What's the going rate for 'keep' from your children once they start work?

Doom_and_Gloom

Well I receive JSA and I contribute £110/month and my partner who works contributes £130. So we pay in £240/month together for full use of our own shower, our own room (will have our own living room soon), full use of the kitchen as well as the front room, back room and conservatory, phone use, sky use and broadband. All our food is included to as well as any other bill really. We know that the average rent for a share of 5 people on a place of £650 is £130 each without council tax and everything else. We know we are getting a good deal. We are saving up for a deposit on a house and to start our future together and they know this so just want to break even with us being here. We help around the place as much as possible. Feeding the dog, hovering when needed, helping out with the new bathroom being done etc. We pay our way and do what we can to make it easier on them as they went out of their way to take us both in when they didn't have to.

I would say £200 would not be asking to much considering how much she earns. If this includes bills and food then it’s not asking too much.

Timmne

Just a little story which makes my blood boil (as do some of the comments on this thread re being spolit!):

I have a friend who I went to school with (to the end of A levels), who was told at the age of 18 "we want you out by the time you're 20 and here's £15,000". So he went away, moved into a flat with the £15k deposit - all sounds fair enough to this point (kind of!)....

He filled his flat with luxuries including a stereo for £1,400 and living in a paper thin ceiling/walls flat, was not going to get used to its potential! So about £6k later, his flat was furnished, all on credit cards.

His parents paid the credit cards off, as he was struggling.

After a while of living in the flat, he realised he'd bitten off more than he could chew financially and needed a release, so his dad paid off £10k from his mortgage to lessen the repayments (bearing in mind the original mortgage was only £95k!)

He then decided to buy a mini (or a personality as I know them!), so went to the local dealership and got a price - something like £13k for a base model with a couple of bits on. He couldn't afford to get a loan for that so his dad gave him an extra £5k and he got a loan for the rest - over 7 years @ £100 a month (he clearly HAD to get this car!).

After about 6 months, this £100 became unaffordable so his dad stepped in and paid the loan off for him.

He has 3 weeks ago put his flat up for sale, for £20k more than he paid for it. This means after selling, he'll have £45k in his pocket, for his next house - but NO, he's moving back home so he can make use of his 'savings'!

What a plonker. Just makes me want to reiterate to parents that you NEED to make them pay their way otherwise you'll end up getting them back 3 years later living the life of riley with your money!

LillyJ

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

I'm perfectly well aware that you get a lower maintenance amount if you're living at home as obviously your costs will be less. However, you are expected to contribute to your living expenses; you don't get that money just as pocket money! If you're living at home and receiving maintenance funding, your parents' contribution is to not charge you the economic rent, not to pay you extra on top of your maintenance loan! Even if you don't get a maintenance grant and you spread the loan over a 52 week year, that's still £70 per week, a lot more than travel and books. Suppose you qualify for a maintenance grant and university bursaries as well, do you hang on to the lot and let your parents keep you? Not if you have any self respect.

Choosing to live at home whilst at university is one thing, but not paying towards your keep is something completely different. Surely at 18 plus you'd want to feel that you were as independent from your parents as possible. That's why HE and FE funding are completly different; up to the age of 18 you're your parents' financial responsibility after that you're expected to contribute.

As far as savings go it's obviously a good thing to have a bit behind you at any stage of your life. However, if the government provides you with money to maintain yourself and you don't use it for that purpose but let your parents keep you then you're not saving your own money, but theirs! Most people want to be considered as adults at university level; that's not possible if you let your parents keep you , you just remain a child.

Get over yourself! You receive about £36 a week if you live at home, in most places transport costs that much! What about books, clothing (you can't go to uni naked, it's frowned upon) food? You can't live of thin air, student or not.

Would you get your kids to borrow on credit cards to give money to you? If you would you would be disgusting. IT IS A LOAN WITH INTEREST.

For your information I lived away from home at University, and went there at 17, so I was hardly remaining a child, especially as I was 100 miles away.

By the way if you advocate not giving your kids anything while they are at uni then they have to pay fees out of this loan, therefore they would get about £15 a week. If they are ADULTS most people need more than that to live on.

Get off your high horse and stop being so patronising. I am not a child, I have a good job and have not lived with parents since age 17 and now live with my partner.

PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTRIBUTE (IE NOT CHARGE YOU KEEP) IT IS THERE IN BLACK AND WHITE ON THE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE.

Taking a loan off your children and getting them into more and more debt is sick. I can't believe any parent that uses this website would actively WANT their child to get in more debt than was needed by taking the money off them. IF they don't need it PAY IT BACK.

Oldernotwiser

LillyJ wrote: »

Get over yourself! You receive about £36 a week if you live at home, in most places transport costs that much! What about books, clothing (you can't go to uni naked, it's frowned upon) food? You can't live of thin air, student or not.

The at home loan rate is £3,500 pa, so how you make that £36 per week I don't know and if you're spending that on travelling into university you must be going one heck of a distance! You also have no grasp of domestic finance; if you're living away and your parents can afford to give you, say, £100 per month then they're contributing to your keep. If you live at home and you give them, say, £25 a week then they're also contributing about about £100 per month. They're not supposed to let you live for free AND then pay you money as well!

As far as paying fees goes, there's a separate loan for this, you don't pay it out of your maintenance loan. As I said before, many students will also get a maintenance grant and a bursary from the university; perhaps you should read up more thoroughly on student finance and stop insulting peopple whose ideas don't agree with yours

bestpud

LillyJ wrote: »

Get over yourself! You receive about £36 a week if you live at home, in most places transport costs that much! What about books, clothing (you can't go to uni naked, it's frowned upon) food? You can't live of thin air, student or not.

