According to the BBC news, four out of every 10 Scottish parents in the have gone into their savings accounts to help out their adult children. This comes as no surprise to me. I could never have purchased my house without help from my parents (and my in-laws). The article says that the average parents gift £12,300 to their adult offspring to help them buy home furnishings, a property or their own car. If I used my currency converter correctly (I love the internet) that is $23,697.42 in U.S. Dollars (hence the dollar sign, I never know what is appropriate).
The researchers came to the conclusion that while the society seems to be getting wealthier a lot of the wealth has to be transferred between generations. Professor Merlin Stone worries that most of the money that is gifted is used for general life start up purchases.
Come to think of it, the surprising part is that it is only four out of ten. Maybe the number is much higher in North America.
