How much housekeeping for 19 year old?

Jazzieboy

Oh my goodness !
I can remember my first pay of £27/week and my Mum took £10. Ouch!. It was a while ago mind you !!.
Don't feel guilty, thats life and it is very expensive.

HappySad

I argree with most on this tread. Charge he at least 30%. I would charge her at least £250 a month and show her the bills & cost of living.

When I was young I did not have a clue about what it cost to run a household... I wish my mother showed me how much it was costing her so that I could pay a reasonable amount towards it.

hwoolgar

£50 a month sounds very fair no where else would she get a deal like that! I think understanding the cost of living is good for the future. Families are teams and everyone should contribute! I only ever lived at home in university holidays after 18 but despite my parents not charging board I enjoyed paying bills and buying food as it gave me a sense of helping and being grown up. I am now 26 but at 23 cause I got a really job with some money decided to buy mum and dad a house in northumberland, they pay the some of the mortage and I contribute 100 per month even though I am in London (it is much cheaper than the house they rented before!) This year I bought my own house with bf that I live in. Your daughter is getting a good deal and I think paying your way is good for self esteem. I have friends at 26 still living at home with their parents (especially those with parents comuting distance from London) and I think getting use to a salary with no real bills is not preparation for the real world! You are helping her and I wish you both luck!

silverfoxdude

Wow... can I come and live with you.... I think its fair unless you are struggling yourself then I would be asking for more to be honest with you....

Its right about teaching children the value of money because I find that most young people I know, havent a clue, and one of mine has just bought some 'second hand' Rockports (which are apparently the answer to his life dreams) for £45... god, I wouldn't pay that for new... so you could always overcharge her and put the rest in a savings account for when she does leave home if you can afford to

jude123_2

I have two sons in their twenties both living at home. One earns much more than the other. Should they be paying the same amount of housekeeping?

Savvy_Sue

jude123 wrote:

I have two sons in their twenties both living at home. One earns much more than the other. Should they be paying the same amount of housekeeping?

I think this depends ... at least in part on whether you want to encourage them to leave or not!

But I think my gut feeling is that families are about teamwork. In a marriage, if one partner earns a whole heap more than the other, I wouldn't expect all bills to be split equally (although I know some marriages work that way!) So if the team needs £x for bills, food, luxuries, then where's it going to come from?

And it also depends on why one earns a lot more than the other. The previous discussion on this had the scenario where a son was only working part-time, not contributing any rent (IIRC), and expecting his parents to pay for HIS holidays, and for HIS friend to go on holiday with him! And why was he only working part-time? Because he was an idle b*gger who was too bone idle to get a full-time job! (I paraphrase ...)

So if one son is a merchant banker earning squillions, and the other is a trainee chef earning peanuts, but they're both very happy and fulfilled in their work, I'd be happy to charge them different amounts. If, on the other hand, the lower paid one was idling along filling time and trying to 'find himself' then I might want to encourage him on to greater things, IYSWIM.

But I reserve the right to change my mind about this if any of mine actually work while living at home!

hilstep2000

When I started work in 1975 I earned £16.50 a week, and Mum had £5. When I left at 22 to get maried I was paying £25 a week, and that was in 1981! So no, £200 a month from £900 isn't too much!
My 18 year old is just leaving colege, and going to work, apart from her mobile bill (which is horrendous!) she has no other expenses, apart from herself, so I'l see what she earns, and work it out from there. After all, she won't live anywhere else so cheaply!!!

hornetgirl

I think this is a really difficult one to get right. A word of warning if you don't - you might end up with my brother in law.
He's 43, lives with his retired parents, has a good civil service job, and pays just £220 per month "rent." He shows no sign of leaving home - he "can't afford" to buy a house. Why would he want to, he gets all his meals cooked, his laundry done, does no housework or DIY and even uses his dad's car.
I think when the rent was set, he and his brother and sister all paid about the same. The other two left home and he's just carried on paying that amount ever since!

elona

If I were your parents in law then I would be very tempted to put the house up for sale and move into a one bedroom flat, house or whatever.

Making sure that any profits from the sale went to fund their retirement.

mdean

jude123 wrote:

I have two sons in their twenties both living at home. One earns much more than the other. Should they be paying the same amount of housekeeping?

No - They should both be out there standing on there own two feet leaving you in peace