How much should he contribute?

Hi all- I have my 17yo nephew living with me.
It seems I have finally got his centrelink sorted out and he will be paid tomorrow.

DH and I would like to take some out as a sort of 'board' payment to help with bills and food (the kid can eat like its his last meal :-)
What would be a good amount to take out?

Also- as the money is going into my bank account for now- I can give nephew an allowance out of it.
What amount of pocket money do your teenagers receive?
He has agreed to bank the rest of the money after expenses- to save for a car :-)

Thanks- we're quite new at parenting a teenager- our parenting journey jumped about 14 years almost overnight!

Depending in how much he is getting from c'link...

I think a 1/3 is quite fair... Then a 1/3 to live on and a 1/3 to save?

When my sister lived with us, we gave HER 1/3 of her centre link payment...but we paid for everything - food, school, clothes etc. all she had to pay for was her social stuff. Once she became a bit more responsible and began buying her own clothes, we have her more of her money until we only took 1/3 to contribute towards the house. She also had chores to contribute. My sister was 15 when she moved in with us.

Thanks ladies!


The money would cover food, schooling, Internet useage etc.
haven't worked out how to factor in clothes yet.

Clothes - give him an annual allowance paid twice a year (summer/winter) and let him make the decision. Great budgeting experience! School clothes and shoes are still something that you pay for, though.

Emma, are you sure on the amount, $450 sounds a lot for a 17yr old. DS18 receives $260 per fortnight and pays us $80.

Regards,
Dianne

No, I'm not 100% sure.
We did apply for living away from home allowance as well though.

Have edited my post until I find out the exact amount

My Mum always said, when were living at home and earning a fulltime wage, that 1/3 to spend, 1/3 for rent and 1/3 to save was a good balance. It always seemed like too much to be paying M&D in rent, to me, but now that I am older and have a much better idea of the true cost of living, I think it was very reasonable.

I think you are fantastic for taking on a teenager. Bless you all.

When we were foster parents, teens were expected to give us 1/3 and they got to keep the rest.

I personally would have flipped it the other way around, or had a requirement that another 1/3 went into savings.

If our teens didn't get centrelink, then they got $15 pocket money a week, plus we'd let them buy something "fun" (up to $10) at the shop if they came and helped with the shopping (could be food, a magazine, cheapie mascara, etc).

So a big difference if they didn't get centrelink! Their centrelink was $270 a fortnight. They were "boarding/lodging" with us, so weren't eligible for rent assistance.

But all their food (not junk or soft drink - just general meals and healthy snacks), schooling, and basic clothes, school books etc were paid for.