Apr 6, 2026
If you’re a Gen Xer, born between 1965 and 1980, you may have different financial concerns jockeying for attention.
Maybe you have a mortgage that’s still years away from being paid off, or you’re worried about whether you’re saving enough for retirement.
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If you have kids, you may be spending on day care, trying to save for your child’s education, or worrying about your monthly budget ballooning since your adult child has moved back in.
These are all symptoms and side effects of Gen X moving into the sandwich generation. One where you’re still caring for your kids, as well as caring for your aging parents.
You may be overwhelmed with not only the added responsibilities, but also the added costs of this dual-generation caregiver role.
Juggling too much
Imagine Beth, a 50-year-old single mom to two kids, ages 24 and 18. Although she makes about $80,000 a year, she struggles to manage all her expenses.
On top of mortgage payments, home insurance and health care costs have climbed recently, along with utility and grocery bills. Beth’s eldest finished university, but has struggled to find a job and has moved back home. The youngest child has just started university in the fall, and Beth worries that she won’t be able to offer much in the way of financial support.
Additionally, Beth’s mom and dad moved in last fall, after a medical issue that left her mom with limited mobility. Beth’s parents are 75 and receive Social Security, but do not have significant assets or retirement savings.
Beth isn’t sure how to approach the issue of finances with her parents. She’s spending more now than ever since they’ve moved in, but they haven’t offered to help pay for anything, even groceries.
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Savings takes a backseat
A 2025 study by insurer Allianz (1) found that 78% of Americans in the sandwich generation (defined here as having a child under 18 and a living parent) provide their parents with “either physical, financial or emotional support.”
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The study also found that 70% of those Americans caring for children and parents said it had a significant impact on their retirement plans, with 59% reporting they had reduced or stopped contributing to their retirement savings.
Putting your own financial well-being on the back burner can have serious consequences, especially if you’re in what’s typically considered your high-earning phase of life. If you find yourself in a scenario like Beth’s, it’s important to take action and make changes that will help keep you on track with your budget.
Steps to getting back on track
Firstly, you’ll need an accurate picture of your financial situation.
For a scenario like Beth’s, this could mean doing the due diligence on your spending. Look at the monthly expenses over the period that her parents moved in and compare that to the same timeframe a year ago. If you don’t typically track your expenses, this can be more involved, but you can still get a snapshot through bank and credit card statements, utility and health care bills. Be sure to factor in inflation for your year-over-year comparisons.
Once you have a clear picture, you can discuss the financial situation with your family. It may be uncomfortable, but avoiding it means that resentment can build, and, if you’re under financial stress, that your situation may worsen.
Someone in Beth’s situation could explain the uptick in expenditures and the added time caring for her parents takes from her week. Beth could also offer to help her parents go through their finances, laying out a realistic budget that includes contributions for housing, utilities and other household costs.
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It’s also important to consider future health care costs for aging parents, what their insurance will cover and whether they have considered long-term care insurance.
Since Beth’s children are adults, she could include them in the discussion. Adult children living at home can contribute to the household, whether through caring for their grandparents, paying rent, contributing to groceries and bills.
Once the contributions from family members are calculated, you can draw up a budget. When making a new strategy, aim to include savings, no matter how small. Prioritize building an emergency fund. If your employer offers a 401(k) matching program, do your best to contribute enough to get the full match. Leaving retirement savings as your last priority will not only put your future at risk, but it could also mean that you’re setting your kids up to one day be in the same situation as you.
If you are in a position where you have to manage your aging parents’ finances, it’s important to plan for different scenarios. Talk about whether you will require a power of attorney (2), and learn the different types: a durable power of attorney is effective upon signing, a springing power of attorney allows you to manage your finances as long as you’re able to make sound decisions, and a health care power of attorney gives authority to make medical decisions.
The emotional and financial stress of being a caregiver to two generations can be exhausting. If you don’t take care of yourself and prioritize your financial well-being, you’ll have a diminished capacity to care for your loved ones. Being honest about what your financial situation is, and how much help you can realistically offer, means that you can still take care of your family, but without risking burnout — and your own financial future.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Allianz (1); Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (2)
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Rebecca Payne has more than a decade of experience editing and producing both local and national daily newspapers. She's worked on the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, Metro, Canada's National Observer, the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press.
