When did your teens or young adult children start paying for their own things?

[Anonymous]

I started paying for anything I "wanted" at around 12 when I started babysitting every single weekend. Then I worked various jobs (filing papers at a doctor's office, a grocery store clerk, and a diner) throughout highschool and I also played 2 sports and was very involved with the school play, clubs, and volunteering at church and the hospital. I worked with my friends and my boyfriend and spent a lot of time with friends during sports. I also still had to mow the lawn, clean my room and bathroom, etc etc and had time for that, too. I feel like things were so different then, even only 10-15 years ago in that sports weren't every single day and every weekend travelling. I paid for my own gas and car insurance (no cell phone then!) but my parents did buy my car (a 1989 Honda Accord...).

First 2 years of college I didn't have a car so parents paid for everything and sent money as needed but it wasn't much - I had to work while I home on breaks and summer and use what I saved up Junior year I had my car, started working at a restaurant and had 3 jobs during summer (restaurant, college orientation guide, and Bath and Body Works) to pay my rent, food, help with tuition/books, and whatever else I was spending money on.

I went to a cheaper college in a cheap area (out-of-state) so I graduated with about $12K in loans and I had to pay those, as well.

I was just one of those kids that always wanted to work, I enjoyed being busy with work, sports, volunteering, etc. My parents are very hard-working people and I think did a wonderful job with raising me.

[Anonymous]

My kids pay for things they want with their allowance/birthday gifts/earned money for watching cats, etc. We pay for clothes, food, going out with the family.

So, if my daughter (15) and her friend go to the mall, she is on her own if she wants to buy a snack, a necklace, lipstick, etc. If my son (9) wants a DS game or Pokemon cards, he can buy it himself with his allowance/birthday money or he can wait until it's his birthday/Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We paid for/are paying for all of college and living expenses but both kids earn/earned money in the summer to cover things like entertainment and spring break. One DC has just started working but now lives at home. She will not pay for rent or food but will pay for all other expenses including health care expenses. She is still on our insurance this year because it made no difference to our premium but she may move to the work provided plan next year after seeing how her expenses go this year. The workplace plan is way better than our crappy exchange plan so it may be cheaper even if she has to pay the premium. She is still on our family cell phone plan because it's only $25/month for an extra phone. She should be able to save money to provide a cushion when she moves out.

The reality is that many entry level salaries are hard to live on. DC earns about 3 times what I earned in a crappy entry level job but my rent was proportionally way less than rents today. I paid $200-250/month in a group house that would run $800-$1000 today.

How is DC going to learn to budget and live on her salary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's really sad that so many parents are still providing for their kids FAR into adulthood. There is value for young adults in working for their needs and even struggling a little bit. I'm not saying parents should let their kids live out on the streets or starve to death, but maybe they should experience the realities that come with entry level salary/just starting out and not maintaining the same lifestyle that people who have been working 20-30 years have.

+1