How much board do you charge your kids?

[Chez2 10]

My sister in law is a young widow who works part time. She has a sixteen year old daughter who is staying on at school then hopes to go to Uni. She also has a son who has just turned eighteen. He has just finished college and is starting his first job next week. Shes has been asking what board she should charge and wondered about £20 a week. What is the going rate?

 

I suggested she ask something like £100 a week and put half of it away without telling him for a deposit for a house or wedding or whatever big purchase he wants/needs in future or offer to charge him £50 a week if he puts £40 a week into a savings account which she holds until he wants to buy something sensible.

 

He has been given enough birthday money for a car and driving lessons so he doesn't need to save for that.

 

Your thoughts.....

[jenz245 10]

It depends on what he is earning. I would ask for a percentage of around 20%/25%.

With regards to your savings idea it is a nice thought BUT he should be responsible for his own savings as he is an adult.

I made mistakes with money when younger and learnt the hard way but the lesson was learnt and I now appreciate the value of things and as an adult you need to save for things, If my parents had saved for me then I may have made those mistakes as a parent and my child suffering rather than a young free and 19 year old.

[nikki-red 308]

Theres a thread discussing the same thing here...

 

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1228713&highlight=board

[Chez2 10]

Thanks or your responses. She does teach him to save but he's still not perfect, hence giving him the choice. He is money driven but still spends it on computer games etc. I'm not sure how much he will be earning but we think it will be in excess of £1,000 per month, depending how much overtime he does.

 

I know from experience you can only do so much teaching with kids. My brother is three years younger than me but we have polar opposite attitudes when it comes to saving and spending money. We were treated the same as kids and our parents never gave in to us if we spent all our money and saved nothing.

[Bilbo Baggin 10]

Our son is 23, and we charge him £50 board per week. If you work out how much is spent on electric, gas, water, internet, sky, phone, food, drinks etc ..haven't included all the washing and ironing cooking etc that his Mum does for him, I think it's a pretty good deal to be honest.

[CookieNCream 10]

I think £50 a week seems pretty fair with the cost of living this days.

[Fairnsquare 10]

I live with my girlfriend and mother in law, i pay £40 per week and my girlfriend pays nothing lol i get all my washing done and a meal everyday, i think 50 would be a bit steep lol

[Sam71 10]

My 16 yr old daughter recently started an apprenticeship in childcare and get roughly £370 a month. We have come to the agreement that she pays me £40 per week and she pays her own mobile phone bill. My son, who recently left us used to pay me half of his jobseekers allowance every fortnight. Washing, meals, internet included to they get/got good value for money.