Comments on: Are you Out of College and Living at Home? Get Out Now! http://www.moneycrashers.com/are-you-out-of-college-and-living-at-home-get-out-now/ Personal Finance Blog, Your Guide to Financial Fitness Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:28:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Elizabeth Ihttp://www.moneycrashers.com/are-you-out-of-college-and-living-at-home-get-out-now/#comment-8436 Elizabeth I Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:11:35 +0000 http://moneycrashers.com/?p=97#comment-8436 I think this is terrible advice for a couple of reasons both financially and culturally. I'll start with my financial comments. Graduating college and being able to move in with your parents is a tremendous financial advantage. First, you may not be making a lot of money but you can max out your 401K with the money that is NOT going toward excessive rent. Think about how much money you will have when you retire if you start maxing out your 401K at age 23! Also, paying your parents a couple hundred dollars a month for food and “rent” will be economically helpful for them. Additionally, this is a great time to pay off student loans, pay off the car, and start saving up for a house. Yes, you can do all these things later, when you make more money, but if you live in New England and I am sure other parts of the country, you will find yourself in the 30's and living at home trap. Many people move out right away and are spending $1000 - $1800 in rent ($1000 living with a roommate and $1800 living alone) because they live in very expense parts of the US. If you do not marry you will never be able to save for a house, because housing in these areas of the country are so expensive. Thus, you will be come a thirty-something year old who is moving in with your parents to save for a house, because by thirty-something you realize that you cannot rent forever. When you are 27 and living in your own house and paying your own mortgage all by yourself, you will look back and be pleased that you lived with your folks to make this happen. Your folks will be pleased too that you have made such wise financial choices. Culturally, in America we seem to want to have as little to do with extended family as possible. If you live at home after college you will gain a greater appreciation for your parents as an adult and when your parents age, and they may need to live with you. You will want to extend the same hospitality you encountered when they let you live with them. I think this is terrible advice for a couple of reasons both financially and culturally.

I’ll start with my financial comments. Graduating college and being able to move in with your parents is a tremendous financial advantage. First, you may not be making a lot of money but you can max out your 401K with the money that is NOT going toward excessive rent. Think about how much money you will have when you retire if you start maxing out your 401K at age 23! Also, paying your parents a couple hundred dollars a month for food and “rent” will be economically helpful for them. Additionally, this is a great time to pay off student loans, pay off the car, and start saving up for a house.

Yes, you can do all these things later, when you make more money, but if you live in New England and I am sure other parts of the country, you will find yourself in the 30′s and living at home trap. Many people move out right away and are spending $1000 – $1800 in rent ($1000 living with a roommate and $1800 living alone) because they live in very expense parts of the US. If you do not marry you will never be able to save for a house, because housing in these areas of the country are so expensive. Thus, you will be come a thirty-something year old who is moving in with your parents to save for a house, because by thirty-something you realize that you cannot rent forever.

When you are 27 and living in your own house and paying your own mortgage all by yourself, you will look back and be pleased that you lived with your folks to make this happen. Your folks will be pleased too that you have made such wise financial choices.

Culturally, in America we seem to want to have as little to do with extended family as possible. If you live at home after college you will gain a greater appreciation for your parents as an adult and when your parents age, and they may need to live with you. You will want to extend the same hospitality you encountered when they let you live with them.

]]> By: erik.folgatehttp://www.moneycrashers.com/are-you-out-of-college-and-living-at-home-get-out-now/#comment-1985 erik.folgate Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:50:25 +0000 http://moneycrashers.com/?p=97#comment-1985 Yeah, I took a hard stance on this to prove a point. Most people don't like reading something that says, "well, you could do this, or you could do that" Wishy-washyness doesn't help anyone in the long run. Again, i'm not opposed to living with the parents for a little while to get your feet off the ground, pay off debt, etc. But the least that someone can do as an adult coming back to live with their parents is do extra chores around the house, pay some rent, or buy some groceries on a monthly basis. Yeah, I took a hard stance on this to prove a point. Most people don’t like reading something that says, “well, you could do this, or you could do that” Wishy-washyness doesn’t help anyone in the long run.

Again, i’m not opposed to living with the parents for a little while to get your feet off the ground, pay off debt, etc. But the least that someone can do as an adult coming back to live with their parents is do extra chores around the house, pay some rent, or buy some groceries on a monthly basis.

]]> By: finance ninjahttp://www.moneycrashers.com/are-you-out-of-college-and-living-at-home-get-out-now/#comment-1983 finance ninja Mon, 12 Mar 2007 09:27:16 +0000 http://moneycrashers.com/?p=97#comment-1983 I have to disagree with you. Living with my parents was awesome! They are so cool and way better roommates then all the ones I go through. As for becoming an adult and making adult decions you are right. You also shouldn't get "comfortable" not paying rent. I think most parents, and my own, want you to pay some rent or usually help out more then when you were a child. I think most bumming college kids get away with getting free rent just because their parents do miss them unless you have family issues that were never resolved in that case you probably don't even want to live back at home. I miss living at my parents house. One big bedroom to myself, a guaranteed parking spot, healthy fresh meals, tons of food in the fridge, solid internet, cable tv, the list goes on, and did I mention my sweetie kitty is still waiting for me to come back??? Although many college students fall into a trap going back home to distress and recharge their batteries for the real world you should keep in mind that I need to save up and move out and be an adult. If your cat is still at home and you couldn't bring it because you moved to some exotic island destination be sure to see it regular when you move back and hug it. -the finance ninja i write a personal stock market blog and i miss my cat I have to disagree with you. Living with my parents was awesome! They are so cool and way better roommates then all the ones I go through. As for becoming an adult and making adult decions you are right. You also shouldn’t get “comfortable” not paying rent. I think most parents, and my own, want you to pay some rent or usually help out more then when you were a child. I think most bumming college kids get away with getting free rent just because their parents do miss them unless you have family issues that were never resolved in that case you probably don’t even want to live back at home. I miss living at my parents house. One big bedroom to myself, a guaranteed parking spot, healthy fresh meals, tons of food in the fridge, solid internet, cable tv, the list goes on, and did I mention my sweetie kitty is still waiting for me to come back???

Although many college students fall into a trap going back home to distress and recharge their batteries for the real world you should keep in mind that I need to save up and move out and be an adult. If your cat is still at home and you couldn’t bring it because you moved to some exotic island destination be sure to see it regular when you move back and hug it.

-the finance ninja
i write a personal stock market blog and i miss my cat

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