Study suggests cohabitation puts financial futures at risk
A study by PEW research group says the number of unmarried Americans living together is on the rise.
According to the study, 18 million Americans cohabitate to save money, but financial experts believe they may be doing more harm than good to their financial future.
Des Moines resident Brittney Ledford said she bought a house with her boyfriend but is in no rush to be married.
"That's what being married is, you share everything, and I was like, ‘I don't think that's what our generation thinks anymore,’” Ledford said.
Ledford represents a growing trend of cohabitation.
"Nowadays, people don't think about marriage as a marker of adulthood,” said Cassandra Dorius, with Iowa State University. “You think about education you think about forming your career."
A new study from Iowa State argues that Ledford's independence could mean she is missing out.
"Regardless of what your current (relationship) status is, if you've ever cohabited you have less money saved,” Iowa State University researcher Cassandra Dorius said.
Dorius said millennials like Ledford are changing the long-term landscape for spending and saving.
"Now, they're not buying a home together as often as a married couple, but they're filling that home,” she said. “And so, there's a lot of money in the right here, right now consumption."
"We invest in more in typical millennial experience type stuff, like going on trips,” Ledford said.
Wealth manager Laura West said investment in the now means less focus on a secure future.
“Well, I think that the study is enlightening for younger people to think about moving in together and what that means,” West said.
West said married couples typically share a vision and purpose that includes financial planning and the cohabitators should do the same.
"I think that's the key if you're single, you're married or you're living together,” she said.