Is my husband right??? please give your advise...?

My son is 20... My husband charges him $300 a month for rent... My son has his own one room efficiency in our home but also has access to the entire house... Laundry... phone... occasional dinners... etc. I think $300 is too much... He has a job making only $10/hr. I think $200 is fair... I want him to be able to save some money... What do you all think??? It has caused tension between my husband and I... My husband thinks $300 is more then fair....

Andrew P2007-12-20T09:42:53Z

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Well I pay 300 in rent myself so I know how your son will feel. I am 22 but make a decent amount of money.

The answer to this question lies i think in the reasoning. When my parents started charging my brother rent at 300, it was because they wanted to encourage him to go back to school in which they wouldn't charge him rent.

In my situation they are charging me rent just because they charged him and fair is fair although it makes it harder for me to save up.

To be honest charge him 300, take 100 of it without your son knowing and put it in an account in which when he moves out it will be like a little moving out gift.

This should appease your husband in the sense that your son will get the " I am now a man" treatment" and make you happy because mom is still helping out.

Sandy Ego2007-12-20T10:14:16Z

If you sat down and did a search on craigslist or in your local paper, what would be the numbers that would come up for renting a room in your area? I'd say, if you take this number and reduce it by like 20%-30%, it would be about fair to charge a family member for rent. In our area, if I was to try and rent a room right now, I would be paying anywhere from $400-$450 and up (plus utilities), depending on the place. I wouldn't find anything for $300. So it kind of depends on you and your husband to determine what would be fair to charge your son, and also what would make most sense. Are you in dire financial straights? Is he? Does he actually *try* to save money, or does he blow any extra money he has? $10/hr isn't that bad for a 20-year-old, and $300 in rent is really very reasonable. But he is a family member, of course - so if he's doing his part in being responsible and saving money, and if you can afford it, I don't see why you can't cut him an even bigger "slack" to help him get on his feet. I'm sure your husband is not trying to be mean - he likely has his reasons to feel that this particular amount is fair. You have to look at your situation as a whole, and come up with a solution that both you and your husband can be happy with.

littlevivi2007-12-20T10:02:44Z

What utilities are included in the $300 rent? Electricity, water, sewage, trash, heat? If he has access to your phone, that's a bill he doesn't have to pay on his own. Same with laundry, that's saving him quite a bit being able to use your laundry. I would imagine that since he has access to the whole house, he can watch your cable/satellite/what ever TV, and probably uses your internet access to, right? If so, more bills he isn't having to pay on his own, so what, exactly, is the rest of his paycheck going to? Is he working full time, getting about 40 hours a week? That makes his paycheck approximately $1600 a month before taxes(sometimes more, some months are 5 weeks instead of 4), so what else is he paying for? If you want your husband to reduce the rent, you should present it in a logical manner, have your son make up a budget that lists all his expenses and present that to your husband if it is proven that the $100 reduction on his rent is needed.

Erica, AKA Stretch2007-12-20T09:54:17Z

I was on disability when I was 18 and on Medicaid. I received $500 a month and paid my mom $350 for room and board. She helped me with budgeting, showed me how to pay my bills and save money. I was finally able to find a job a little over a year later and was able to get rid of SSA Benefits.

I never once complained because my apartment alone was $550 a month! This didn't include, phone, car payments, auto insurance, food, gas, my cat's expenses, etc. I was making about $11 an hour full time and I was able to make ends meet!

Your son has it easy. Because I had a disability, it was limiting on what types of jobs I can do. I'm sure if you son wanted more spending money, he could get a better paying job or work a second job.

Kids are way too lazy and spoiled these days. Parents need to teach children how to become independent and leave the nest. Not enable them and hinder their chances on being successful.

MJ2007-12-20T09:40:22Z

$300 is less than half of what he would be paying if he were iin an apartment anywhere else. PLUS... he has the extra benefits of food, laundry, phone and probably cable without extra expenses. He is trying to teach him responsibility by making him pay at least part of his way. If you continue to coddle him and make excuses for him then he will never leave as he knows that you ill always be there to give him what he wants without working for it. Even my 13 year old has to earn his own money for sports gear and extra activities. He is currently making $10 an hour which is more than a lot of people are making and they are scraping by on minimum wage. Get him to some financing classes to help him budget and set a goal for him to be out. I am a widowed mother of 4 (ages 3-13) and we live on $1900 a month. There is no reason a healthy 20 year old single male couldn't make it on $1600 + maybe get a second job.

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