Study: 93% of Americans Exchanged Financial Help With Others in the Past Year

New research from BestMoney finds 1 in 5 Gen Zers have tapped retirement savings to help others, and 43% of Americans gave support to an adult child.

WILMINGTON, DE, UNITED STATES, October 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — As everyday expenses claim a larger share of household budgets, many Americans are covering the gap for one another with money passed quietly between family members and friends. A new study from BestMoney finds that nearly all Americans (93%) gave or received financial support from someone they know in the past 12 months, leaving just 7% who did neither.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults examined who Americans call first when an essential expense is out of reach, what the money typically covers, what the person helping gives up to provide it, and what happens to relationships once money is involved. Most of that support runs on trust alone, with only 18% of respondents saying they discussed repayment before any money changed hands.

The findings suggest informal support has become a standing part of how many households get by, and that its costs often land on the people doing the helping, whose savings and retirement accounts absorb what the recipient never sees.

Key Takeaways

• 93% of Americans gave or received financial support from someone they know in the past 12 months; only 7% did neither.

• Among those who received support, 28% needed it for groceries and everyday household costs, more than cited a job loss (20%) or rising housing costs (19%).

• A family member (22%) is the most common first stop when an essential expense can’t be covered, ahead of personal savings (21%) and ahead of credit cards, personal loans, payday loans, and buy now, pay later combined (14%).

• 16% say they have no one to turn to for financial help, including 30% of boomers vs. 6% of Gen Z.

• 43% gave financial support to an adult child in the past year; 6% received support from one.

• 47% changed where they live for financial reasons in the past three years, rising to 71% of Gen Z.

• 26% dipped into emergency savings and 12% pulled from a 401(k) or IRA to help someone else. Gen Z withdrew from retirement savings to help others at four times the rate of boomers (20% vs. 5%).

• 39% relied on trust with no formal agreement, and only 18% discussed repayment before the money moved.

Everyday Bills Drive Most of the Money Changing Hands

The money moving between households mostly covers routine expenses rather than one-time crises.

• Among those who received support, 28% needed it for groceries and other household costs, 20% cited a job loss, 19% cited rising housing costs, and 13% needed help with rent or a mortgage.

• Among those who gave support, 40% covered groceries and household costs for someone else, and 29% helped pay a loved one’s rent or mortgage.

• Cash loans were the most reciprocal form of help, with 20% providing one and 17% receiving one.

• 35% supported someone a few times over the past year, 12% did so once a month, and 9% did so once a week.

The findings suggest that for a meaningful share of Americans, helping someone financially works more like a recurring budget line than a rare rescue, with grocery runs and housing payments doing most of the work.

Family Comes Before Credit, Until There Is No Family to Call

When an essential expense can’t be covered, Americans reach for people before financial products.

• 22% turn first to a family member and 21% to personal savings; 8% turn first to a romantic partner, 8% to a credit card, and 4% to a friend.

• Asked to name their primary financial safety net, 27% chose a parent, 16% a romantic partner, 11% a credit card or loan, and 5% a sibling, while 16% named no one.

• Parents are the main safety net for 45% of Gen Z and 37% of millennials, compared with 18% of Gen X and 4% of boomers.

That generational slope likely reflects age itself, since older Americans are less likely to have a parent who can step in. Nearly a third of boomers (30%) say they have no one to turn to, roughly five times the Gen Z rate (6%), and 24% of boomers would use a credit card or personal loan in place of a person, against 4% of Gen Z. The findings suggest retirement-age Americans are the most likely to see an ordinary cash shortfall become a debt problem. Women were more likely than men to call family first (25% vs. 19%), while men leaned more on their own savings (23% vs. 19%). Income shaped the first call as well, with 26% of low-income respondents turning to family first, against 21% of middle-income and 12% of high-income respondents.

Parents Are Still Carrying Their Adult Children

Support flows heavily down the generations, though it moves in other directions too.

• 43% gave financial support to an adult child in the past year; 6% received support from one.

• 27% received help from a parent, and 25% gave help to one.

• 22% both gave to and received from a romantic partner, the most balanced exchange of any relationship measured.

• 28% supported another family member, and 21% gave to an acquaintance.

