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Young adults face myriad economic challenges. College costs and student debt loads are rising, and house prices have soared.

A child who approaches a parent for money starts a conversation that, in all likelihood, neither party wants to have. Yet, surveys and studies tell us that many, if not most, adult children get financial help from their parents. A new Pew Research Center report finds that three-fifths of parents offered their grown-up kids financial help in the past year. Asking your parents for money can become a defining moment in the parent-child relationship, for better or worse.

A great way to make a household budget for 2024, financial planners say, is to look at how you spent money in 2023. You might call it data-driven budgeting: Before you create a spending plan for this year, analyze how you allocated funds last year, to see where your money actually went.