5 Tips To Help When Your College Graduate Decides To Move Back Home

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 world 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.

Bio
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.