• 47% had no financial exchange with a friend in the past year.

Friendship carries more weight for younger adults. Gen Z gave financial support to a friend at a rate of 35%, compared with 32% of millennials, 23% of Gen X, and 17% of boomers. This may reflect young adults’ wish to stay independent from their parents, which leaves friends as the closest people to ask.

Nearly Half of Americans Have Moved Because of Money

Financial pressure is reshaping households along with budgets.

• 47% changed their living situation for financial reasons in the past three years.

• 12% moved into a parent’s or relative’s home, and 10% had a parent or relative move in with them.

• 12% moved in with a romantic partner sooner than they otherwise would have.

• 7% took on roommates.

Younger Americans did most of the moving. Gen Z changed living situations at a rate of 71% and millennials at 61%, against 16% of boomers, and 24% of Gen Z moved back into a parent’s or relative’s home, compared with 15% of millennials. Respondents were candid about the trade-off. About a quarter (26%) said living with someone for financial reasons worsened their privacy or personal space at least somewhat, while 37% said it eased their financial stress and 42% said it improved their ability to save or pay down debt. The findings suggest many Americans are accepting less personal space in exchange for steadier finances.

Helpers Are Paying With Their Own Financial Security

The person sending money often covers it in ways the recipient never sees.

• 26% dipped into emergency savings to help someone else.

• 17% worked extra hours or took a second job.

• 14% took on additional credit card debt.

• 12% withdrew from a 401(k) or IRA.

• 11% borrowed money themselves in order to lend it, and 11% delayed paying one of their own bills.

Gen Z bears the heaviest share of these trade-offs. One in five Gen Z respondents (20%) have withdrawn from retirement savings to help someone, four times the boomer rate (5%), and 19% borrowed money in order to help, more than six times the boomer rate (3%). More than a quarter of Gen Z (28%) worked extra hours or took a second job, compared with 21% of millennials and 5% of boomers. Because younger savers have the most years of compounding ahead of them, the findings suggest each early withdrawal may cost them more over time than the same amount would cost an older saver. Income mattered as well. Low-income respondents were the most likely to dip into emergency savings (30%, vs. 25% of high-income and 22% of middle-income respondents) and more likely than high earners to take on credit card debt to help (16% vs. 9%), which may reflect fewer fallback options when someone close needs money.

Handshake Deals Leave Room for Strain

Most informal support runs on trust, and some of it runs in secret.

• 39% relied on trust with no formal agreement.

• 31% said repayment was never expected because the money was a gift.

• 18% discussed repayment before the money changed hands.

• 40% have never kept financial support secret from anyone, including 60% of boomers but only 25% of Gen Z.

• 45% experienced a financial imbalance with a partner in the past year.

High earners were the most likely to treat support as a gift (40%, against 28% of low-income respondents), which may reflect who can afford to stop counting once the money leaves. Secrecy appears closely tied to friction. Among respondents who concealed support from someone, 20% said a partner used a financial imbalance to justify more control and 19% said money became a source of conflict, compared with 4% on both measures among those who kept nothing hidden. Overall, 12% said a partner used an imbalance to justify more control, and 3% said it ended the relationship. Younger respondents reported the most friction, with 19% of Gen Z and 18% of millennials reporting conflict over a financial imbalance, compared with 6% of Gen X and 1% of boomers. Low-income respondents were the most likely to report a partner using money as leverage (15%, vs. 9% of middle-income and 7% of high-income respondents).

Taken together, the results describe a support system most Americans rely on, and few formalize. The money keeps households afloat, yet it is frequently drawn from emergency funds and retirement accounts and rarely discussed up front. The findings suggest that a short conversation before money moves, settling whether it is a loan or a gift, could protect both the finances and the relationships involved.

View the full study here:
https://www.bestmoney.com/financial-advisor/learn-more/informal-economy-study

About
BestMoney helps people compare loans, credit cards, savings accounts, insurance, and other financial products side by side, with guidance from a network of finance professionals the company calls its Money Besties. Founded in 2009, BestMoney aims to make consequential money decisions clearer, including the ones people make when family members and friends ask them for help.

Taylor Jay
Resolve Marketing
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube