Erika and Cody Archie, a couple from Texas, caused a heated discussion online after they revealed that they expected their daughter to pay rent after she graduated high school. Some people thought the parents were too harsh, but others thought it was a good way to teach their daughter financial responsibility.
A Texas couple had the internet divided when they revealed that they expected their high school graduate daughter to pay rent.
Erika and Cody Archie from Gatesville are known on TikTok for sharing their life on the ranch, but the parents posted a video about their decision to charge their daughter rent and wanted to know what the rest of their audience thought.
The couple’s daughter, Kylee Deason, graduated in May 2022 and decided not to go to college. Therefore, by June 1, 2022, her father expected her to pay $200 towards rent.
Erika and Cody wanted this to be a lesson on financial maturity for their daughter. In the video, the Texas father explained, “Our thought together is that since [Kylee] has graduated, I told her… I been telling her, “June the first, our rent’s due if you continue to live here.”
However, Erika thought her husband could give their daughter a longer grace period. She said, “I thought that was a little harsh, I mean, maybe a little leeway.” But the mother was in agreement with the lesson they were trying to teach Kylee.
As the parents further reasoned, they believed that $200 was more than affordable. Cody emphasized, “200 bucks a month is plenty cheap to live like a grub in your parent’s house.” Erika added that it was even cheaper than food, but if Kylee wanted to eat her parents’s groceries, then she needed to add an extra $100 to her rent contribution.
While the Texas couple believed they were being more than fair with their daughter, some people did not fully agree with their approach and thought there were different ways to teach their daughter financial responsibility.
One internet user suggested that Erika and Cody find a compromise rather than making Kylee pay rent. The commenter thought it would not be healthy for their daughter to experience stress from owing her parents. “You brought her into this world, so you deal with it,” they continued.
Another netizen shared the same sentiments, adding, “I would never charge my child rent. I raised them on my own. How can you take money from your child?” One more commenter agreed and said their children would always have a home with their parents.
Despite the strong opinions on how harsh Erika and Cody might be towards their daughter, there were people who agreed with their approach. In fact, one commenter said, “$200 is cheap. I’d charge more.” While another person even calculated that it was only $50 a week.
Another commenter did not even understand why this was debated because what the Texas couple was doing was more about principle than money. The internet user added that Kylee paying $200 for a roof over her head was nothing.
More people shared that they also charged their children rent. “Why would she live free?” added a netizen and continued to explain that they also got their son to pay rent because having a job meant learning how to finance your life.
Living at home is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, more households are reportedly considered “multi-generational.” But according to the Pew Research Center, as of July 2022, 50 percent of adults in America between 18 and 29 lived with one or both of their parents.Another 2020 study showed that people living at home suffered from great depression. The coronavirus and changes that came from the pandemic also contributed, but this trajectory was reportedly obvious beforehand.