Taking housekeeping money from your children

jo1972

My eldest daughter has just managed to get herself a Sat/Sun job and as soon as she finishes her GCSE's next month she will also be doing some weekday work too until she starts her A Levels in September.

Question to you all is, I feel I need to ask her to contribute something towards housekeeping as she's now 16, I feel awful taking her hard earned wages but to help her learn about earning money and paying bills etc later in life I think she should pay something towards her keep. Then hopefully she won't be a DFW'er later in life

She will probably be earning something like £50.00 per week for 2 days work, then more when she does weekdays.

Do you take housekeeping off of your kids? What age did you start taking it and, if you don't mind me asking, how much

**Amy**

:hello:

I think its a good idea to ask her to contribute.

I was in full time employment from 16 and my mum took 1/3 of my monthly take home pay. That included food, bills, rent etc. I thought it was harsh then, but to be honest i pay more than that now on bills etc. If only i had known! :rotfl:

Im not sure how much you should ask from her, maybe £20 a week or something? Maybe a bit less?

x

floss2

Even though I am a single parent, I never took housekeeping money from my sons whilst still under 18, and now they are both at Uni so they don't live with us. I think it is unfair to ask them to cough up whilst you are still responsible for them, unless they are in full-time employment.

However,once they had part-time jobs they both had to buy their own clothes, shoes, travel costs, lunches, phone top-ups, social activities including Glastonbury or rock festivals.

What does she have to buy herself, and do you still give her pocket money or top-ups at all? What does she want to save her money for?

Horace

I know that when I had my first saturday job at 16 - I worked in Woolies and had good pay so handed over £20 a week to my mum, when I changed jobs and just worked weekends, earning £20 for two days work, I still used to give my parents the same amount and this continued right up until I left home in my mid-twenties:eek:

Sure I used to grumble but am glad that I did because now I know what rent really costs so paying my parents wasnt such a bad deal. Mind you, I used to do my own washing and ironing as well and clean my own room but I didnt cook my own dinner.

katyw

As soon as I was earning I was asked to contribute towards the house. I can't remember the percentage but it was a good way for me to learn the value of things. (If only I hadn't taken out that first credit card though!)

I know some of my friends parents also gave their children some of this money back when they left home to help with deposits etc.

Don't feel bad about doing it, it's still cheaper than if they had to move out on their own!

waddy_2

i totally agree with you asking for her to contribute something. after all she has never had £50 a week at all so anything is a bonus and its a good idea to get her used to paying her way. my son is also 16 and finishes school soon, although he will only get £30 a week EMA he has already agreed to giving me £10 a week.

dancingfairy

I think it depends how responsible she is with money - if she is going to use a proportion of it to save up for a car/driving lessons/uni/house deposit then I don't think you should take any money off her. On the other hand if you need the money and think she is likely to spend all of it on clothes/cd's/magazines etc then maybe take some for housekeeping. As someone suggested you could always then give her some back if she goes to uni or something and say -I was putting it aside for you (IYSWIM).

I never had to pay any housekeeping whilst I was in education (nor did my brother) and that included the summer hols. On the other hand when my brother was working full time he did have to pay some rent to my mum.

SuzySu

Hi

My daughter has a Saturday job at just above minimum wage, but occasionally does extra days in the hols. I don't ask her for housekeeping as such, but I do ask her to buy her own toiletries, makeup, 'ladies products' etc which she agreed to do. She also contributes to the cost of her haircuts.

It's amazing how she now shops for own brand goods, rather than the branded stuff she wanted when I was forking out!! It is definitely teaching her the value of hard-earned money.

Dithering_Dad

If I was receiving Child Benefit, then I'd probably not take any housekeeping money from my kids but would get them to start up a savings account and pay a proportion of their money into that. A good way to teach them about managing money and not relying on credit when they want to make larger purchases.

If I wasn't receiving CB for them, then I'd probably get them to contribute that much (obv. depending on how much/little they were earning).

Miia

When I first started earning, my mum took a third of my weekly salary off of me. But this paid for my food, washing and ironing and anything else was mine.

This was a 16 and on a YTS (remember those lol).

However, looking at my stepdaughter who will be starting her A's next year, she wouldn't pay towards housekeeping. Any money earned would be hers I would imagine.

Would it help to help her with a budget for the money for the future so that if she goes to university then she will have a little saved?

By the way - what a fab mum for thinking about it and trying to ensure that she won't be a DFWer. I wish my parents had done such a thing.

cat4772

Hi

Yes, I think it's a good idea and 1/3 sounds about right. (more if she's using you as her personal chauffer service).

Cat.x