2013-03-27, 02:20 PM
I would suggest sitting down with your Dad and asking him for financial advice.
Leave your sister completely out of it.
Tell him your plans: you want to get married, get your own home, etc. You're saving up for all that, but you're only making [whatever] and you have these expenses: [list them, including rent and whatnot, in the most matter-of-fact way]. Plus your prospects of a raise or advancement at work and yadda yadda. Which ends up with you barely able to save anything, and if it stays this way you'll still be living with them years from now which is inconvenient for both sides etc. So what does he suggest you can do to save money faster?
Your goal, in all this, is to make him come up with the brilliant idea of you not paying rent. And maybe committing to putting that money into a savings account or trust fund or something, so he knows you're saving it and not wasting it.
I repeat: Leave your sister out of it. "Why her and not me?" immediately tags you as a whiny brat and he won't listen to another word. Talk to him as one serious adult to another, and as a son who respects his father's financial wisdom. Hopefully if he sees that you are indeed the serious and responsible person as they expect you to be, he might be moved to help you with your tight budget.
Another possibility is to speak to your mother. Less of a serious talk and more of an "unintentional" wistful comment along the lines of "x days 'til I see my gf again *sigh* I miss her so much .... wish we could get married and have our own place and maybe even a baby already ... but it's so hard to save money nowadays ... " and basically again list your salary against all your expenses, and hope she picks up on that rent being a huge chunk out of your pay. She might not say anything immediately, don't press it. She might feel she needs to consult with your dad in private before she can tell you the rent is cut or whatever. And, again, don't mention your sister at all.
From what I understand, your family has no real need for those $500 you pay for rent. It's probably more of a principle thing, you're over 18 and you have a job, so you should pay rent "to learn how much housing costs" or some such. So it's a matter of subtly convincing them that teaching you the value of saving money is more important and of more use to them as well (because it gets you out of their hair sooner).
Good luck.
Leave your sister completely out of it.
Tell him your plans: you want to get married, get your own home, etc. You're saving up for all that, but you're only making [whatever] and you have these expenses: [list them, including rent and whatnot, in the most matter-of-fact way]. Plus your prospects of a raise or advancement at work and yadda yadda. Which ends up with you barely able to save anything, and if it stays this way you'll still be living with them years from now which is inconvenient for both sides etc. So what does he suggest you can do to save money faster?
Your goal, in all this, is to make him come up with the brilliant idea of you not paying rent. And maybe committing to putting that money into a savings account or trust fund or something, so he knows you're saving it and not wasting it.
I repeat: Leave your sister out of it. "Why her and not me?" immediately tags you as a whiny brat and he won't listen to another word. Talk to him as one serious adult to another, and as a son who respects his father's financial wisdom. Hopefully if he sees that you are indeed the serious and responsible person as they expect you to be, he might be moved to help you with your tight budget.
Another possibility is to speak to your mother. Less of a serious talk and more of an "unintentional" wistful comment along the lines of "x days 'til I see my gf again *sigh* I miss her so much .... wish we could get married and have our own place and maybe even a baby already ... but it's so hard to save money nowadays ... " and basically again list your salary against all your expenses, and hope she picks up on that rent being a huge chunk out of your pay. She might not say anything immediately, don't press it. She might feel she needs to consult with your dad in private before she can tell you the rent is cut or whatever. And, again, don't mention your sister at all.
From what I understand, your family has no real need for those $500 you pay for rent. It's probably more of a principle thing, you're over 18 and you have a job, so you should pay rent "to learn how much housing costs" or some such. So it's a matter of subtly convincing them that teaching you the value of saving money is more important and of more use to them as well (because it gets you out of their hair sooner).
Good luck.