Board/rent for working teenage children

fivetide

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

£250-£300.

Interesting amount. What have you based it on? Not knowing how much the lad brings home etc...

Agree with the others though, look what a shared room might cost and pitch it around there. He'll still be on a good gig but will get him thinking about the issue.

fairy_lights

Is he planning on moving out soon or will he be with you for the foreseeable future? When I moved back in with my parents after university we all knew that it was only temporary and that I would be moving out as soon as I could, so they only charged me a minimal amount of rent (£30 a week, which went towards their holiday fund!) which enabled me to save up as much as I could towards my own place. I also bought all my own food and did my fair share of house work.
I don't think there is any definitive answer on how much adult children should contribute, it depends so much on your own circumstances and values.


If I were you I would definitely stop washing his clothes for him though. My OH lived with his parents until his mid-20's and when he finally left home I had to educate him on how to use a washing machine. You're not doing your son any favours if you clean up after him, and his future partners won't thank you!

torbrex

A long time ago when I started my apprenticeship, I paid 50% of my take-home pay as board and on top of that, I gave mum an extra £5, I was then given back £1/day for my lunch money.
I was still expected to do my household chores as well.

Bat_E

fairy_lights wrote: »

Is he planning on moving out soon or will he be with you for the foreseeable future? When I moved back in with my parents after university we all knew that it was only temporary and that I would be moving out as soon as I could, so they only charged me a minimal amount of rent (£30 a week, which went towards their holiday fund!) which enabled me to save up as much as I could towards my own place. I also bought all my own food and did my fair share of house work.
I don't think there is any definitive answer on how much adult children should contribute, it depends so much on your own circumstances and values.


If I were you I would definitely stop washing his clothes for him though. My OH lived with his parents until his mid-20's and when he finally left home I had to educate him on how to use a washing machine. You're not doing your son any favours if you clean up after him, and his future partners won't thank you!

I think he'll be here for ages. Most of his friends went to uni but he didn't want to get into debt - he'd rather be earning. I also have a 16 year old daughter at college who isn't sure if she's going to uni so I'll probably end up the same with her.

I don't mind doing his washing because it just gets bunged in with everyone else's but, as I use a dryer and do very little ironing, he irons his own shirt if he's going somewhere.

Also, if he's eating at a different time, he doesn't expect me to do it for him - he's been quite capable of cooking for himself for years now.

My daughter is far lazier - she sends me Facebook messages on weekend mornings, asking me to make her cheese on toast Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

BitterAndTwisted

Get it right with your son and then you'll be on the right track with your daughter later. Facebook messages with requests for cheese on toast should always be ignored, or you'll be running a full four-star hotel with full room-service ere long! Have you ever requested breakfast in bed or a three-course meal by Facebook? If not, perhaps you should start.....

Domayne

When I started working at 19 I was only earning £760 and my mum charged me £250 a month...10 years later, I still live with her and earn £1900 a month and she still only charges me £250 a month :rotfl:
I have tried to give her more but she won't take it...I'd say whatever you and your son feel is 'fair' on both of you

RuthnJasper

Bat_E wrote: »

My daughter is far lazier - she sends me Facebook messages on weekend mornings, asking me to make her cheese on toast Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

Haha! That's a new one on me! :rotfl::D:rotfl: I'd never have had the nerve to do that to my mum though!

When I lived with my parents, I paid a very minimal amount but paid for and did all my own cooking and laundry.

Best wishes for it all, anyway. x

Billie-S

Hi BatE. My two are at uni, so this is not an issue for us (yet,) but I would day it depends on how much he earns (of course.)

If he picks up £100 a week, I would say £25 a week. If it's around £150 a week, I would have £35-£40, and if he picks up about £200 a week, then £50 to £60 a week maybe. If it was a much smaller amount he gets (like only £60,) then I would only have about £15. I can't imagine he is bringing home more than £200 a week though is he?

SO about 25% ish.

I don't personally see anything wrong with doing the laundry for him by the way: seems daft for him to do it separately. Waste of detergent and electricity. JMHO.

lushlifesaver

I would say to discuss it with him; not only does it let him know you respect him and his opinion (as a contributing adult) but you can also set out any 'ground rules' you'd like to introduce (e.g. own laundry, he cooks once a week etc) and you can introduce how much you think is fair and discuss it compared to what he thinks is fair.


When I lived at home I worked 16 hours a week at minimum wage and studied for my MSc (which I did get funding for). I paid £40 per week board, did 2 loads of laundry a week (not just my own - and with my brother at home laundry can mount up quick!), cooked 3 evening meals per week, made the lunches daily plus bought a top up shop (roughly £20) each week. I also paid one of the quarterly bills - so roughly £200 pcm plus the 'chores' and then £500 ish for the bill I picked up.


My older brother still lives at home and is only just starting to contribute financially now that he has a full time job and isn't just doing bar work/working the doors. I believe his arrangement is £300pcm (one weeks wages) plus helping 'around the house' which is the bit I will believe when I see it! But due to where my parents live and neither of us working what might be called locally there is a £80+ pcm train pass to factor in to the affordability of it all.


In short it depends on his situation and what he/you feel he needs to factor in as expenses. Recently I've been reading about the 50/30/20 whereby you divide your monthly income up as follows:
50% essential expenses - shelter, food, heat, etc. Only four expenses go in this category: housing, transportation, utilities and groceries
30% put towards 'lifestyle choices' - often includes cable, internet and phone plans, charitable giving, childcare, entertainment, gym fees, hobbies, pets, personal care, restaurants, bars, shopping and other miscellaneous expenses.
20% put to 'Financial priorities' such as savings and debt repayment


I figure that's a pretty sound start to budgeting when you first start work so maybe sit with him and discuss that?

Buzzybee90

fivetide wrote: »

Interesting amount. What have you based it on? Not knowing how much the lad brings home etc...

Agree with the others though, look what a shared room might cost and pitch it around there. He'll still be on a good gig but will get him thinking about the issue.

Hi, thanks for asking.

I based it on the sort of prices my friends paid at our student houses at the same age. I know there not comparable really as have pros/cons to each. Obviously in a student house you have to pay all the bills (bar council tax ofc), pay for food etc. I'm not sure how much he is earning but presumably more than the pittance we had left from the loan/ wages.