Bank of mum and dad

[MickeyBlueEyes]

Spending other people's money is great at the time but it's a bad habit to fall into and difficult to crawl out of

I'm fortunate. Despite son#2 going to quite a fancy school and being largely surrounded by kids from comfortably off families, he is developing a very level head for money. Instead of buying his non-essential clothes, we started giving him an allowance which he had to manage himself. Recently he asked us to stop paying it because he wasn't spending it and it was building up in his bank account.

Last summer (it was GCSEs so he had about 3 months off) he set up his own gardening business. I bought the mower for £100 as my contribution, after that he was on his own. He built up a loyal client base that he will be able to access again this year and made a lot of cash for a 16 year old. That's in his bank account and he's saving it for the future. To give an idea of the amount, if he does this for say two more summers, he would probably have enough for a deposit on a small house if that's what he wanted to spend it on

I've tried to instil in him the value of money and that I have to work hard to get it. It seems to be paying off

I like this @nickyboy good stuff mate

 

[dan_bo]

I let them off half rent if they meet their targets.

 

[jonny jeez]

Rubbish. Few people even had them before the late nineties. Theres no physiological or social reason why they are essential, and if you're that hooked then a £10 handset and eek out your credit completely undermines that argument - if you feel it's "essential" to stay in touch then it can be done for insignificant cost.

I'm a full time carer and survive weeks without even switching mine on, and even then only when i'm on call for SAR. How many of these young adults can say they're category 2 responders and it's therefore "essential" to have one?

The real reason is that most people are fashion gullible, and must have the latest handset. It's that simple. In virtually every single case it is simply not a necessity.

I find myself agreeing with @User....wow, I may need a little lie down.

Its not about taking calls, its about contact.

I am on my work mobile all day, yet take and receive about 10 calls. The rest of the time is split doing stuff such as:

Updating, responding to and replying to Linkedin stuff

Emails

Texts

web access, for all manner of reasons from researching clients to confirming contractors locations

Tube maps, cycle maps..map-maps (this is one of the most used features of my phone) bus timetables, train timetables

Uber

I will use each of these a good amount of times each day and is required in the performance if my duties and the promotion of my firm (I am targeted for linked in interaction for instance)

And then of course there's my home mobile which is mostly monopolised by cyclechat!!

But phone calls, nah, hardly ever make them, who does?

 

[JoshM]

I think he means £9,000 per year - not per term.

I do yes, sorry!

Where exactly do they pay £9,000 per term in tuition fees? the cap is £9,250 per year I thought http://university.which.co.uk/advic...es-and-finance-for-where-you-live#tuitionfees.
Also many people will never earn over the NMW so will never pay it back anyway and repayment is a relatively small sum per month depending on what you earn.https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay

If many people will never make the NMW, then what is for? Surely the only people not making it should be self employed?

 

[nickyboy]

I find myself agreeing with @User....wow, I may need a little lie down.

Its not about taking calls, its about contact.

I am on my work mobile all day, yet take and receive about 10 calls. The rest of the time is split doing stuff such as:

Updating, responding to and replying to Linkedin stuff

Emails

Texts

web access, for all manner of reasons from researching clients to confirming contractors locations

Tube maps, cycle maps..map-maps (this is one of the most used features of my phone) bus timetables, train timetables

Uber

I will use each of these a good amount of times each day and is required in the performance if my duties and the promotion of my firm (I am targeted for linked in interaction for instance)

And then of course there's my home mobile which is mostly monopolised by cyclechat!!

But phone calls, nah, hardly ever make them, who does?

Smartphones aren't phones. They're hand-held computers with a phone app installed

Like you I'm using mine all day...WhatsApp, wechat, emails, web access. In London recently and it's invaluable for maps, tripadvisor on the hoof and uber

Probably get 3-4 calls a day max.

It's a technology tool. It makes my life better and easier

 

[jonny jeez]

Smartphones aren't phones. They're hand-held computers with a phone app installed

Like you I'm using mine all day...WhatsApp, wechat, emails, web access. In London recently and it's invaluable for maps, tripadvisor on the hoof and uber

Probably get 3-4 calls a day max.

It's a technology tool. It makes my life better and easier

very true.

someone was complaining recently (on here I seem to remember) about how phones were getting bigger again. However when you consider the functions that your phone replaces, they are...comparatively speaking becoming tiny.

 

[sbird]

Why can't young people rent? We didn't buy our first house until we were in our 30's. But we lived in rented until then. DIdn't do me any harm ;-)
Just curious on other people's takes on this.

To answer your question is some do but there's good reason why they may choose not to. It is because housing affordability (the proportion of earnings that goes on the rent/mortgage) is the worst it's been in living memory.

