Sandwich Generation

We’ve all probably met at least one person who is responsible for not only raising their kids, but also caring for their aging parents. People who find themselves in this potentially stressful situation are members of what’s known as the “sandwich generation.” They’re sandwiched in-between obligations to the younger generation and older generation of their family. Some experts estimate that one in eight Americans between the ages of 40 and 70 are currently acting as sandwich filling, and this number is only going to go up as life expectancy increases.

So what does this mean in economic terms? It means sandwich fillers are highly susceptible to financial stress. Raising a kid is expensive enough. But throw a house in there, maybe more than one kid, the family dog, and two aging parents with medical maladies or other caregiving needs, and we’ve got ourselves one potentially economically maxed-out family unit. This can contribute to lower levels of savings, fewer opportunities to invest or buy real estate, postponed retirements, delays in having more children of their own, and—last but not least—all of the mental and physical health woes that can come along with financial stress: anxiety, insomnia, indigestion, headaches...you name it.

But if this sounds like a really bad time, it doesn’t have to be. If we are currently in a sandwich situation, or if we think chances are good that we will be in one in the future, we can start planning today to make sure our finances can support it. There are experts out there who focus solely on helping sandwich fillers make plans that can keep their family sandwich intact, and even though the phrase “family sandwich” sounds a little weird, doing a little family sandwich planning today can make it a lot easier for us to get that sandwich bread—and stretch it—as we head into the future.