Sam2020 Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 I do not work outside the home and I'm currently living on a set income and live fairly comfortably in a townhouse apartment which is paid off. My monthly expenses include HOA fees, cable & internet, electricity, food, car payment, insurance for home & car, etc. My son recently returned after three years in the military and is now going to community college. He has the G.I. bill which gives him a living allowance plus tuition. He has a car which has a small loan that he's paying off. His intention was that he would help financially. He just got his first check and I'm still unsure of how much $$ he should give. My thought is $300 a month plus pay for our mobile bill (he's been paying for this for a year now) which is over $200 a month. Thoughts? BTW, we live in one of the most expensive places in the US. Milk alone is about $6 a gallon and gas is about $3.59 a gallon here. Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 That seems fair to me. Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 P.S. If you do Facebook, there is a good group on there called Grown and Flown Parents. It's a closed group, but huge, and if you posted a question like this there, you'd get a ton of responses with good advice. Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 Yes, if you live in an expensive place, it would likely cost him two grand to get his own place. $300 plus his bill is a good deal for both of you and should allow him to save up some money too. Good luck! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 I paid a 100 a month when I was young, I was employed... My Dad said it wasn't about the amount but the fact I needed to pay rent so he set an amount that helped me become responsible and he didn't make any money off me. I think 300 a month is okay but honestly it seems like you need to both talk about this and agree on a set amount, that way you will know where his head is at. Who pays for the food ? since you mentioned the cost of it..if you are to pay for food for the both of you then 300 a month might not be enough. The mobile bill 200 per month and half is his ? are there other bills you are going to have him split or pay ?.. like the power ? Link to post Share on other sites
alphamale Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 I paid a 100 a month when I was young, I was employed... indeed AC but that was back in the late 1800s 2 Link to post Share on other sites
alphamale Posted June 30, 2019 Share Posted June 30, 2019 $300/mo plus $200/mo sounds good. and maybe he can pay for dinner a couple times per month Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Lucky Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 pay for our mobile bill (he's been paying for this for a year now) which is over $200 a month. https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/unlimited-55-senior-discount-plans Why on earth are you paying that much for cell service? If you’re 55 and over, the above links to an unlimited plan costing less than half for both your phones. There might be similar savings out there for other household expenses... Mr. Lucky Link to post Share on other sites
alphamale Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/unlimited-55-senior-discount-plans Why on earth are you paying that much for cell service? If you’re 55 and over, the above links to an unlimited plan costing less than half for both your phones. There might be similar savings out there for other household expenses... Mr. Lucky dude, T-Mobile is a sub-standard plan and company with sporadic coverage Link to post Share on other sites
Author Sam2020 Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 I paid a 100 a month when I was young, I was employed... My Dad said it wasn't about the amount but the fact I needed to pay rent so he set an amount that helped me become responsible and he didn't make any money off me. I think 300 a month is okay but honestly it seems like you need to both talk about this and agree on a set amount, that way you will know where his head is at. Who pays for the food ? since you mentioned the cost of it..if you are to pay for food for the both of you then 300 a month might not be enough. The mobile bill 200 per month and half is his ? are there other bills you are going to have him split or pay ?.. like the power ? I'm paying for everything that I paid for before he came back, food included. I wouldn't be making any money off him, he would simply help cover the overage his presence has created. As happy as I am to have him home, I can't provide a free ride. As mentioned, I live in one of THE most pricy places in the U.S. Sometimes I wonder how the heck I myself can afford to live here. I'm thinking that $300 amounts to around $10 a day for food, all utilities and general household expenses like detergent, cleaning products and maid service since I do all the cooking, cleaning and shopping, lol. He does wash his own clothing. https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/unlimited-55-senior-discount-plans Why on earth are you paying that much for cell service? If you’re 55 and over, the above links to an unlimited plan costing less than half for both your phones. There might be similar savings out there for other household expenses... Mr. Lucky We have Verizon, he has a fairly new iPhone on that plan, plus he prefers Verizon because some of his friends who are on other plans have spotty connections and didn't work in the "field" like Verizon did. Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Lucky Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 dude, T-Mobile is a sub-standard plan and company with sporadic coverage Here’s two lines for a similar plan on Verizon: https://www.verizonwireless.com/plans/55plus/ Point is, the OP paying way more than he should... Mr. Lucky Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 $300 sounds more then fair. Link to post Share on other sites
