I know that many of my readers are mid-lifers who have college-aged children. Now that the majority of the graduation ceremonies have finished, many students find themselves asking, "What next?" Parents are often willing to open their homes until their child becomes self-sufficient. To make the transition easier, today's sponsored guest post by Justin Levelle offers tips on how to make it work.
College Grad Moving Back Home? 5 Tips to Make it Work
Today, college graduates are facing several factors that make coming back to the nest an ideal option; including unprecedented student loan debt, job unavailability, and sky-high rents.
And for the first time in modern history, living with parents is the most common living arrangement for 18-34-year-olds.
Before you freak out when your college graduate decides they want to move back home, read these tips on how to make it work:
1. Treat your child like an adult
That means, not doing their laundry for them or giving them money for a movie. Some of you might want to fall back into the same parental role you played when they were little, but college grads should not expect the babying treatment.
Let them grow their independence. They’ll be a lot more prepared for life if you let them. And word to the wise: stay out of their personal relationships.
2. Insist that your child get a job
After four or more years of basically job-preparation, your college grad may be expecting their dream job to land in front of them like it’s complementary of a degree.
But you know the real world doesn’t work like that, and so should your child. It isn’t healthy for your child to be dependent on you financially while they search for their “dream job.” They’ll be more prepared and confident for life if they can pay for their own expenses.
If your college grad is binge-watching Netflix and swiping on Tinder all day, that’s a sign the living arrangement is not working.
3. Consider charging rent
There’s no such thing as a free lunch. This is something your college grad needs to know. But this strategy works best if you have a plan for why you’re charging rent.
One idea is to collect the money and build a nest egg for your child to have access to when they’re ready to move out. Or, you can use that rent money toward your graduate’s student loans.
4. Have your child plan to pay off student debt
One of the biggest reasons college grads fly back to the nest is money.
Living with you means they’re saving money, so they should be expected to live within their means, save money, and pay off that student debt.
5. Set a reasonable goal for when it’s time for your child to move out
You don’t want your college grad getting stuck in the comforts of home. That’s why they need to set goals of when they’ll spread their wings and fly again.
Talk with your child about what will work for both of you. Will the time to leave be when their student loans are paid off? Or in one year after they’ve saved x amount of money?
Also, ask yourself how much support you can afford. You can’t take care of your child if you aren’t taking care of yourself first.
It does not have to be a problem when your child wants to live at home after graduation, especially when it helps them get better prepared for their future. Just follow these tips to make it work.
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Justin Lavelle is Communications Director at BeenVerified (https://www.beenverified.com) . BeenVerified is the fast, affordable, and easy way to access public records and search for people. Find out ages, marital status, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, criminal records, and more.
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This is great advice. It can be a tough adjustment, especially if the young adult has been living away from home and is used to being independent. I think it is healthy to talk about "house rules," including quiet hours. The grad may not need to be jumping up early to go to work, but the parent may!
ReplyDeleteExactly! I value my sleep!
DeleteSound advice! Especially the part about making sure you can afford to take care of your adult child. Some families are struggling, which means paying for their adult children's student loans may not be an option. Rent might have to pay for real life costs. Great guest post, Marcia!
ReplyDeleteI charged my kids when they moved back home---it helped us both!
DeleteI have a good friend and in the last few months all three of his grown children have moved home, one with a child. No one pays rent, buys groceries or prepares a meal. Sad, really.
ReplyDeleteThat's awful! How will those kids ever learn to be responsible??
DeleteBloody good advice, over the years we have had one daughter or another move back home for a while and one thing Tim had a problem with was remembering they are adults and mothers and should be treated like an adult. He like me expected them to pay their way but what he had a problem with was when they would go out and not say when they would be home, didn't bother me they are old enough not to have to tell be what they are doing but Tim thought they should tell us I said they are in their 20's and if they didn't live here we wouldn't know where they went or what they did. They would pay board and help with the housework
ReplyDeleteI never worried too much about their social life---they are adults and should have the freedom to come and go---as long as they pay their bills and don't wake me up when they come home!
DeleteGreat tips for the parents. I'll have to keep these in mind. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to read!
DeleteExcellent advice!
ReplyDeleteAnd shall pass on...
It's not a free ride, baby,
But I still LOVE YOU!! x
I couldn't agree more!
ReplyDelete