1. Why the Traditional Housing Math Doesn’t Work for Millennials

The narrative on millennials and debt is real, but fatigued. Sure it’s accurate, particularly in terms of education. We’re all aware of the $1.3 trillion national student-loan debt figure.

But here’s the new story: the roof over their heads.

The National Endowment on Financial Education recently conducted a survey with Parents magazine looking into the financial struggles of millennial-age parents. Within the data on financial stress among millennials I was surprised by one finding in particular: Housing payments and renting costs are taking a big bite out of their income.

In our survey, millennial parents report that 40% of their monthly income is going toward housing. But one in five are paying between 50% and 59%, and 8% are paying 60% to 74%. And when parents return to work and take on child-care expenses—where it’s estimated 25% of their monthly budget goes—you quickly discover the math doesn’t add up.