Confessions of 20-somethings who live at home and splash out on cars, designer handbags, and nightclubs instead

• The rate of young adults living with their parents is the highest it's been in decades.
• They're also spending the money they would have spent on rent on pricey goods and travel. 
• Insider spoke to four people who spent their 20s living at home so they could afford to splurge.

Flying the coop is increasingly expensive.  

The typical rent nationwide crossed $2,000 a month in May of 2022, according to the real-estate-data firm Redfin. Though rents have dropped slightly since then, a January report from the financial firm Moody's Analytics found most American renters are still classified as "rent-burdened," meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.