How much should he contribute?

[Emma09]

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!

[Catastrophic]

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?

[Mother Goose]

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.

[Emma09]

Thanks ladies!


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

[MulwareeRainbow]

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.

[diannescruffy]

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

[Emma09]

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

[Emma09]

Have edited my post until I find out the exact amount

[Pholi]

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.

[peanutter]

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.