For jellies who lived at home after graduating from high school or college, did you have to pay rent and if so, how much?

I graduated high school at 17 and took 2 years off before starting college. I paid rent, but it was minimal and mostly just to help out a bit. I believe it was $225/mo (1989–1991).

After college, I moved in with my brother and his wife. They charged $250/mo. and it included meals. This was back in the mid-80s. Had I moved back in with the parents, they would have charged rent as well, in addition to obeying the house rules like a 10pm curfew.

I moved out when I was 35 I split the rent with my mom. In a one bedroom apartment. Rent was $375 each.

I did not have to pay rent. My parents only required that I have a job and that I help out around the house. This was early 90s.

When my son quit college, he continued to live at home. He had a job at a sandwich shop, and was looking for better employment. I charged him $100 a month to live at home, with the understanding that when he moved out, he would get all that money back, unless he broke the rules to the point he was kicked out.
He stayed for a few years, and bought a townhouse. Things worked out very well.

After high school I went to community college while I still lived at home. I also was working about 30 hours a week. I spent some nights with my boyfriend. I didn’t pay rent, but my dad after a year started to crack down on me about needing to be serious about supporting myself or going to college full time. I eventually went away to a university, but if I hadn’t I think my dad eventually would have charged me rent or doled out more pressure to become independent. Not because he needed the money, but because he was afraid I was screwing up my life.

I think @filmfann did a fantastic job, except for, possibly, the amount of rent. He didn’t state the year his son graduated, but if it was after the 80’s I think $200 or more would have been appropriate, both life-skills and nest-egg wise.

I suppose the area cost of living has a bearing on the answers, as much as the time frame. @hominid was paying ‘minimal’ rent of $225 at the exact same time I was buying my first home – a 3 bedroom, 2 story brick – for $240 a month taxes (but not utilities) included. Maintenance free and amazingly low utilites…I miss that house.

@filmfann wow what a deal! Excellent parenting!

My children pay board of $50 a week to cover expenses. We don’t usually have to feed them although we’re happy for them to join us for a meal if they want to. They’re expected to help out with housework and gardening too.

After graduating college I lived at home for 6 months before my wedding. My mom didn’t charge me anything.

Nope. Immediately after high school, I worked for 6 months to earn money for technical school, so my parents saw no benefit to charging me rent. It would have just meant they would have had to give me more money for school later. When I got back from school and stayed with them for a few weeks, I wasn’t working, so they didn’t think to charge me anything. My parents were old enough to be my grandparents, so any chores or errands I ran for them was enough for them to put up with me for a while. I got a job (actually two jobs) and moved out to a place with a flatmate close enough so I wouldn’t have to buy a car to go to work. I ended up paying rent and supporting myself with three jobs at 19 and saved enough money to move to New Zealand after a year.

I did not pay rent after after high school, but I worked 30 hours/week, went straight to college full time, paid my own tuition, fees, and books, paid my own car insurance and expenses, and bought my own clothes and supplies.

I would have preferred to pay rent and have my folks cover tuition in retrospect.

nah

I moved in with my then-fiancé/now-husband a couple of months after turning 21 while I was still in college, but the rule in my parents’ house has always been this:

You’re either…
1.) Going to school, or
2.) Working and paying rent.

If you were in school, you could live for free. If not, you had to pay to live there. I only went back for a month when my husband and I were buying our first home and needed a place to stay while we waited to close on it, and we paid rent. I was still in school, but my husband wasn’t, which is why we had to pay. It wasn’t much, though. $100–200 for the month maybe. Worst month ever, that’s for sure. I’d never go back.

My son is taking a year off college after this current semester. My expectation is that he work full-time immediately and pay both his student loan and our student loan that we took out for his college tuition. He will also pay for his music lessons and snacks/personal supplies. He will pay for his own transportation… either a bus pass or gas and insurance for my car until he buys his own (and then will continue to pay his own gas and insurance). He is also expected to save money for tuition once he returns to school… either in his own savings account or he can pay “rent” and I will save it for him.