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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wonder how much your post-18 adult kids cost you each month?

47 replies

89Brachen · 13/02/2025 10:38

It seems more and more adults are staying at home, and those who go to uni still need to be subsidised. How much do your late teens cost you?

OP posts:
FunnysInLaJardin · 13/02/2025 13:36

My 19yo DS1 costs me about £1,200 pcm as he is at uni

mondaytosunday · 13/02/2025 13:36

I've two, one who lives at home but goes to uni. One who has moved out but has a minimum wage job.
For the former I pay her phone, and food when she's home. She gets maintenance loan and a bursary so I don't have to give her money when at uni. She's very frugal anyway.
My older one (21) I give £200/month to. Plus if he's visiting/I visit I'll do a grocery shop or at least a few steaks on departure. He pays all his bills etc, but does need the odd £50-100 on top. He's trying (unsuccessfully) to save for a car so if I get some money together I'll probably end up buying him one and I told him his 21st birthday present was me paying the insurance for the first year. I see some of his old classmates working similar jobs but live at home so save loads. He has chosen to live away so very hard to save on a minimum wage. But he's young still and finding his feet so I'm happy to do that.

SlaveToAGoldenRetriever · 13/02/2025 13:59

whirlyhead · 13/02/2025 13:15

How long does it take for people to learn to drive nowadays?? I did my test after 4 lessons and passed with full marks so I’m puzzled people are spending so much on lessons!

DD did 5 months of weekly lessons, no extra practice outside of them as we didn’t have a car suitable for her yet. Passed first time

MrsAvocet · 13/02/2025 14:11

FoxtonFoxton · 13/02/2025 13:35

DD is £90 for two hours in the UK she's got one today. Four lessons now I would think very unusual!

I think passing after 4 lessons was always unusual. I'm nearly 60 but it certainly took me longer than that and I don't recall anyone I was at school with passing so quickly either. But with the length of time it tends to take get a test these days it would be virtually impossible - you'd need to have done your theory and booked your practical test well before you had any lessons to achieve that in most parts of the country at the moment. That would be a pretty big risk to take, given you might be waiting as long again to get a retest if you didn't turn out to be quite the brilliant driver you thoughtyou were going to be! I think most of the youngsters I know who have learned recently have probably had more lessons than they really needed as getting a test date can take so long currently. My DS's instructor told him to book a test after he'd had his first lesson and he was still ready well before he got a date.

HeBeaverandSheBeaver · 13/02/2025 14:24

Son.
360 for ten lessons. Lasts about 5/7 weeks
Phone
Xbox subscription
10 week pocket money
10 bus
20 food for school
Plus normal food
School trips. Books

Clothes he gets for b day Xmas with bday money or we treat him to nice trainers The odd thing etc.

Daughter
Dread to think
2 years driving still not passed
Phone
Therapy
Private health care for endometriosis diagnosis and treatment (through dh work) but we pay 15%
She does have a part time job though so pays for most of her clothes toiletries night and food out etc.

Allywill · 13/02/2025 14:33

I have a 26 year old who works but lives at home. I pay the insurance for her to be on my car but she does run my elderly parents around when I am not available. She does pay a small amount for board but it doesn’t cover everything by any means, I don’t mind as she is saving to buy a house and does contribute to the household by cooking and helping with my parents. I will miss her when she goes.

protectthesmallones · 13/02/2025 23:47

£210

Hollyhobbi · 14/02/2025 10:03

One of them is working so gives me money every month. The other is in college but gets a grant and uniform and travel allowance and has been working as a care assistant since her second year of college as she's a student nurse. She commutes to college which costs €2 a day as she's under 25. She pays for her own haircuts, cosmetics, junk foods, takeaways and travel. However she needs braces for her teeth which will cost €4000 minus 20% back in tax! Next September she'll be in 4th year so will be paid some salary from January and will be giving me some money every month too!

Gogogo12345 · 14/02/2025 10:05

Nothing 3rd year at uni P/t job Shares flat with gf and pays his own way

Moonlightstars · 14/02/2025 10:09

whirlyhead · 13/02/2025 13:15

How long does it take for people to learn to drive nowadays?? I did my test after 4 lessons and passed with full marks so I’m puzzled people are spending so much on lessons!

You really went from not being able to drive a car and passing your test in four hours?! You must be some sort of genius. I learned to drive from my parents' car and then had five lessons and passed but that's very different.

TwatOnAHotTinRoof · 14/02/2025 10:09

Mine live at home, one commutes to uni other one at sixth form, so free accommodation/food. I pay for haircuts, phone, travel costs and give them £250 a month. If DC2 choses to live away from home for uni I'll top up the maintenance loan to a level that pays for accommodation, let them order on my grocery account and carry on doing the rest I do for DC1.

