My daughers just come back from working abroad and was wondering what other parents ask / charge their kids for there keep ??
daughters 21 now and last year when she was home we asked for £25 a week , this year were thinking of asking for £30 a week as everything has gone up so much ..
Also the fact that i`m on short time and only working a 3 day week
This includes all her bills,Gas, leccy, food ,washing , internet etc
Do you think this is reasonable of not ??
Or can you afford it and not ask for anything ??

I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for "keep". £30-40 would be the going rate. Try renting a room for that.

Try renting a room and get your shirts ironed for that.!

think my parents ask my brother for £150 a month and he buys the odd bit of food and (i kid you not) chops logs for them 🙂

Does she work? If she's working I would even make it £50 a week otherwise it's just too easy for kids to want to move out and get their own place. Especially if they have "cool chilled out" parents.

Step son pays me and the missus £100 a week and if he moans we remind him he can always move out and rent somewhere, he does bring home £250 to £300 a week depending on overtime

I guess it's personal choice, however instilling a clear understanding of money common sense appears to be a great idea, esp given the shit that lots of people seem to get themselves into.

You could go with the m-c suggestion and 'save' the extra 20 on her behalf.

Munqe-chick – Member
Does she work? If she's working I would even make it £50 a week otherwise it's just too easy for kids to want to move out and get their own place. Especially if they have "cool chilled out" parents

Shes not working at the mo as shes only just got back , but like last year we are willing to give her a few weeks for free , just till shes got herself back in work and earning some money ….. so i guess £30 not bad then ??
Cheers for the replys so far..

Or can you afford it and not ask for anything ??

If you can afford it, yep, I'd say ask for nothing. They're going to be struggling with finances soon enough. Or, maybe ask for something, but put it in savings for them. Then when they've blown the rest on drinking cheap beer and snorting cecil, you can always surprise them with that first couple of months' rent for their flat when they most need it.

In laws have similar issue – one brother in law working hard, earning well; the other on second degree having decided that first one was not for him and cant be bothered to work holidays etc.

So on one hand a student they agreed to support, on the other working, earning son. Was/is it fair to 'penalise' hardwork with higher cost, vs other one not being able to complete his studies? If they did not charge, it would be too easy for both of them (22 and 24) to stay at home permanently…

And a need to pay off a mortgage asap and cover costs! Bear in mind costs of having at home can be high – the lads eat a mountain of food, leave computers on 24/7 and tumble dry everything etc etc.

They now pay £60 per week rent+food, plus a share of 'real' bills (ie each adult pays a 1/4 of gas and leccy and phone etc)

My parents ask for £100 a month because they know I'm saving hard for a deposit. It would be more if I wasn't!

It depends, I think a few years ago I paid my parents something like £150 a month but I could easily afford that and wish that's all it cost for me to live now.

If you don't need the money yourself think about forcing her to save it if she's not that sort of person normally. Would make a useful sum to put towards a car or deposit etc. at some point in the future.

It all depends on what you need, and if you don't need it then you can always ask for a nominal account – and then give them it back when they move out, say as a part-deposit/new bed etc.

If you do need it, then its simple, whatever they cost to keep.

I pay £25 a week, saving for a house though. £100 a week from £250-£300 sounds steep to me. After all my bills (phone bill, car insurance, petrol, keep, etc.) I put abit into a savings account for a deposit, which then leaves me with not very much to do anything else. If they took £100 of me then I'd have no chance of getting my own place in the next couple of years.

I think it depends on a lot of different factors.

When I lived at home (age 25) I didn't pay any sort of regular sum, but I did pay a lump sum of 100 quid from time to time. But I also picked up various bits of shopping in the week, cooked meals, cleaned, did my own washing etc. I used to be out most evenings and showered mostly at swimming pool and gym so wasn't even using hot water. So living there made very little difference to my parents financially.

I think paying whatever their cost of keep is is reasonable. I'm not so sure that taking over and above and making a tidy profit is very nice.

A few years ago i paid £250 a month (full service wash and tea included – cheers mum!) from a wage of £1200. When i met my GF and we started saving for a house she dropped it a bit though 🙂

When I was living at home after uni' my parents had 25% of my monthly, upto £200 max – as my monthly could vary due to the nature of the job. That was everything though, washing, stocked cupboard for me to pillage etc. My job at the time meant I may be doing 10 hours or 100 hours a week, so didn't leave much time for doing things when flat out, or much money when I wasn't

And a share in the alcohol plunder from clearing up after weddings and festivals

i was paying 20% of may take home during my gap year – about £40 per week (full time factory worker). ues its fair enough… parents now supporting me quite generously at uni, so i shouldn't complain.
£100 per week is a huge amount though!!

Fair play if she isn't working I guess! As long as they aren't sitting around their bu** being lazy thinking they can skive off Mum and Dad! Good luck though! I wouldn't want to live at hoem again! !

When I was 17 in 1989 I was paying £25 a week board whilst on a young thick sod course waiting to get into college. I was only taking home £29.50!!! left me with £4.50 a week.

Are you listening mother???!!!

when i stayed with the folks after Uni they just charged me 1/3 of all their bills (including food), think it was 250 ish.

I got kicked out by my mother when I was 17 1/2 because 'me and ***** are getting married and I don't think you two will get on living in the same house' fair enough my dad's mate on the council managed to queue jump me and I got a flat and lasted nearly 18 months before debt got a good hold of me.

Mum and stepdad agreed I could come to them to live but had to pay my way ,so I paid a quarter of everything except the mortgage.This was anywhere from £140 in the summer to £210 in the winter per month , I was on £130 a week (1998)

I got a 2nd job at a pub and did anyones shift if they wanted time of and cleared over £2500 of debt in 6 moths found a house got a mortgage sorted and have never looked back since. If faced with a similar situation with my own child I'd be tempted to go down the same road as I think it give a good indicator of what life in the real world is like.

I was paying £20 a week off £50 wage in 1982.I think it is important for them to pay their way. I think about 25% of take home would be fair.

my folks made me pay a third of my monthly wage when i first got a job – they let me keep my first months wage as a treat, but after that it was £160 per month from £500 per month wage, 12yrs ago. They did not increase it when i got promoted etc although i did offer. I also paid for the odd take-away etc.

Teach the child a life lesson, make them pay enough to think about everything they spend in the 'real world'
I used to pay half my wages to my parents, I also done loads for them at the same time, as I always have/would.

I believe it has made me less mercenary, but I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing in this day & age.