Contribution towards household costs

I have a twenty year old at work. When he is working I demand 30% of his take home pay as his contribution to the family budget. Given his alternative of living away from home in a room in a shared house with all the extra costs and work involved, for the area we live in, this is very very cheap. When the lad is not working we support him, obviously.

With 70% of his take home pay as pocket money, and, thanks to my wife treating him like a spoilt brat, NO duties whatsoever around the house, he cannot and does not complain, and is very happy with his lot.
 
starfighter said:
£650 for a one bedroom flat or a house, don't live on your own and it is only £350 for a start.

Couldn't live alone, would be scared. :p
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You shouldn't make blanket statements like that. Around these parts £350 gets you a room in a shared house with food bills, utilities, council tax etc on top. £500+ gets you a most basic bedsit or tiny flat.

Edit: Having re-read this perhaps the poster I quoted meant pretty much what I said - I originally read it as disagreeing with the figure £650 for a flat - implying it should be £350.
 
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St0rmer66 said:
Identical situation to me! :D .

I'm about to get a pay rise though so I will be voluntarily putting my "rent" up, seems only fair. I think 10% of my pay after tax and NI is a fair amount considering the rest will just be disposable income!
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Unless you are on a truly massive salary, boy do you ever need a dose of reality fending for yourself. 10% reasonable - lol!
 
Freefaller said:
At uni I met people who didn't know how to use a washing machine, iron, or even do the washing up, or even cook?! :/ Spent all their money in 4 weeks and then moaned that life was so expensive. I could have throttled them.
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:o

I don't "know*" how to use a washing machine (* I can but it's a bit hit and miss on the results :p)

I can however do the washing up, and do do it if another flat mate has done the cooking, but i usually just eat out of the pan if I'm cooking.


i can cook so long as it's fried :p
 
Actualy I prefer the system prevalent around the 1950s and before.

You hand over your pay packet to your parents every week/month and they return to you a small weekly allowance as spending money for fares and a night out.

:D
 
Deluxe1 said:
To me 15 - 20% of the weekly wage is more than reasonable,30% is just being greedy.
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Well, if you are working man or woman why should your parents subsidise you. If you really think 15% to 20% of your take home salary even begins to cover the costs of supporting you (unless you earn an absolute fortune) you need a reality check. To be honest 30% of take home pay doesn't even cover the real costs of fully providing EVERYTHING (except clothing) for a fully grown adult.

Charging a kid little or nothing while they are living at home does them no favours. When the evil day arrives for the fledgling to leave the nest the shock of going from massive disposable income to having little or nothing to spare every month is shocking and often reults in a quick return to the nest.

It is important for young people to get out and live away from their parental home so that they can acquire a degree of maturity and independence. Of course parents should provide a safety net in the form of a welcoming home if (when) independent life experiment goes wrong - but I maintain it is NOT a good thing for well meaning parents to lock their kids into golden handcuffs.

I am looking at this from the point ot view as a parent. I can fully understand the self interest driving the opposite point of view from young people looking the other way through the telescope.
 
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Depends what they earn but i would charge £150 a month each from them and expect house stuff done aswell. Thats an utter pitance compared to what they would pay for a mortage, they can still save loads.
 
Deluxe1 said:
To me 15 - 20% of the weekly wage is more than reasonable,30% is just being greedy.
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Welcome to the real world of mortgages, bills & ever increasing living costs. 30% of your wage isn't much, given that leaves you with 70% disposable income, which is a damn sight more than most people have.
 
EffBee said:
Well, if you are working man or woman why should your parents subsidise you. If you really think 15% to 20% of your take home salary even begins to cover the costs of supporting you (unless you earn an absolute fortune) you need a reality check. To be honest 30% of take home pay doesn't even cover the real costs of fully providing EVERYTHING (except clothing) for a fully grown adult.

Charging a kid little or nothing while they are living at home does them no favours. When the evil day arrives for the fledgling to leave the nest the shock of going from massive disposable income to having little or nothing to spare every month is shocking and often reults in a quick return to the nest.

It is important for young people to get out and live away from their parental home so that they can acquire a degree of maturity and independence. Of course parents should provide a safety net in the form of a welcoming home if (when) independent life experiment goes wrong - but I maintain it is NOT a good thing for well meaning parents to lock their kids into golden handcuffs.

I am looking at this from the point ot view as a parent. I can fully understand the self interest driving the opposite point of view from young people looking the other way through the telescope.
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I'm not a parent and I agree with you. This kind of stupidity of handing everything to your children on a silver platter does them NO good when they are on their joner.

It just breeds idiots like someone mentioned; a person at uni, doesn't know how to wash/cook/clean for themselves and spends their "budget" in 4 weeks.

Or alternativley the most annoying type: The "mummy and daddy pay for everything and I have no clue about real life" kind of person. Can you imagine ever being with someone like that? Boy would you get a rough ride!
 
Mr Jack said:
What's wrong with that? I'd bet he'd be paying more than that if he wasn't living with his parents.
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So what, that's beside the point. They should pay for their share of the expenses/bills and no more and no less, or it's just taking the p***. Paying digs is one thing but your parents shouldn't be profiting from it. I guess I'm basing this on my salary though, if they're on a low salary I suppose 30% would be fairly reasonable.

well... even still, a basic starter salary for a reasonable job is what, say £18k a year, that's still £450 a month...IMO that's too much to be paying (albeit not taking in to account tax/ni etc)
 
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Toker said:
So what, that's beside the point. They should pay for their share of the expenses/bills and no more and no less, or it's just taking the p***. Paying digs is one thing but your parents shouldn't be profiting from it. I guess I'm basing this on my salary though, if they're on a low salary I suppose 30% would be fairly reasonable.
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A few years taking a little more than it costs to keep you kid from them isnt really going to be a profit after those 16-18 years before hand is it?
 
[TW]Fox;12623351 said:
It was your choice to have them, now you wish to make them pay you?

Nice. Personally I'd just make sure they dont take the **** - have them cook, clean and wash for themselves.
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If they are in education then I don't agree with them having to pay, however if they are working full time then I too would want them to give a little something back
 
Toker said:
you don't raise children expecting to be re-imbursed for the cost
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No, but if your children (who are actually grown adults) live at home an earn good money, why the hell shouldn't they contribute a decent amount towards the running of the home?

It sounds a lot like you still live at home and don't like paying your parents.
 
Well I'd say it's your choice really, I'm 21 and don't get charged a dime and my parents wouldn't actually take any money from me. We're not a rich family either conventional standards would probably say low income working class family. I do chip in where I can, I bought the new HDTV, cooker and dishwasher for the house. Also put some money towards materials and helped when we were doing the place up too. I do actually feel a bit guilty for not paying any money but like I said, I chip in where I can.
 
neoboy said:
Well I'd say it's your choice really, I'm 21 and don't get charged a dime and my parents wouldn't actually take any money from me. We're not a rich family either conventional standards would probably say low income working class family. I do chip in where I can, I bought the new HDTV, cooker and dishwasher for the house. Also put some money towards materials and helped when we were doing the place up too. I do actually feel a bit guilty for not paying any money but like I said, I chip in where I can.
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So essentially your entire salary is disposable (minus any car related deductions I'd assume), yet you don't contribute anything on a regular basis?
 
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