Mom Divides the Internet After Sharing That She Charges Her 7-Year-Old Rent and Bills

Being an adult is hard. You have work to do, bills to pay, meals to make…sometimes it can feel down right impossible to pay for all the things you need to have in order to survive! You might wonder, why wasn’t this something we ever learned in school?

Well, one mother decided that she was going to instill the importance of managing money to her 7-year-old son. So how did she do that? She decided to charge him rent for living in her house. After all, was teaching him that he could live rent free really realistic, or offering him any life lessons at all? No!

“Without a working knowledge of money, it is extraordinarily difficult to do well in life,” Sam X Renick, the co-creator of Sammy Rabbit, a children’s character and financial literacy initiative. “Money is central to transacting life, day-in and day-out. Where we live, what we eat, the clothes we wear, the car we drive, health care, education, child-rearing, gift-giving, vacations, entertainment, heat, air-conditioning, insurance—you name it, money is involved.”

But to charge a 7-year-old rent? It seemed a little wrong. How could he even afford rent anyway?

That was part of this mom’s plan. She has her son complete a task list each day—things like making the bed, brushing his teeth, tidying his bathroom, etc.—and then gets a dollar each day he completes it.

Then, at the end of the month, he has to pay his bills—rent, electricity, Internet, you know, all the things he uses. Of course, the bills are much lower than a real-life bill would be, seeing as he makes about $30 or so a month. But don’t worry—mom considered that. She set his rent at $5, electricity at $2 and WiFi at 2. His bills are only about 30% of his monthly income, so he’s able to have 70% left over as his “fun” money.

As a reward, Mom puts the $9 he pays each month toward his bills right into a savings account for him—so it’s still all his for when he’s older. It’s win-win for everyone! Right?

Some people don’t agree with her logic. “Okay, but he’s 7. Why not just let him be a kid and then do this when he’s a teenager or something?”

But others think this method is amazing for teaching life skills. “I love this. He’s still making $21 a month for allowance (and learning the value of money/responsibility). That’s pretty food for 7 years old!”

Check out the mom’s TikTok explaining her lessons below!

@craftedandcozyThis has worked wonders in my household….hope it works for you! 💓 #parentsoftiktok #parentinghack #mamatiktok #fyp #mamatiktok #tiktokmom♬ Aesthetic Girl – Yusei

What do you think of this mom’s teachings for her 7-year-old? How do you teach your kids about money, and when do you think is a good age to do so?