When to charge board for room

SingleSue

Had eldest son returned home after finishing uni instead of going straight into a rental with a friend, I would have had no choice but to expect some sort of payment in return. There is absolutely no way I would have been able to cover the increase in council tax (single person discount would have been removed), the increase in the food bill, the increase in gas and electric and so on and so forth. For me, it would have been a massive increase in outgoings and something I just wouldn't have had the money to cover.

It's not me being tightfisted or wanting to teach a lesson but simple maths, the outgoings due to the increase in costs would have outweighed my income.

In the end his grad job made the decision for us, it would have been a too costly and annoying commute to work for him...plus he rather fancied the idea of being able to run around naked with a girl in his own space rather than risk mum walking in at any moment.

Tabbytabitha

cyantist wrote: »

If my parents had charged me and my husband rent when we lived with them for 15 months, we wouldn't have been able to save that money towards a house deposit which would have meant that rather than it taking 15 months to save the deposit, it might have taken twice as long.

I already knew how to live in the real world, and had managed to budget perfectly well for the 3 years I was at Uni.

It is harder to buy a house now than it ever has been in the past and I'm very grateful to my parents that they did what they could to make it easier for me.

I'm glad you're grateful but I'm surprised that your huband would live in your family's home without contributing anything, even if you were happy to do so.

svain

I think some parents struggle with jealousy, and to compensate charge "board" .... dressing it up as a life lesson

silvercar

SingleSue wrote: »

Had eldest son returned home after finishing uni instead of going straight into a rental with a friend, I would have had no choice but to expect some sort of payment in return. There is absolutely no way I would have been able to cover the increase in council tax (single person discount would have been removed), the increase in the food bill, the increase in gas and electric and so on and so forth. For me, it would have been a massive increase in outgoings and something I just wouldn't have had the money to cover.

It's not me being tightfisted or wanting to teach a lesson but simple maths, the outgoings due to the increase in costs would have outweighed my income.

There is a big difference between charging the extra it is going to cost you and making a profit on the charging.

Tabbytabitha

silvercar wrote: »

There is no guarantee that your children will live with you as adults, so no one can budget for them making a contribution to your bills.

If you do charge them, you are receiving money over and above what you expected, so if what you charge is more than the extra it costs, you are profiting off your children. I don't see why anyone would want to do that.

They're not contributing to your bills, they're contributing to theirs. Another adult joining the household (much less two!) will add something to your costs, even if you think it won't, Just as two people can't live as cheaply as one, neither can three live as cheaply as four or four as three.

cyantist

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

I'm glad you're grateful but I'm surprised that your huband would live in your family's home without contributing anything, even if you were happy to do so.

Obviously we offered. But his money is my money, so if they had taken money off my husband they'd be taking it off me and the end result would have been the same: we wouldn't have been able to afford to buy our house. Had they been able to afford to they would have given us money towards a deposit, instead this was a way they could afford to help.

I really don't see why you'd let your child stay in your house for free, but not their spouse.

Also I struggle to see how there is any extra cost of having extra people there (as long as they buy their own food). My parents closely kept an eye on all bills and they didn't increase and they didn't want to be making money off us.

silvercar

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

They're not contributing to your bills, they're contributing to theirs. Another adult joining the household (much less two!) will add something to your costs, even if you think it won't, Just as two people can't live as cheaply as one, neither can three live as cheaply as four or four as three.

It may add a small amount to costs, but fairly marginal. I choose to live in an older style house, that requires more than average heating costs; why should I expect my children to pay a share of that? Costs that I expect to pay anyway!

Tabbytabitha

silvercar wrote: »

It may add a small amount to costs, but fairly marginal. I choose to live in an older style house, that requires more than average heating costs; why should I expect my children to pay a share of that? Costs that I expect to pay anyway!

When our teenager left home, our outgoings went down by around £70pw, including food. One (or two!) extra showers a day, several extra loads of washing/tumble drying, an extra room to be heated, possibly outside the hours the house is normally heated - it all adds up.

That's why the government pays £70/80 pw in tax credits and CB to low income families because having a young person at home costs money.

SingleSue

cyantist wrote: »

Obviously we offered. But his money is my money, so if they had taken money off my husband they'd be taking it off me and the end result would have been the same: we wouldn't have been able to afford to buy our house. Had they been able to afford to they would have given us money towards a deposit, instead this was a way they could afford to help.

I really don't see why you'd let your child stay in your house for free, but not their spouse.

Also I struggle to see how there is any extra cost of having extra people there (as long as they buy their own food). My parents closely kept an eye on all bills and they didn't increase and they didn't want to be making money off us.

My gas, water and electric usage and bills increase hugely when the boys come back from university and drop right down again when they go back!

silvercar

That's why the government pays £70/80 pw in tax credits and CB to low income families because having a young person at home costs money.

Some of that will be to fund clothes, getting to and from school, school lunches, extra curricular activities etc all things that young adults will fund for themselves.