The highest housing costs I've ever experienced it was in the early 80s when mortgage interest rates went into double figures. For many months over 50% of our salary went on the mortgage. Yes we cut back on spending to be able to afford it but it was short-lived problem. For many people (not only the young) paying over 50% of their earnings on housing costs is something that has no end in sight.

 

[nickyboy]

very true.

someone was complaining recently (on here I seem to remember) about how phones were getting bigger again. However when you consider the functions that your phone replaces, they are...comparatively speaking becoming tiny.

I'm about to change my smartphone as the contract has expired. The next one will be bigger because it's so much more than a phone

If I'm going to London for a meeting I can run my whole day on the phone...messages, emails, texts, maps, web access. Just take a charger and I'm good to go. No need to lug a laptop around these days

 

[Tin Pot]

A lot of old people doing the "in my day" bit on this thread.

I'm not sure if I'll be lucky enough to help my kids and I've no idea what opportunities will come to them or miss them by as they enter the world of work.

Pretty sure they'll be different to what I experienced, so there's little point comparing.

I think you need to be smart and ambitious, to get ahead of the game. An average offering will reap average rewards.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

A lot of old people doing the "in my day" bit on this thread.

I'm not sure if I'll be lucky enough to help my kids and I've no idea what opportunities will come to them or miss them by as they enter the world of work.

Pretty sure they'll be different to what I experienced, so there's little point comparing.

I think you need to be smart and ambitious, to get ahead of the game. An average offering will reap average rewards.

That would be my observation of life as a generalism.

 

[ufkacbln]

My son is 6, I am not quite cruel enough to demand council tax from him, although rent sounds like a good idea.

May I suggest "Fagin & Co" Employment Agency.......... they employ children of this age in the "financial" sector

 

[Sandra6]

As far as I'm aware all universities now charge the £9000 a year fee, and the amount of maintenance loan available is means tested against a parent's income.
Given the average post grad salary is £26k, repayments of said loans will be between £30 and £60 a month. That will hardly break the bank.
I think it's massively unfair that some children get less than others because their parents combined income is above a certain threshhold, as it doesn't take into account how much money you actually have "spare" . According to a recent Martin Lewis programme we are "expected" to contribute around £3000 a year -to each child. That's almost 2/3rds of my entire income!
The habit of funding your children's lifestyle starts much earlier than university though. I loose count of the number of times I hear "but you have to buy them a phone" "but you have to pay for their trips" "but you have to make sure they learn to drive"
Start as you mean to go on. We have a saying in this house "I'll buy you a pen if you need one, but if you want a fancy pen, get a job and buy your own"

 

[Julia9054]

As far as I'm aware all universities now charge the £9000 a year fee, and the amount of maintenance loan available is means tested against a parent's income.
Given the average post grad salary is £26k, repayments of said loans will be between £30 and £60 a month. That will hardly break the bank.
I think it's massively unfair that some children get less than others because their parents combined income is above a certain threshhold, as it doesn't take into account how much money you actually have "spare" . According to a recent Martin Lewis programme we are "expected" to contribute around £3000 a year -to each child. That's almost 2/3rds of my entire income!
The habit of funding your children's lifestyle starts much earlier than university though. I loose count of the number of times I hear "but you have to buy them a phone" "but you have to pay for their trips" "but you have to make sure they learn to drive"
Start as you mean to go on. We have a saying in this house "I'll buy you a pen if you need one, but if you want a fancy pen, get a job and buy your own"

What is more unfair is that students from lower income families have to borrow more for their living costs since the recent abolition of top up grants. You are therefore penalised for being from a poor family by spending your lifetime in approximately 25% more debt.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Simple answer - cost of living is more expensive now. A friend is paying £680 a month to rent a 1 bed flat. I pay £380/month on a mortgage for a 3 bed semi in the same city. Yes young people can and do rent, and pay off someone else's mortgage for them whilst not being able to save a penny for a deposit. or they can choose to stay at home for a few years and try to save up.

I firmly believe that kids should be taught the value of money, and saving. However, we also need to think about how best to help our kids to help themselves. Sometimes that means giving them a leg-up, on the property ladder, or at Uni etc. My parents payed for Uni for me, and I was grateful. I also lived there rent free for a number of months in between job hunting. As soon as I started earning, I didn't get (and didn't expect) any more handouts.

 

[Sandra6]

What is more unfair is that students from lower income families have to borrow more for their living costs since the recent abolition of top up grants. You are therefore penalised for being from a poor family by spending your lifetime in approximately 25% more debt.

Why would a student from a lower income family need to borrow more? Their living costs are the same.
Oh, right, you are making the huge assumption that the more well off parents are giving their kids money.
Did you not read my post? We are in the "better off" category, but we have zip all to give the kids. While plenty of "lower" earners have disposable cash.
If everyone was given the same amount of loan and parents weren't made to feel financially responsible for them it would be a much fairer starting point.