Working adult children household contribution

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Obairchrua

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Just wondering what do others think is a fair weekly household contribution for working adults living at home? I'm thinking in terms of a contribution to food and household bills.
Whenever this is discussed at work or among friends the amounts suggested vary greatly from €0 to the traditional1/3 of take home pay. Each individual circumstance is different of course and we all want to help our kids along while teaching them that nothing is free, so what would a fair contribution be?
 
ClubMan said:
Never heard of that tradition myself.
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My mother was a believer in that! Save a third, spend a third, hand up a third.

In the past I've looked at the additional financial cost of the adult kids, it was zero for most bills but just came down to electricity and food.
Electricity I thought was too small to bother with and with food I just asked them to cover any items that were specially for them(eg bottles of wine).

I'm happier to help them in saving for a home and the money makes more of a difference to them than it does to us.
 
Savvy said:
My mother was a believer in that! Save a third, spend a third, hand up a third.

In the past I've looked at the additional financial cost of the adult kids, it was zero for most bills but just came down to electricity and food.
Electricity I thought was too small to bother with and with food I just asked them to cover any items that were specially for them(eg bottles of wine).

I'm happier to help them in saving for a home and the money makes more of a difference to them than it does to us.
Click to expand...
1/3 would only make sense , IMHO, if the household had financial pressures and the money was needed . I certainly wouldnt ask for 1/3 or anytijng close to it.
 
All depends on your current overall financial position and how fast do you want them to move out. So are they saving for a deposit for a house for example, either to rent or buy?
 
Yep a lot of people I know over the years have used the one third. Granted a lot have stashed the one third and used some or all of it to help when say son or daughter buying a house etc.
Again the idea behind the contribution encouraging persons to save/budget.
 
I am not there yet so I don't exactly know what I will do. However, I do intend to have them pay somewhat for their keep once they work fulltime. Even if it's only in terms of food/groceries... I don't think it is helpful/realistic to have an adult living for free at home. Sure then they can save but they still cost their parents. If I had 2k per month and had only to take care of myself (no accommodation, no electricity, no food, no internet, no subscription cost...), I could also save plenty without learning to budget. Having only to pay for basically discretionary/leisure related expenses or personal expenses is not at all realistic. I personally thing that the third rule is fair enough.
 
I have never heard of the 1/3 tradition, but it may have been valid when times were tougher.
Im in the lucky position that I am financial comfortable . My first just started their first full time job. They contribute the household budget but their income is small compared the combined income of me and my spouse. I genuinely feel it would be mean of me to ask for 1/3 of their take home pay,
 
1/3 of all wages had to be handed up to the Ma while you lived under her roof.

I have been working since I was 14, got my wages in the lovely little brown manilla envelope from my Dad, he would have the 1/3 in it ready to be handed over to my Ma.

I used to ask him could he not just give me my wages less a third and give it direct to Ma - his reply, I don't do direct debits pay your own bills.

Excellent advice Dad xxx
 
I live alone and am mortgage free. So when my working child came back home to live with me for a time, we shared all household expenses equally.
It was fair and much cheaper for them than renting a place.
 
My view is that working adults should contribute. In my day it was a third. In my house working adults contribute 25% capped at €80/week.
 
We asked for €300 a month initially (and increased it to €400 after his salary went up a lot). That still allowed plenty of scope for saving, which he did. He didn't quibble because he knew what some of his peers were spending on rent and bills.
I really think adults should pay something rather than expecting a free ride. Many young adults who live at home, have a higher disposable income than their parents.
 
I ask for €100 a week. It is a recognition of added food, energy, shampoo etc. Not enough to prevent them from saving or living but enough for them to recognise it is important to contribute.

If they were actively saving to buy a house I would then re-evaluate and ask them their opinion on a fair rate. - maybe get more household duties out of them rather than a cash contribution.
 
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If memory serves - my working daughter was paying €300pm a few years back which included everything. (I can remember when I was getting £100 a week back in the very early 1980s handing over £25 pw to my mother.) There have been periods where the daughters were staying with us between rentals/emigration where we didn't request a contribution.

I've also heard of families asking for quite high contributions from working children - but putting a decent chunk of it into a savings account to be handed back when moving out/buying houses etc.
 
I have a friend whose parents took him to dinner on the eve of his first job in 1980. They calmly explained that he would be giving up 50% of his net income to the household. It was very mafia-like. Nothing personal-strictly business. He was the eldest of a large family and they needed his contribution.

Fast forward and I have another friend whose 4 adult kids live at home. They contribute nothing. They have no reason or incentive to move out. He’s screwed.
 
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