Growing up, I was told "If you're not in school, you're paying rent... or, you can move out." Bill and I have said the same thing to our kids over the years, too.
But what do you do with the child who is working to save up for college, but doesn't have enough saved for tuition, yet? And has a difficult time making herself save the money she needs?
You create a win/win compromise situation.
Starting in September, Helena will pay us rent. Not the cheap I'm-living-with-my-parents-token-rent, either. Full blown high end rent. The kind of money she'd have to shell out if she was paying real people rent + car + gas + utilities + food. The difference, of course, is that we will be putting that money into a savings account for her to pay college tuition. If she moved out of the house for real, and had to start paying for all of those things, she'd never see that money again. When she is ready to register, the money will be there for her.
And if she bails on her college plans?
The money will become ours.
Everyone seems very happy with this arrangement. We'll see how it goes after a few months of rent paying...
3 comments:
Brilliant
That is the best idea ever! I'm going to have to remember that in a couple of years when Ashley faces the same scenario!
That's fantastic. I'm going to tuck that little bit of brilliance away for when my kiddos are older.
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