Would you get your kids to borrow on credit cards to give money to you? If you would you would be disgusting. IT IS A LOAN WITH INTEREST.

For your information I lived away from home at University, and went there at 17, so I was hardly remaining a child, especially as I was 100 miles away.

By the way if you advocate not giving your kids anything while they are at uni then they have to pay fees out of this loan, therefore they would get about £15 a week. If they are ADULTS most people need more than that to live on.

Get off your high horse and stop being so patronising. I am not a child, I have a good job and have not lived with parents since age 17 and now live with my partner.

PARENTS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTRIBUTE (IE NOT CHARGE YOU KEEP) IT IS THERE IN BLACK AND WHITE ON THE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE.

Taking a loan off your children and getting them into more and more debt is sick. I can't believe any parent that uses this website would actively WANT their child to get in more debt than was needed by taking the money off them. IF they don't need it PAY IT BACK.

Perhaps you could keep such terms in check if you want to argue you are mature?

Whatever you parents do, or did, to support you was their choice. There is nothing to say they cannot, or should not, charge you to stay at home. They are expected to help with tution fees if they earn over a certain income. However, it is more to do with keeping financial aid available for families who cannot afford to contribute though ie not paying grants to students whose families choose not to help (because it is a choice).

They actually have no obligation to do so and that is why the current system is better (putting the fee increases to one side!). Before that, if parents refused to provide income details and/or support their child, the universities could do very little to help. Effectively, students in that position had to be turned away from university until they could fund themselves.

Basically though, not every family is the same, and some would argue it better for their child to be treated the same as their fellow students ie pay a proportionate amount of their income for living expenses.

There is no right or wrong - parents would not be 'disgusting' or 'sick' if they chose to do this - they would just be different from your parents.

LillyJ

I got £3k a year to LIVE OUT. That is £57 a week. So how people who live at home get £70 a week I don't know. I got NOTHING extra for fees, which were £1k (or just over) per year. That gave me £38 to live off including rent and bills, which I think you will find if you try it is impossible. (Students do have to eat as well you know - my rent was £55 a week and that was when I moved into a private room, in halls it was more and I was in the cheapest self catering halls).

If you feel comfortable taking a LOAN off your kids that they have to pay back and would like to encourage them in to debt then that is your choice but I think it is very odd indeed.

I also have an excellent grasp of domestic finance thanks, I have lived away from home for 7 years, and in the past year (while I have been working) I have saved enough (along with my partner) to put a deposit on a house.

You try living off £38 a week, (inluding rent) then if you can do it come back to me and I will actually take you seriously.

LillyJ

they would just be different from your parents.

You have no idea what my parents did, I have not stated that at any point. I also lived out, 2 hours from home.

Oldernotwiser

LillyJ wrote: »

I got £3k a year to LIVE OUT. That is £57 a week. So how people who live at home get £70 a week I don't know. I got NOTHING extra for fees, which were £1k (or just over) per year. That gave me £38 to live off including rent and bills, which I think you will find if you try it is impossible. (Students do have to eat as well you know - my rent was £55 a week and that was when I moved into a private room, in halls it was more and I was in the cheapest self catering halls).

If you feel comfortable taking a LOAN off your kids that they have to pay back and would like to encourage them in to debt then that is your choice but I think it is very odd indeed.

I also have an excellent grasp of domestic finance thanks, I have lived away from home for 7 years, and in the past year (while I have been working) I have saved enough (along with my partner) to put a deposit on a house.

You try living off £38 a week, (inluding rent) then if you can do it come back to me and I will actually take you seriously.

I'm afraid that you obviously know nothing about current student funding levels. All students are eligible for a loan to cover their £3,000 fees and students living at home automatically get just over £2,700, with an additional £900 being income assessed. (More than 2/3 students get the full £3,600.) For students living away from home (outside London) the figures are £3,500 and £1100 respectively. All figures approximate. In addition students from lower income homes are eligible for maintenance grants of up to £2,700 plus bursaries from most universities.

As you can see from these figures, even students from wealthy families will receive £2,700 when living at home and those who are less well off will receive at least £6,400. Do you seriously think that the government allows students this amount of funding as pocket money? As I said before, it's maintenance funding, awarded to maintain the student to be able to pay their way INDEPENDENTLY! If you're going to argue student income you need to be up to date on your facts and not just think that your personal experience, several years ago, was typical and relevant to the discussion.

angeluk69_2

Once I had left school and was earning a wage I was paying £35 a week, I was only earning £130 per week and that was 10 years ago.

loopylass

busiscoming2 wrote: »

Just to change the scenario a little, do any of you charge keep to your teens who work part time? My son is doing A levels and gets EMA which he saves for uni, but works most sats and suns in a shop, we don't take anything. Comments please.

Hi
I am in the same boat my son has been at college for 3 years and he gets ema and works part time and his saved most of his ema in a bank account for uni and driving lessons(thats what he wants to do in his gap year)
He has never paid us any money because we still got child benefit from him until a few months ago
He has decided to take a gap year before he goes to uni and come July his ema will stop but we said he wouldnt have to pay us anything until September when he should be working extra hours we wont ask very much from him as he shares a bedroom
He will be living at home still when he goes to uni so he shouldnt have too many expenses
I know some parents that have asked for money from their child while they are at college but for us i wanted him to save as much as he could and he has bought lots of things for himself but he works hard gets good grades and he deserved it but his also saved a lot for his future so his not wasted it