Daughter going to Uni

Kipper260968

My daughter is starting Uni later this month.

My partner and I have very little money coming in, he works full time and because I have 5 daughters I can't find work to fit around them.

My daughter is getting the maximum help in the way of Maintenance Loan and Grant.

My Child Tax Credit money is dropping and our household income will drop by £77 a week, am I justified in asking my daughter for £30 a week??

She has her own room, I do all her washing and ironing, and cook for the whole family most nights!!

suelees1

I would. She'd be paying much more than this if she lived away from home....and I'd expect her to help around the house. I don't think parents who let their kids get away with being waited on are doing them any favours in the long run.

tronski

Yep! I'd say she's got a good deal there.

missbunbury

I agree that seems fair enough, will you get her to pay you every week or have it in advance when she gets her cheques? When I was at uni I found it much easier to pay my rent upfront every term so I didn't then need to worry about it.

I know someone who put a little bit of the board money she got off her son aside every time and saved it up to get him a present to cheer him up at exam time. I thought that was lovely.

Anubis_2

Of course you are justified. If she lived in at Uni, she would pay more. She is a non dependent now, and therefore should contribute to the household.

sunnyone

Kipper260968 wrote: »

My daughter is starting Uni later this month.

My partner and I have very little money coming in, he works full time and because I have 5 daughters I can't find work to fit around them.

My daughter is getting the maximum help in the way of Maintenance Loan and Grant.

My Child Tax Credit money is dropping and our household income will drop by £77 a week, am I justified in asking my daughter for £30 a week??

She has her own room, I do all her washing and ironing, and cook for the whole family most nights!!

£30 pw week is a minimal amount, have you looked at what her grants amount to to make sure she is paying you a fair amount?

If you have one going to uni are your other 4 girls not old enough to be responsible for themselves or the older one/s to mind the others for short times so you can widen the window in which you can work?

I know its hard when they are in primary school but we found things improved once they hit the mid teens and became more responsible.

Newly_retired

This could be a good opportunity to explain to your daughters how household costs work out and where the money comes from.

The eldest is going to get money which is meant to help pay for her keep, not just to spend on herself, so you are right to charge her a reasonable amount. More than £30, I would say, but that will depend on how much grant/loan she is getting. Paying up front is a good idea, if she gets a lump sum.
All the girls ( and your partner) should be helping with the chores, according to age and availability - washing up, putting away, cleaning own bedrooms etc. Doing their own ironing is a good start.

MrsManda

Her maintanence loan/grant is for living costs - housing/food/electricity etc...so asking her to pay towards her upkeep isnot unreasonable.
£30 a week is very low if she's getting the full grants/loans as she's likely to be getting ~£5000 for maintanence if not more.
I think you need to work out how much it costs to keep her and discuss a reasonable payment.
It'll be good for her as it'll enable her to realise how much things cost and allow her to be prepared when she leaves home.

Make sure you're realistic when working out how much it costs you to have her living with you as you don't want to charge her too much then be stuck if/when she moves out because you've become reliant on that money.

JulieElizabeth

I used to pay £30 per week keep to my parents when I was at University and I graduated FOURTEEN years ago (and I did my own ironing)

Things were a lot cheaper then!

[Deleted User]

she would pay around £90 a week for a room in uni halls and that would exclude any food

AnxiousMum

I assume that she is staying at home then for her first year of Uni? She will be getting somewhere around £5K for her combined maintenance loan and grant - and very likely depending on her uni - if she is eligible for the maximum grant, then she is likely eligible and will receive, a bursary of some kind from her uni. So she could be looking at being in receipt of around £6K easily for the year. Depending on her courseload, she could also of course look for a part time job.
My son just completed his first year and lived in halls. Cost of halls was £125 per week for 39 weeks, and then on top of that he had to purchase his food - which was about £20 on most weeks. Multiply that out - and it cost him £5655 for that year before books, transport, entertainment, sports etc.
Considering that your income is reducing by some £77 per week, I wouldn't think that a 'less than half price' rate of £50 for room and board per week would be out of order. If you don't need it - then putting some aside for an exam treat, end of year treat etc. would be great. After all, the 'maintenance' that the maintenance loan/grants are to provide for, is accommodation and food.....a good time to learn that it costs money to live