How much should I be paying my mum for rent?

[kanra]

Hey there!

I'm a fresh graduate starting a job in Hampshire this September and will be living at home for at least the first year. We haven't confirmed salary details yet, but I'll be earning in the region of £21,000 to £23,000 (i.e. around £1,400 to £1,500 per month after taxes).

The house is owned, so there's no actual rent or mortgage cost. I'm thinking around £400 a month? Does this sound reasonable to parents?

Thanks x

Have recently had a conversation with my (also recently graduated, also 21 yr old) ds about this.

We decided to start from what he had been paying for his student house rent + bills + food and other expenses seemed a good place to start. He's earning quite a bit less than you though.

I think a lot depends on what you want / need / intend to do with the rest of the money. My ds actually thought it would be a good idea to give me more, as he knows he is, by nature, a spender, and he doesn't want to get used to having £1K a month just "for spends". (He knows he'll get it back when ready to look at buying somewhere). My dd OTOH, is a saver and is quite comfortable saving up for herself and spending thriftily. I know someone will come along and say I'm infantising my ds - but it was his suggestion, not mine.

I read on here many years ago that 1/3 for 'housekeeping', 1/3 for saving and 1/3 for spending seemed a good starting point, and I think that makes a lot of sense.

My dad always took 30% of whatever I earnt x

Ah. An excellent place to post this question.

On Mumsnet, consensus generally leans towards offspring are allowed to live at their parents rent free, regardless of age or income. Why would a loving parent ever charge their darling to live in their own home?

Well done OP. Sneaky.

@BackforGood - Aha!!! I lived in Central London as a student and payed £180 a week for rent, not evening including bills + food + general spending... :'(

@00100001 - Statistically, 2 out of 3 people so far thing otherwise

Hmm. Post the same question on AIBU as a parent of a fresh grad....

We don't charge our ds , he saves , he helps around the house and apart from food it doesn't cost anymore having him here - I would still be paying for gas / electric / water / internet etc. He buys shopping on an ad hoc basis , pays for takeaways etc . He knows how to budget and us taking his money won't teach him anything , he's extremely financially savvy .

OK, so, if you were renting a room in a shared house in Hampshire, what would the costs be. Would seem like a good starting point.

£600-£700 will suffice.

Don't forget that your parents will be paying for your water, your gas, your electricity, and your internet too, as well as food and laundry - you may want to stump up a bit extra for that.

Fifty quid a week.
Standard contribution.

£600-£700 will suffice.

Jesus. That's extortionate. Where the fuck do you live?!

DH and I rent a two bedroom house for less than that in a highly sought after area! No way should OP be paying anywhere near that amount.

OP, I thought £400 was generous.

Why don't you ask your parents?

If you get lucky and they don't want a lot, take this as a big leg up in life and save the cash to buy your own place...

In hampshite a single room rental with bills but not food included would be around £100 per week.

That feels a good starting negotiation point.

I think £400 is very fair to both sides. When our daughter stayed with us we have her a year rent free while she got a job and then charged £240 after that we did the same when she came back to start her own business.
So I think your thinking a good amount to pay and leaves you with a fair amount of money. Good luck with the job and a massive well done.

Isn't saving money one of the main reasons for living at home? So you shouldn't be paying as much as you would to rent a flat, but should give your parents enough to cover your share of food, bills, etc.

£400 is definitely fair, if not generous.

I wouldn't charge you anything. We don't ,It's still our DCS home, I'd rather they save their money for their own home personally.

I lived at home till 25 with my Dad and Stepmom. They had 50% of my wages from my very first job at the age of 15. I used to earn £200 a month at 15 and they would have £100 off me. At 23 I was bringing home around £1500 and they had £750 off me.

When I moved out of home, they gave me a cheque for half the amount of everything they had off me over the previous 10 years. Can't remember the exact amount but it was around £30,000.

I got a new car, put £15,000 into savings and spent the rest as and when. I didn't know they would be doing this but I was happy to get the cheque.

So I'd say £400 isn't much as I would have had to hand over half.

What have your parents asked for?