Making a five-year-old pay rent is a little crazy, but the way this mom is doing it is actually completely brilliant. Meet Essence Evans. Once parents read what Evans wrote on her Facebook, they were praising her for preparing her daughter for the real world. Essence explained that she takes most of her daughter’s allowance for ‘rent’. But unlike real landlords, Essence doesn’t keep that money for herself. She actually tucks that money away in a savings account for her little girl.
On her Facebook, Essence wrote “I make my five-year-old pay rent. Every week she gets $7 in allowance. But I explained to her that in the real world most people spend most of their paycheck on bills with little to spend on themselves. I make her give me $5 back. $1 for rent $1 for water $1 for electricity $1 for cable and $1 for food”.
The mother continued writing that once the 5-year-old’s ‘bills’ are paid, Essence’s daughter either chooses to save the remaining $2 or spend it however she pleases. Once the little girl turns 18, she gets all the money she paid for ‘rent’ back. In the meantime, Essence keeps it in her savings account. How genius is that?
Essence continued writing, “So if she decides to move out on her own she will have $3,380 to start off.” She is confident that doing this strategy will ensure that her daughter will be fully prepared for the real world. In the long run, her daughter will be forever thankful that her mother did this. She noted in her post, “When they see how much real bills are they will appreciate you for giving them a huge discount.”
The mother ended her post by telling other parents that they should do the same with their children. Her post was shared more than 313,000 times and thousands of people have given her nothing but respect for teaching her daughter an important lesson about money and saving at such an early age.
Melissa Thomas is one person who was praising Essence, writing, “You are brilliant for teaching this to your child in this way! I have done similar with my kids, and I am now the proud parent of two young ladies who know and respect what they can earn more than something given to them.” Another mom wrote, “I did a similar version of this when my boys were little, they have turned out to be amazing men and fathers, great with money, taking care of their children, owning their home, paying mortgages down, staying out of debt.”
Of course, with those who respect and admire what Essence is doing, not everyone can agree with her tactic. There were many who showed a bit of worry regarding what Essence was doing, saying that it adds unnecessary stress on her daughter at such a young age. One person wrote, “It’s YOUR job to raise your child. Put the money in a savings account if you want, but no child should be made to feel that they should pay for what a parent should provide”. What do you guys think?
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