Both work one day a week in a PT job. Planning on reducing my days at work and downsizing once DC2 leaves uni tbh.

FrenchandSaunders · 14/02/2025 10:13

Mine are early 20s and have both moved out. They work hard but their wages are low and their rent/mortgage is high.

We pay for their car insurance and tax, their mobile phones, and also transfer a bit of money each month. We often take them and their partners out for meals/drinks. We're also taking them all on holiday this year.

They're good kids and we can afford it, I wouldn't do it if it put us on the breadline.

TwatOnAHotTinRoof · 14/02/2025 10:15

Oh yes, car. They share a car that I bought/keep on the road. I share your sentiment @FrenchandSaunders , good kids and I can afford it - well to be fair wanting to do it keeps me going in my work, I want to help them.

ViciousCurrentBun · 14/02/2025 10:16

DS did his A levels in 2020, a tough year, he had no job for about 3 months and then got a job at an airport as a freight handler for a parcel company. He did a night shift and was earning a decent wage. He did this for almost 2 years and gave us £25 a week rent. He is now in the final year of a degree apprenticeship and is earning 34k PA, he gives us £50 per week rent. He is saving for a house deposit and will be delighted when we give him all the money he has paid in rent back to him, he has no idea this will be happening. He pays for all his own stuff like phone and car insurance. We did pay for driving lessons, he had 16 and passed first time which was good as that was his total experience as we didn’t take him out. I did give him my car as just retired and didn’t need it. DH and I car share, he WFH all of 2020 and then did hybrid working so was fine.

Chasingsquirrels · 14/02/2025 10:19

22yo graduated last summer.
He had full loans for uni & paid for everything himself, apart from his phone contract (less than £10pm) which I continued to pay.
His dad and parental grandparents both gave him money monthly (I think £100 & £200 respectively).
His maternal grandparents give an annual lump sum.
He has increased his savings whilst at uni.

So to me just the food & increased utilities cost of being here in the holidays and then 6m after graduation until he started his job last month - moved to London, so now no costs - he's taken over his phone contract.


19yo finished alevels last summer and started a professional apprenticeship in the autumn.
Lives at home, buys & cooks his own food although will have some shared meals.
Has taken over his phone contract.

So again, increased utilities cost and small amount of shared food, plus loss of 25% council tax single person discount.
Pays me £100 nominal rent, which doesnt cover the above.


I intend to help them out with sizable house deposits when the time comes.

Cyclebabble · 14/02/2025 10:21

So we had saved knowing that Uni and other costs were coming. Eldest DC went to medical school in Oxford, so that rather breached the piggy bank. Costs including accom of around 13k a year all in. He also was not allowed to work and after the third year he was effectively there all year round. After he graduated we subsidised him for 300 a month. We also saved for a house deposit which was a further 450 a month into a LISA. Same for youngest son but on a smaller scale. Makes a big difference where they study on accom costs according to where they study from experience and also what you are able to do. For us we have done the most we can to support our kids.

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 14/02/2025 10:21

Hard to say . DS 23 has been working since 17 and lives with his GF who is also earning, but they live in a property which we own and pay us less than the market value for rent (they pay all bills) - so I would say we subsidise rather than they cost us. Also we sometimes do social things together which we fund - so again not sure whether this qualifies as costing us, as an example, if we holiday together, they pay their own airfare but we pay for the cost of the accommodation, so it's more that we have booked a larger property than DH and I would have on our own.

BoomBoom70 · 14/02/2025 10:24

Eldest at uni costs us £2,600 a month!
£900 - fees
£1,100 - accommodation
£600 - allowance

Have another one going next year 😭

Upstartled · 14/02/2025 10:24

Ds1 is off to uni this autumn. We have about £10k earmarked for each year to top up the maintenance grant.

Rockingroll · 14/02/2025 10:33

I budget £10k per year for each of my uni kids so £20k. That’s for their accommodation and to top up their loans

I pay their phones, all the running costs of the car they share and sometimes top up their travel - train or petrol. I also pay both of their gym memberships

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 14/02/2025 15:16

BoomBoom70 · 14/02/2025 10:24

Eldest at uni costs us £2,600 a month!
£900 - fees
£1,100 - accommodation
£600 - allowance

Have another one going next year 😭

Is this so that they don't have to have a student loan or because they don't qualify for one? That's a huge amount. My DS didn't go to uni but I remember costing it out when he was considering it and it was nowhere near this much - more like around £100 per week at what would have been 5-6 years ago.

BoomBoom70 · 14/02/2025 15:38

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 14/02/2025 15:16

Is this so that they don't have to have a student loan or because they don't qualify for one? That's a huge amount. My DS didn't go to uni but I remember costing it out when he was considering it and it was nowhere near this much - more like around £100 per week at what would have been 5-6 years ago.

Yes, so they don’t have to get a student loan (for a variety of reasons).

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