%) agreeing it’s a good way of helping their child to take responsibility for their own finances.
James Benamor, founder and CEO of Amigo Loans comments:
Every parent wants to do everything they can to help out their kids but dishing out the cash isn’t always the best way. It means they can’t build up their own credit history to stand on their own two feet, plus parents are left out of pocket. Many people going into their 30s still have a very low credit score so can’t access financial products they need, whether it’s to buy a house or start their own business.
We see so many young people resorting to extortionate payday loans when they are turned down for bank borrowing or a credit card because they are simply unaware of the alternatives available. We find parents are more than happy to provide support but want to stop the handouts - and their children want to stand on their own two feet. Amigo is a new kind of loan which enables parents to act as guarantor, supporting and giving young people the chance to build up their own credit score rather than destroy it by using payday loans.
Amigo Loans calculate interest daily, charge no fees for early or late repayment and can work out thousands of pounds cheaper than regularly using payday lenders. Interest rate is 49.9%.
