Son takes £180 out of the cash machine the day he gets paid every month for this year

[Lee2628]

Thoughts? His 17 lives in our house for free as well as food paid for so what could this be?

£45 a week? Any self-respecting teenager with a fondness for crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks could get through that no problem.

@Sweettea1

Why is everything quick to say weed surely a months supply along with cigarettes would cost more than that.

That would be about an eighth of weed (£35) a week plus a couple of pouches of tobacco so about bang on for a steady habit.

An eighth a week is quite restrained on the scale of things. It's equivalent to drinking maybe 3 pints of beer a night. Consuming less is probably advisable, but an eighth a week isn't going to ruin his life. There are plenty of stoners who smoke an eighth a night, and these are the ones who struggle to function normally. On an eighth a week he should have no difficulty holding down a job, friendships etc, and getting up in the morning. You wouldn't necessarily notice a habit of this size and I don't think you should panic about this. But maybe stop checking his bank statements for your own sanity as much as anything...

Ask him.

coffee, sweets, beer, cigs, clothes, taxi-fares, barbers. There are all sorts of legal things a teenager could spend cash on.

Are you checking up on the young man OP

My son uses his money for: roll ups (I blame his girlfriend who smokes), bus fare, going out, hair cuts, buying clothes, petrol, snacks, and tonight Domino's for himself and his girlfriend. £170 a month is not bad - mine spends way more, but he earns it so it's his business.

Maybe he’s putting it into a savings account

Lunches, fares, clothes, birthday and Christmas presents, saving for a holiday?

Stop snooping for god's sake!!!

This is a very odd thread
£47 ish quid a week for a teen is nothing?
What is your issue op?

Dd spends more than £35 on an eighth of weed. Is it cheaper in the big cities?

That averages around £9 per day if he works Mon to Fri
...so coffee’s, sandwiches, bus fares?

I'm really confused why drugs are the answer here, are a lot of your kids on weed?! £45 a week? OP hasn't come back but when my DD was 16 she didn't qualify for assisted travel costs to college and that was £40 a week on its own! Why are people shocked at £180 a month?!

£45-ish a week would go very quickly if he's buying the odd lunch, crisps, drinks, travelling anywhere, takeaways.

It's not a great deal of 'petty cash' for an entire month but I don't suppose he has a lot to start off with. I can't see anything sinister in it.

Op, how do you know this?

Do people really expect 18 year olds to pay rent?

Just saw some people asking why he's not paying rent and I'm just like

There are plenty of households where adult children (even newly adult children) have to contribute just to cover the bills for that household. There's no more child benefit once an 18 year old has left school or college and you can't assume there's enough slack in every household budget for that not to be missed.

Besides, it's good practise for budgeting (and I know people who put the rent into savings to give back to their child later). Lots don't charge a full market rent. The idea that an adult who's earning money should contribute to the costs of the house they live in shouldn't be shocking.

@Outbutnotproud

This is a very odd thread £47 ish quid a week for a teen is nothing? What is your issue op?

Because it's unusual to use cash as spending money in this way when you have a bank card, particularly amongst youngsters.

@jessstan1

It's not a great deal of 'petty cash' for an entire month but I don't suppose he has a lot to start off with. I can't see anything sinister in it.

Op, how do you know this?

Speak for yourself! £180 a month would be a great deal of 'petty cash' for me.

Does he owe someone money and this is the monthly repayment amount?

Maybe he's started a "runaway" fund to get away from nosey parents

This

Don't snoop on your son's bank statements. What he spends his own cash on is not your business.