I know opinions on this vary a lot depending on the country and culture, so I’m curious what others think. Personally, I have a 22-year-old son. I bought him a house and a car, I pay for his university tuition (his grades are high enough for a state-subsidized spot, but we feel that should go to someone more in need), and I basically support him fully. We want him to focus on his studies and enjoy this stage of his life. He will finish his dentistry degree in 2028, and then we plan to finance the opening of his private practice. We’ll stop providing financial support once he’s earning enough to live comfortably on his own. I see many parents online (especially in North America) talking about kids moving out at 18, paying rent to live at home, and covering their own bills, and it honestly shocks me. That feels unfathomable to me. I believe that as parents, we have a duty to give our children a good life since we brought them into this world.
FWIW. I have been on my own financially since 18.
Most people I meet, when they find this out, freak out at me. They think I shouldn’t have been born if my parents weren’t able to do what OP does for his kid. I paid for my own undergrad, graduate, and have started working/saving since I was 15 years old. I went to an ivy league college too. Worked every summer fulltime to pay my bills for the next year. I’ve never been unhappy. I just lived without luxuries and saw nothing wrong with that.
Apparently this ‘lifestyle’ is heinous and unfathomable to people in 2025.
Congrats!
I don’t actually know the outcome data on the different cohorts; perhaps the phenomenon is too new to have good data? Or perhaps the economy is crazy enough that old data wouldn’t be useful. My intuition is that, as you describe, self-sufficient at 18 (when it’s not a surprise), was pretty reasonable provided jobs could be found and housing was available. May I ask what cohort is yours and what cost of living looked like for those first ~3 years?