ChatroomHero Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I'd sit down with him and list out all the bills you pay to live there and ask him what he thinks is fair. My guess is if you show him say, $1800 worth of monthly bills and expenses, he may well offer to pay more. He may say, how about I give you $800? At that point if you are comfortable you can offer $500 and that way he will know he is getting a bargain. I wouldn't expect he would expect to pay any less than $500. 20 years or so ago when I rented my first apartment I think the rent was $650 and monthly bills another $250/$300 for gas, heat, etc. I always figured around $1000 minimum for monthly living expenses was about as low as you could get, not including any food or groceries. This was back when I was making probably $30K a year or less...If someone offered me that for $500 a month, I'd be pretty thankful. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Rayce Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 I think your going to cheap... make it $500 a month or do a market research on how much rooms rent in that area and then give him a 20% discount. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BaileyB Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 My parents purposefully made the rate low ($200/month) so that I could save lots to move out. They gave me my start, and I will be forever grateful. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Happy Lemming Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Back in 2003, I had a quick sale of a home I had been working on and had to rent a room in a flop house. (I had trouble finding a month to month apartment in that area) I paid $325.00/month and it was a very small room. The area was "OK", not bad, but not fancy/nice either. $300.00/month seems more than fair. Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 My deal with my parents was unless I was in college I paid rent, so after I was done and saving money to buy my first house I paid them 200 bucks a month rent, which included most meals. I paid for the households 'cable TV' bill, starting back in the 70's, because I wanted the then relatively new cable. I did this until age 25 when I bought my first house. The rent part occurred in the early 1980's. Their mortgage was paid off at that point but their last payment was under 100 bucks a month. IMO, today, 300 is pretty fair considering son is in school and receiving government benefits. No doubt you'll do extra stuff for him and certainly make his life much easier than if he was rooming with some other young people his age in an apartment or house. Offer that as an option. Have him compare cost versus benefit. Good exercise. Also, put him in charge of finding the most affordable/best fit mobile phone service. He/you can improve on that 200 a month. Whatever he saves and when paying the bill, you'll reduce his rent by half the savings. Same with any other extras. Incentives. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BaileyB Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 My deal with my parents was unless I was in college I paid rent, so after I was done and saving money to buy my first house I paid them 200 bucks a month rent, which included most meals. I did this until age 25 when I bought my first house. This was the same deal in my house. I have friends who are doing this. Their daughter doesn’t know it, but they actually plan to return the money to her for the down payment on her first home or to pay for her tuition if she decides to go back to school. Very generous. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 This was back when I was making probably $30K a year or less...If someone offered me that for $500 a month, I'd be pretty thankful. He is on the G.I. Bill.. I think the living expenses they give him no more than 800 per month.. 600-1000 per month depending on the school he is in is normally what he would get. So he is already paying 200 for the mobile bill... Link to post Share on other sites
Rockdad Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Along with getting the rent established I suggest not letting anyone including your son move in without a time limit and exit plan in place. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Sam2020 Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 He is on the G.I. Bill.. I think the living expenses they give him no more than 800 per month.. 600-1000 per month depending on the school he is in is normally what he would get. So he is already paying 200 for the mobile bill... He's receiving way, way more than that as living expenses while he's attend school. Perhaps because we live in an expensive location, I don't know. But his paying $200 for two mobiles and $300 rent seems reasonable. It'll allow to his pay for his car, insurance, entertainment and save some $$. Along with getting the rent established I suggest not letting anyone including your son move in without a time limit and exit plan in place. It'll be until he receives his bachelors degree. And under the GI bill, they'll only assist him for four years so no taking breaks in between. He's already said that he won't be living here because the cost of living is ridiculous. Link to post Share on other sites
D0nna Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 You say you live well.why let your son pay? Lol.anyway I won't let him pay phone bill since its something that can get very high.maybe ask him how much he can contribute and agree on a amount from there. College ain't cheap. Link to post Share on other sites
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