Parents who charge their grown-up children room and board are passing on a valuable life lesson as well as an important life skill.
The lesson is that things we want or need come at a price. It is unrealistic to believe that we can find a place to live for free–especially a place where meals are provided. Where better to learn this than in the nurturing safety of one’s family home.
And charging room and board teaches our adult children the mechanics of periodic savings. It is not difficult to transfer the habit of putting aside a portion of income to the process of a monthly savings plan. Some parents keep a separate account of the room and board receipts, with the intention of gifting back the accumulation on some special occasion such as wedding or first home purchase. I like this gesture because it demonstrates quite concretely the benefits of savings, albeit forced savings.
Whether parents charge room and board to help meet household expenses, or to gift back at some future date, the benefits remain the same. Their children learn about life and develop the skill of the savings process.
Hazel Fluke, Financially Speaking 