Parents' financial influence strong amongst Hong Kong adults

Nearly half of them (46%) are attempting to counteract their parents' bad habits.

In Hong Kong, 52% of adults said their parents strongly influenced their financial habits, with 46% actively trying to go against their parents' bad financial habits, MoneySmart reported.

Adults often replicate their parents' overspending and impulsive shopping habits, with 53% and 54% admitting to the same tendencies, respectively.

In addition, 58% of adults whose parents previously faced debt issues also experienced similar struggles.

The study also discovered that 52% of adults replicate their parents' financial habits, believing they've inherited good financial management practices.

Those whose parents budgeted their finances, saved regularly, or invested their money are likely to do the same as adults, with 78% of those whose parents saved money monthly doing the same and 70% of those whose parents regularly budgeted their spending also doing the same.

Conversely, about half avoid their parents' bad habits, with 56% actively trying to adopt their parents' good financial practices.

Notably, 74% learned money management from their parents as children, making them 1.4 times more likely to feel financially secure later.

The top five lessons from parents include creating a savings plan (57%), finding good deals (54%), paying debts on time (42%), tracking expenses (41%), and budgeting (39%).

Meanwhile, 75% believe parents are responsible for teaching their children good money habits, with 70% saying that it is also important to teach children about financial products such as credit cards and personal loans when appropriate.