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ON TV
FOX BUSINESS, FOX, NOV. 13, 06
BOOK REVIEWS
"With humor and lots of common sense, Furman helps those who have boomeranged home navigate this tricky territory...I particularly like the "Ka-Ching! Minding Your Money" section...Furman aptly lays out some basic strategies to help people stay on financial track. Whatever the reason you moved back home, "Boomerang Nation" provides some honest and humorous advice on dealing with the challenges of going home again."
-- Michelle Singletary, The Washington Post
"DO YOU HAVE A GOAL? Well, do you? If you don't, it's high time you came up with one." If that line from Boomerang Nation (Fireside, $ 14) sounds like the last thing you said to your twentysomething son or daughter before you left home this morning, this book is for you...It's aimed at "boomerangers... But author Elina Furman has plenty of advice that parents will applaud: how to job-hunt, the evils of credit card debt, and what to do if your folks don't seem thrilled to have you underfoot again...And by the way, kids, yes, you should pay rent. Furman even spells out some payment plans, ranging from the "basic package"--$ 50 rent, one chore a week--to the "platinum package," featuring $500 rent, two household bills, two loads of laundry weekly, and lawn mowing. Still, she understands what a drag it is to have to move back into your old room. For the disenchanted, the author has "three simple truths: You're not alone. You're not weird. And you're not going crazy." No, that would be your parents."
-- Anne Fisher, Fortune magazine
"A life-saving resource for anyone young, broke and contemplating the unthinkable. With this book, moving back home doesn't have to mean that life as you know it is over. Furman shows us there is such a thing as the light at the end of your parents' driveway."
-- Jason Anthony, co-author of Debt-Free by 30
"When you quarterlifers move back home - and you will - make sure you have
this book by your bedside."
-- Abby Wilner, co-author of Quarterlife Crisis
" Author Elina Furman's (The Everything After College Book) mix of sympathy and snarky humor manages to simultaneously give you a hug and a firm kick in the rear. Rather than focusing on her own experience (many years of living with mom after college), Furman covers a full range of possible reasons for moving in with the folks: break ups, job loss, grad school, parents in need of assistance, and saving money for a specific goal are all included. Tidbits from a number of interviews with boomerangers are found in every chapter; though short, the personal stories add a friendly touch. The advice covers highly specific topics with pleasing bluntness. Her insistence on helping out around the house and chipping in financially will have parents delightedly highlighting sections, while her understanding of modern dating and examination of parenting styles helps the younger generation sort though complex issues. Don't let the lighthearted writing style fool you: Furman's sensible suggestions can help everyone in the family straighten out the wrinkles of redefined relationships."
-- Jill Lightner, Official Amazon Review
Still living with your parents? Check. College diploma in hand? Check. Feeling a little like a directionless failure who might never make it on your own? Check. This is the book for you. Boomerang Nation addresses the problems facing young—and not so young—adults who have moved back to the family nest for the second, third, or "Oh-you're-back-again" time. It gives commonsense advice for both parent and child to manage the situation, while also encouraging that gentle shove out the door. Parents will be heartened to learn that this book isn't merely a mooching manual for kids unaccustomed to paying their own cable bill. Not only does it offer the stepping-stones for moving on in an increasingly daunting world of low salaries, high rent, and high unemployment (hence the extended period of dependency), it treats Mom and Dad like people, too. She makes the bold statement that young adults still have something to learn from their parents. The best way to get them off your back when they're nagging you to party less and work harder is to do just that. Thus, Furman can refer to her own story—on her own at last!—to shatter the horrific stereotype that twentysomethings living with their parents again are doomed to loserdom. And she still gets along with her family. Given today's economy and cost of living, it's nice to believe that "boomerangers" can have a second chance, even after life has kicked them back to their parents' curb.
-- Darby Reed, Seattle Weekly
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RELATED ARTICLES
* It's Time to Grow Up... Later (USA Today, 9/30/04)
They're going to school longer, delaying marriage and children, job-hopping and apartment-swapping. They're also moving back home after college to save money, traveling to faraway places to work and generally taking "me" time to decide what they want their futures to be. While their baby boomer parents lament that they've somehow gone wrong, experts studying why these kids aren't more like their parents' generation say there's a clear explanation: It takes longer to grow up these days. Sociologists expect this prolonged adolescence to be solidified by the economic decline and jobs displaced by technology, which may mean job preparation will take longer. Also, with longer life spans, people will be on the job into their golden years.
* Return to the Nest (The Jane Pauley Show, 9/20/04)
According to U.S. Census figures, more than a quarter of Americans ages 18 to 35 are now living with their parents. We're calling them "boomerang kids." It's a phenomenon that's got families around the country questioning what they've done wrong. Have baby boomer parents made it too easy on today's kids?
* Baby Boomers Face 'Boomerangers' (The Washington Times, 7/04)
And just when you thought it was safe redecorate the kids' rooms. Baby boomers have reclaimed their independence with empty-nest housing, but a survey released Tuesday shows that some "boomerang" children of the boomers may re-feather these empty nest in the near future.
* Boomeranging Back Home (CBS Evening News with Dan Rather; 1/8/2004)
Just when they thought their nest was finally empty, more and more middle-aged Americans are having children again -- the same children. As Richard Schlesinger reports in tonight`s "Eye on America," the baby boomer-angers are returning home, an event some parents find less than blessed.
* For More People in 20's and 30's, Home Is Where the Parents Are (The New York Times, Dec. 2003)
Those living at home, even if employed in good jobs, often describe their arrangements as sensible and mature, in that instead of throwing away money on rent, they are saving money toward their future. And if, meanwhile, they are back in their childhood bedrooms, working at low-paying jobs to save enough to continue their educations or buy homes, they say, that is no tragedy. For many, the 20's are a floating, flexible, exploratory time.
* Mom And Dad, I'm Home -- Again! (Business Week, 11/03)
When a son or daughter moves back in, families should discuss their feelings about, say, the child's embarrassment over his or her unexpected dependence or the parents' privacy concerns. Once that's out in the open, parents should set clear expectations about a job-search agenda, personal behavior, and contributions to household expenses and chores. Olivia Mellan, a therapist in Washington, who counsels families on money issues, says parents and their grown children should decide on a timetable for departure or benchmarks that show progress toward financial independence.
* Helping Boomerang Kids (Better Homes and Garden: 10/03
"Many young adults do not return out of dire economic circumstances," says Barbara Mitchell, associate professor of sociology at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, and an expert on the boomerang phenomenon. "They like the fact that they can have the same standard of living that they were accustomed to while growing up," says Mitchell. Problems arise when the kids get so used to those comforts that they don't want to leave.
* Mom? Dad? I'm Home! (Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, 8/01)
Struggling to land on their feet, RECENT GRADUATES are beating a path to their parents' door--and getting a warm welcome. OVER THE PAST ten years, the economy has boomed--and so has the number of boomerang kids. Close to 18 million 18- to 34-year-olds live with their parents, up from some 12.5 million in 1970. More than half of the current college students who responded to a June online poll at MonsterTrak.com said they plan to live with mom and dad after graduation, and about 20% of them plan to stick around for more than a year
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