Money Moral Dilemma: How much board should I charge?

TheodoreMasters

I'm 18 and I earn £180 a week, I have to pay £100 a week for board and I have to pay my own bills and I still have plenty of money.

You're being to easy on them.

stretebaby

Do you actually need the money? If so, then £30 seems very fair. If not, what about getting her to set-up a standing order so each month a certain amount comes out of her account and goes into a savings pot (which she's not allowed to touch unless you both agree). This is what my mum did, at the time I was very annoyed but after a while I hardly noticed the money leaving my account and eventually I used the money as a deposit for a house. If I can afford to, I will do the same for my kids as it really set me up in life and taught me the value of money and saving!

schubertdog

I was paying £20/week in 1984 when earning just £100/week. £30/week now while earning £200 is more then fair.

Gilly_Pepper

My Mum charged me £15 per week on a £30 weekly wage. I moved out when I was 17 and haven't looked back since!:T

michelle4133

I think you should charge £50.00 per week, when I first started earning I had to give my parents 1/2 of my wages. Little did I know that of that 1/2 they were putting some away for emergencies/deposits for cars etc. Which I was very grateful for.

esoteric

I would say 25% of earnings - £50 in this case - is the minimum she should contribute. Ask her how much it would cost to buy 21 meals per week, let alone gas, electric, laundry costs, rent, rates etc? The £30 you have suggested is generous. As others have said, if she doesn't like it she can look for a flat and then see what change is left out of £200 per week!

mum999

Hi
My daughter is also 18 and started work last year earning the same (around £800 per month), I have charged her £40.00 per week and as her wage goes up next month her board will be increasing to £50.00. She also didn't think it was fair at first but I sat down and went through what everything costs, she didn't even realise what things cost or that there were such things as water rates etc, she soon saw her contribution was a drop in the ocean towards rhe running costs of a house. Good luck, I do think you need the same negotiation skills as a UN peacekeeper.

catwarden_2

My children paid one third of their take home pay. This covered everything- food, laundry, electricity, gas, water, etc. I put half of the money in the bank for them when they were 21. It did teach them the value of money- something today's generation know next to nothing about

Bobl

I too sat my DS down with all the bills and showed him that his third of them would be far more than we were asking for as a contribution. He agreed to pay a third of his wage, which we capped at £75 per week, it started with a part time job and he paid £20. We secretly put half of it in a separate account and gave it to him when he wanted to buy his first motorbike. If kids can afford to go out drinking, they can certainly afford to contribute to the household.

twiglet98

I had to give my mother 25% of my pay each month (early 70s, I started on £10 a week), never missed one and wouldn't have dared to try.

Now they are all paid direct into their bank accounts and don't always consider their salary to be any of their mother's business.

ETS my grown-up youngsters DO pay me for their board.