Parents Saddled With University Debt
A report out today suggests that parents are secretly saving to pay off debts run up by their children while at university.
Savings bank ING Direct, which published the report, says that many parents are keeping the savings a secret because they fear that if their offspring were aware of the safety net they would spend even more.
Other reasons given for keeping the savings secret were to teach children the value of money and how to manage on a budget before getting a job.
Many parents are looking ahead and beginning to save while their children are still at primary school, and around 30% claim they make “huge sacrifices” to put money aside. In some cases parents are even remortgaging their homes and cutting down on social and leisure activities in order to bump up savings balances.
But the secrecy is not always on one side. Over 40% of students admitted to having debts which they had not told their parents about - on average around £5000. Ways in which they raise more money is to take out more than one bank account with an overdraft facility, as well as loans and credit cards.
Reasons given for keeping debts a secret ranged from not wanting to worry parents to being embarrassed about being in the red.