Saving DC board

[FawnFrenchieMum]

If you are in a good position that you don't NEED DCs board to pay towards regular bills but could pay for a nice treat each week / month.

Appreciate not everyone is in this position but we have only lost £40.00 CB by them working full time, no other benefit or income so make no difference to our incomings / outgoings

DC is paying 10% take home wage as board. They are saving regularly themself and paying their extortionate car insurance monthly. They pay for their own car maintenance and we have said we will pay for their phone until the end of the current contract as this was a Christmas gift last year then they can take over the bill if they choose a new handset.

• Do you put all his board into savings for him in the future (in secret)?
• 50% their savings (in secret) / 50% our pot
• None - its goes in the household pot.

Depends really if you can afford treats without their help or not and if you have other kids you intend to do the same with.
My ds is not yet in full time work but when he is I will aim to take and keep a decent amount for him so that he knows what it's like to pay for all living expenses (and so he has an incentive to move out eventually) but he is the oldest of 4 so keen make it fair across the board for all my kids. My older 2 siblings had the world bought for them, brand new cars, expensive flats rented for them. 6 years later when it was my turn I got a £100 rust bucket that had to be condemned a year later and told I had to fund my own house etc.

Yes we can afford the same for both although suspect DC2 will be more likely to stay in education a lot longer so less likely to be paying board.

Yeah I think save it all for DC if you don't need it for household costs.

My mum and dad secretly saved it and gave it to me when I moved out. I was very shocked and very grateful as I didn’t expect it.

I think saving some of it is fine if you’d value a bit yourself to replace the child benefit.

As sweet and kind as it seems to secretly save it and gift to them when they move out - I think it is a bad idea.

when they go into the real world - their landlord doesn’t save their rent and gift it to them at a later date. I bet the 10% of their wages they are paying you as board is no where near the market rate of a flat?

I think it is really important that our children start learning that becoming an adult means taking on adult responsibilities including paying their own way. IMHO - Paying rent at home that they never see again is a transition to adulthood where they are responsible for all their own bills.

If you can afford to save it... save it! If you can't then don't!

10% sounds a lot? How much is that exactly?

we have only lost £40.00 CB by them working full time
So I take it they are under 19 and not in full time education?

I would not charge board unless it was absolutely necessary. As in I could not afford to feed them.

I also think your plan to not charge your younger DC board if they stay in education longer is patently unfair.

It should be same board at same age for all DC, if you are going to do it.

The plan to save their board and then give it back to them won’t teach them how to save. If they already know how to save and are actively saving, no point charging board. If they are hopeless at saving, time to help them open a pension account with auto deposits so they save automatically and can’t access the money.

One of my DC is doing a degree apprenticeship. Low wage. Living at home.

They give me £200 a month. I put into a savings account I set up for them ages ago. I hope it will help when they try and buy property. I told them I will use the monthly £200 amount if the household urgemtly requires it.

They did save up for their car and pay gir petrol/maintenance.

I am lucky, I can manage to not use their contribution.

We didn’t charge ours ( still don’t ) and just encouraged them to save , which they do anyway as that’s how they’ve been taught when they were children . I don’t see what good saving for them in secret does , it doesn’t teach them anything , trust them to do it themselves .

I don’t agree with secretly saving their money,it’s infantilising them
We don’t take board from the DC

£1000 take home @ 10% = £100 board

£2000 take home - £200

£3000 take home - £300

I know I live in a big city and it’s very expensive - but can’t imagine there are many places in the uk where you can you pay £100 - £300 per month on rent?

kids have to start learning that once they are earning full time wages they have to start taking on responsibilities for living costs.

10% of wages is super cheap in my opinion.