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Charging teens rent....

After some advice...
How many of you charge rent to your teens who are earning?
My daughter has a part time evening job and is soon to start and apprenticeship. She will be earning circa £1100 per month, not bad for age 18.
I provide everything for her, food, water heating, toiletries, packed lunches, clothes etc. She has to pay to run her car and anything else she wants, but essentially she has all she needs with me.
I made the suggestion that perhaps she cold contribute financially now that shes earning.... I do feel a bit uncomfortable about this because shes my child, but its not nice to feel the mick is being taken a little bit when I'm struggling financially....
whats your views on this and if i decide to ask for a contribution, how much do i suggest??
Thanks x
«1345678

Comments

  • trphil
    trphil Posts: 8 Forumite
    When each of my children have a "proper" full-time job I will start charging them board and keep but will put the money aside (without telling them) rather than just spend it and then return it to them when they need money towards house deposits.
  • Marvel1
    Marvel1 Posts: 7,359 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They should contribute and none of this saving it up for them and when they move out give it all back crap.
  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    alrhios wrote: »
    After some advice...
    How many of you charge rent to your teens who are earning?
    My daughter has a part time evening job and is soon to start and apprenticeship. She will be earning circa £1100 per month, not bad for age 18. - sounds a lot, you know apprenticeships don't pay NMW
    I provide everything for her, food, water heating, toiletries, packed lunches, clothes etc. -until she turns 18, you don't have a choice on this; but I assume she is now an adult? She has to pay to run her car and anything else she wants, but essentially she has all she needs with me.
    I made the suggestion that perhaps she cold contribute financially now that shes earning.... I do feel a bit uncomfortable about this because shes my child, but its not nice to feel the mick is being taken a little bit when I'm struggling financially....
    whats your views on this and if i decide to ask for a contribution, how much do i suggest??
    Thanks x



    I'd say £50 a week is reasonable
  • ess0two
    ess0two Posts: 3,606 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    alrhios wrote: »
    After some advice...
    How many of you charge rent to your teens who are earning?
    My daughter has a part time evening job and is soon to start and apprenticeship. She will be earning circa £1100 per month, not bad for age 18.
    I provide everything for her, food, water heating, toiletries, packed lunches, clothes etc. She has to pay to run her car and anything else she wants, but essentially she has all she needs with me.
    I made the suggestion that perhaps she cold contribute financially now that shes earning.... I do feel a bit uncomfortable about this because shes my child, but its not nice to feel the mick is being taken a little bit when I'm struggling financially....
    whats your views on this and if i decide to ask for a contribution, how much do i suggest??
    Thanks x


    What was the reaction after the suggestion? My son pays 'keep' £25 per week currently earns £1600 per month, starts new job @ £2200, agreed a raise to £200 per month.
    Official MR B fan club,dont go............................
  • Comms69
    Comms69 Posts: 14,229 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    ess0two wrote: »
    What was the reaction after the suggestion? My son pays 'keep' £25 per week currently earns £1600 per month, starts new job @ £2200, agreed a raise to £200 per month.
    I think at £2200 it's time to move out... :)
  • ReadingTim
    ReadingTim Posts: 4,062 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Part of your job as a parent is to turn a helpless baby into a fully fledged adult member of society, and part of being a grown up is paying your way. So you're going to have to stop mollycoddling her like a child and start treating her like the adult she is - being a grown up in the real world is hard, as you well know.

    Suggest that for the moment, the part time job supplements pocket-money sorts of expenditure - clothes, going out, mobile phone etc as well as the car. Once she starts the apprenticeship she starts to make more of a contribution to the actual cost of living with you - not market rate or anything, but enough to reflect the fact that rent/mortgages, council tax, light, heat, water and food all cost money, and those bills have to be paid monthly, come what may.

    She's not taking the mick as she's not used to paying for these things - it's a bit like the first time you have to pay tax, but you're not doing yourself (or her) any favours by treating her like a child and insulating her from reality either.
  • LilElvis
    LilElvis Posts: 5,835 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    trphil wrote: »
    When each of my children have a "proper" full-time job I will start charging them board and keep but will put the money aside (without telling them) rather than just spend it and then return it to them when they need money towards house deposits.

    So, even though they will be adults you intend to continue treating them as children? Why not give them the choice - save towards their future home and live at home rent free or do what they want with their money and pay you board.
  • Dean000000
    Dean000000 Posts: 612 Forumite
    £200 a month - whilst explaining that this is in reality subsidised.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    They have to learn to budget to be able to pay rent or a mortgage so starting to pay keep when starting a paid job is part of growing up.
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