Real Answers for Life’s Money Challenges
My 19-year-old daughter lives at home with her dad and me.
-M.
Dear M.,
As someone with no children, Im not exactly qualified to give parenting advice.
But as a former 19-year-old, I get where your daughter is coming from.
Here arethe biggest money secretsthat can help you stop wasting precious funds and get your finances back on track.
Your daughter isnt paying bills because theyre magically getting paid for her.
But when youre cushioned from these consequences, why would you start paying bills?
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Maybe there are some 19-year-olds out there who volunteer to pay bills because its what responsible adults do.
you’re free to start by telling her shes responsible for paying rent each month.
That doesnt mean you better charge her market rent.
You could require her to set up an automatic transfer so her payment goes directly to your bank account.
If she misses a payment for some reason, you could tack on a small late fee.
Dont expect your daughter to be perfect right away.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Or maybe she could use that money to pay back her student loans.
This could be a good opportunity to help your daughter create her first budget.
You could base her expected contribution toward household bills on the 50% target.
Id also suggest finding a bill or two that you could put in your daughters name.
You may also want to talk to your daughter about what her long-term plans are.
People often waste their paychecks because they dont have a goal.
Its certainly not too late to teach your daughter financial discipline.
Its perfectly reasonable to require your daughter to take some financial responsibility as a condition of living with you.
Robin Hartill is a certified financial planner and a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
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