This is a touchy topic!

Should parents give money to adult kids? Let us say for the following:

Buying a car

Buying a house

Higher education

Marriage

For an expensive vacation (expensive because the kid cannot afford it)

I do have strong views on this. Everybody should learn to live within their means. If you need a loan for buying something, go get it.

However I did this article for saying something else. There are exceptions. If your son / daughter has been a good student and has always behaved well financially you should give the loan. Let us say you have a net worth of Rs. 5 crores + a house in which you live. You have sat with your financial planner and he says ‘well you need only Rs. 2 crores because you already have a government pension….’ then you really have a Rs. 3 crore surplus. What are you going to do with that extra money that you have?

Well if your responsible, smart kid comes and tells you ‘Dad (Mom) I have got admission in Harvard (any Ivy League MBA) …’ will you pay the fees’

I would shoot myself if you said ‘No. No Subramoney.com says parents should not pay’…..

Please pay in such circumstances. Getting into a good college on merit is itself a great achievement, so please encourage THIS kid.

There is nothing wrong in helping, but you should NOT substitute their actions. You can support. You should have zero tolerance for kids bad behavior. There is just not enough proof that kids (or siblings) do well if parents have ambitions, and try to live their own lives through the kids!

However if you are planning to use your money for getting him to a college where kids have pony tails….I would put my foot down.

also read on….

Should you give money to your adult kids?