The new WAGs - Worried And Guilty

You must drop the apron strings IMO. If you support your kids financially after college/uni they will struggle to grow up and face financial responsibility. What we said to our son was that there will always be a room for him at home that he can come back to at any time if things don't work out. He has that security of somewhere to live but no way would we provide explicit financial support (in terms of an allowance or similar) once he finished uni. There are plenty of jobs out there for keen, willing young people but they might not be what they want to start with. We were just at the point with our son of saying it was time to start doing bar work/temp work/whatever to get some money coming in but fortunately he found a permanent job which has worked out very well.

He is currently living at home and so we are providing some implicit financial support, because although he pays us money for food and bills we are not making him pay rent (but he is saving quite hard and has a LISA going). He has a good job and will be moving out in about 3 months with some savings behind him and a LISA on the go.

Here's a story. I have just retired (aged 60) and spoke with a colleague a while back who is mid-sixties and facing similar work pressures to me. When I asked if/when he was going to retire, he said he couldn't see it happening soon. He listed the reasons why this was impractical for him, one of which was providing financial support for one of his children (now in their late 30s) that had made some "bad life choices".

I saw him again about six months later when he told me he was now planning to retire. I said why the change of heart. He said he had seen a counsellor that had helped him focus more on what he wanted to get out of his remaining years and that made him change his perspective. Part of that was realising he needed to help his child stand on their own two feet rather than supporting their current lifestyle.

It does look daunting when they first go into the job market (much harder than in my day in the late 70s) but I would still say don't over worry about the kids. However, like others have said, ageing parents with health issues can be more challenging. Best of luck.

marlot wrote: »

The new level 4 and degree apprenticeships are they way to go for many young people. I've been coaching an 18 year-old, who has just managed to get himeself onto a degree apprenticeship with a major employer. It wasn't easy but he's earning and studying. He'll complete his degree in 4.5 years instead of the regular 3, but he'll have no debt & loads of experience

This is the route that I'm hoping my daughter will take.

Clifford_Pope wrote: »

It's not debt.

If it's not a debt it's certainly not a tax, as there's no other tax where you can choose how much to incur, and once you've paid how much you withdrew (plus interest) you never have to pay anymore ever again.

This sounds very much like a debt to me, but I never did semantics at school because of me asthma.

Malthusian wrote: »

If it's not a debt it's certainly not a tax, as there's no other tax where you can choose how much to incur, and once you've paid how much you withdrew (plus interest) you never have to pay anymore ever again.

This sounds very much like a debt to me, but I never did semantics at school because of me asthma.

Doesn't Martin suggest that only the very well paid should bother paying it all off? So a 10% of income in excess of £25k (?) sounds more like an "egg heads" to me.

I have student debt of around 50K (started university in 2012 just as it went to 9K). I earn 30K a year on a Grad scheme and my student loan repayment has just dropped to £28 a month (previously £56 a month) due to now only having to pay 9% back on anything over 25K (i think). So £28 a month when you have 50K student loan is pretty good in my opinion. Also in comparison to what I earn, £28 really makes no difference to me. What I am trying to say is don't worry that they will be laden with loads of debt, student loan repayment is really quite manageable in my experience.