A mum has divided opinions after she asked her 18-year-old daughter to contribute more money towards bills because she had more 'disposable cash' than her. The teen was furious and refused, leaving the woman wondering if she was being unreasonable as she sought advice from other parents.
After finishing college, the woman says her daughter earned over £800 a month while working at a popular supermarket. The job also featured a variety of perks including receiving discounted prices on food shopping and the teen had been giving her mum £50 a month while working there, the Mirror reports.
However, she has since quit her job and got another one at a fast food restaurant with her boyfriend where she is going to earn less. Without the discount shopping bonus, the parent is struggling more and asked her daughter to contribute an additional £25 a month but she was not at all pleased.
Taking to Mumsnet to explain the situation further, she wrote: "My daughter is 18 she finished college last year and is taking some time to decide what she wants to do, etc. Since August she's worked at a well-known supermarket, earning just a bit above minimum wage and about 30 hours a week.
"Her employer gave her a staff discount card for a family member as well as herself which was saving me quite a bit on the shopping. I still charged her £50 a month which I think is reasonable, considering she has been earning around 800 a month.
"She has more disposable cash than me. Last week she decided to quit her job, she had a falling out with her manager and quit on the spot, she says she hated it there, etc etc.
"To be fair, it was a stressful environment but she seemed to be doing okay there until recently. So she's quit her job, she has got a new job lined up, she's going to work with her boyfriend at a fast food restaurant, her boyfriend has gotten her the job and she starts next week.
"She's actually going to be earning less there than she was before, and tbh I think the main reason she quit was that she wanted to work with her boyfriend. I think it's a bad idea but she's an adult she can do what she wants.
"I've said to her since bills are going up and I won't have access to the discount anymore I want her to contribute more - I'm asking for £75 a month instead of 50. Which is actually less than I would have saved with the discount, etc. But even still, she'll be earning upwards of 500 a month, I get she needs to save but I feel like what I'm asking isn't unreasonable.
"She's lashed out at me and said that it's not fair because she's earning less why should she have to pay more, and that I'm being mean and horrible basically. When she got the job at the supermarket I said that her staff discount would count towards her contribution, but she's saying that I'm penalising her for switching jobs."
Since sharing, the woman's controversial post has raked in over 150 comments but not everyone agrees with the parent's decision. One person replied: "YOU ARE NOT BEING UNREASONABLE, £75 A MONTH!!!!!
"I would love her to be able to point to anywhere where she would be able to live for £75 a month. Do not back down. She should still be able to save with that amount."
On the other hand however, someone else said: "I'll never understand parents who make their children pay rent, whatever age they are it just seems odd to me. You should never charge your child for something a parent should do for free."
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