About 1 in 5 American adults regularly provide unpaid care or financial assistance to their adult relatives or friends. And about 1 in 7 young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 live with their parents.

But the true extent of support among Americans is deeper and broader.

From parents covering the cost of unexpected car repairs to colleagues raising funds for their co-workers’ medical expenses, Americans help each other in countless ways.

As a social work scholar who researches these patterns of what I call “financial interdependence,” I often observe transactions that challenge a common American narrative that most people in this country are handling their expenses on their own.

The practice of sharing money with your friends and loved ones has deep roots in American society. Many Native American communities have traditions of sharing food and other resources with one another.

In the 19th century, mutual aid societies formed everywhere from Philadelphia to Florida. Many of them helped free Black people weather economic hardships. These organizations provided everything from unemployment assistance to burial expenses.

Today’s informal support networks echo these historical patterns.

In particular, many immigrant communities maintain traditional practices of collectively saving and lending money. Mexican American families often participate in “tandas,” which pool their savings to achieve financial goals or meet urgent needs. Similarly, West African and........

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