When my three started earning money I said "OK board starts with your first pay packet". We had a rather long and heated discussion but I stood by my guns and the rule stood. The rate was approximately equal to what they ate and an amount for rent and electricity and a discount because we loved them. After three years my two eldest worked out that they could buy a house together. They did, and on the day they left home I gave each of them a cheque for the money they had paid in board over the previous four years. I had put each payment into a separate "board account". They renovated that property and sold it. Now each owns their own home and one is looking at buying an investment property. My daughter has just bought her first home and she knew that she would get the "board" back. She voluntarily paid extra, she said it was better for me to look after her money otherwise she would spend it.
My eldest two are thirty and twenty nine, my daughter is twenty six. Not only do I feel that my system was a success, my kids tell me that it was fantastic and they will use it for the next generation (when it arrives).
