I would charge rent and put 100% into a saving account that I would give them when they moved out.

Depends on the finances of both parties, the relationship between them, the character of the child.

You do not bankroll a person who is aimless in life.

Anonymous wrote:We moved to a rural tourist town when our kids graduated hs, so I’m confident this won’t be an issue.

Downsized from a 6000 sq ft home to a 2Bed/2Bath condo in the city, where bedroom 2 doubles as an office each day. Kids are always welcomed, but it's a bit crowded for more than a few days.

We moved to a rural tourist town when our kids graduated hs, so I’m confident this won’t be an issue.

Kid is just graduating from HS so we aren't here yet. But can imagine if he is working, collecting a small "rent" and holding it for him and then giving it to him when he moves out as first/last months rent and deposit on his new place.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine not charging rent (my kid has a decent job l8ned up) but my husband doesn’t want our kid to rush into an apartment lease. So I don’t know.

But why?

Unless you are dirt poor, you are a cheapskate to charge them. Why did you have a kid if you could not afford it.

ACs are welcome to live for free with us. No paying for rent, utilities or food. However, expectation is that they are either studying or working.

They are not paying anything to us mainly because we are financially doing ok. Having kids live with us does not impact our fixed costs of housing, utilities etc. We make enough money that the food costs and other costs does not impact us. They are on our medical insurance till they are 26. They are on our credit card until they get a full time job after studies. Before a full time job, we pay for everything. They have to put their earnings in savings.

I'm sure this has been mentioned, but our policy is that once you're working, if you live with us you have to deposit money equivalent to "market rent" into a savings account for a future down payment or rental of your own. We are fine with kids in the house, but not as a crutch. We are big on saving/investing from a young age and this is not viewed as burdensome by our kids -- they also had to deposit a percent of their allowances into savings and investment accounts since they were six, so this is normal to them.

I guess if the child was not working or if we had a financial need to downsize or to use that room for something else, we might charge rent or come up with another solution. But if the home is big enough for the kids to stay, and everyone is okay with them staying, we don't insist on rent but we don't view it as a "free housing" situation either. We would not allow it if our child was just spending their savings on clothes, travel, and beer. We view living with parents as an opportunity to build savings and wealth and to maintain close family ties. So far our kids view it the same way.

If you live in an expensive area and have an empty nest house with room for another person, then you are constraining supply and driving up prices, so you owe to your child and society to put that housing to use.

Mine had a 1 year grace period and then $2000/month.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine not charging rent (my kid has a decent job l8ned up) but my husband doesn’t want our kid to rush into an apartment lease. So I don’t know.

DC moved in after they graduated and we set up a pretend budget as if they were going to be living in an apartment and estimated their living and eating costs. (I pumped it up a bit) We said they needed to set up an investment account at Fidelity or wherever they wanted and they needed to deposit the estimated amount into that each month. Then, we said they needed to put in the max to their company sponsored 501k plan (15%)

That way, they would not get used to too much extra spending money.

They did their own laundry and were required to cook one dinner a week for everyone.

They ended up living at home for 2 1/2 years before they moved out and had a very nice nest egg in the Fidelity account.

This is exactly the way to do it!

Anonymous wrote:In some cultures it is actually the norm not to charge rent. In fact, if you ask any Asian Indian if they would ever consider charging their parents or kids any rent they would think you are out of your mind. I was born and brought up in India and moved to US for my masters. In India when I was working in the same city as my parents, I lived at home. I think 2 years, before I came to US for masters. It never occurred to anyone to pay or charge rent. Same with every Indian who was brought up in India at least. All of my friends and family are successfully launched. I never understood having "skin in the game" for kids.. if you gave them a good upbringing, taught them the basics of money management and investing. Providing a few months or years will only provide them a leg up, similar to paying for undergrad and grad education or paying for occasional vacations or 529 for grandkids. Family is there to help each other...

+1

We allow a one year rent free stay at home after graduation as long as we see you are saving/paying off debt. After a year, we start charging a negotiated rent. It's worked for us. One kid stayed the full year, and only got motivated to move (and live with roommates) after we increased rent, second kid was home for a few months but felt we cramped their social life and third got a job in another city and got a place with roommates.

Anonymous wrote:The way to create wealth is by making good choices. My kids will stay with us after graduation if their job is local or if they have a consulting job that makes them a road warrior.

They will not have another opportunity to save a few hundred thousand dollars with such minimal effort and in a few years, so early in their career. Besides, the mental, emotional, logistical support they get as they are getting acclaimated to working life is also invaluable.

We love DMV area and our kids will probably settle down here. I want them to provide for their family, what we provided for them. My kids do not have college debt. This was our gift to them. We want them to give the same gift to their children. We want them to have an UMC lifestyle that they have enjoyed growing up. Which means that they will save money and think long term. To be able to have significant saving in their retirement account and also save for down payment to a house is a significant leg-up.

UMC + saving looks like Boomer world throwback,
but I guess depends on what you mean by "U". DCUM features list of "UMC" people collecting Teslas.

100% charge rent. It forces your child into good financial and ethical habits of budgeting and not freeloading.

You can choose to give the rent back in the future as a gift.