Help, My Daughter Is Blackmailing Me

Dear Scott,

My adult daughter, her partner and one-year-old son are renting in a regional area and cannot afford a home loan deposit. I have offered to have them live with me rent free for six months while they save. But they want me to take it a step further and go guarantor for them. I did consider it, but as a single parent with three teens at home and a mortgage already I’m not comfortable with the risk. The problem is they are insistent that it is their only way of owning a home and that I am the only person who can help them. They have told me it will be my fault if they are homeless. I feel like they are blackmailing me. What would you do, Barefoot?

Valerie

Hi Valerie,

I’m with you.

Know this: parents all over the country are having this conversation with their kids.

It’s frustrating, because you might really want to do it. However, as they say on the plane, you need to fit your own oxygen mask before helping others. Besides, six months free rent is a bloody generous offer already!

If you feel your daughter is emotionally blackmailing you now, can you imagine what she’d do if prices continue to fall and she finds herself in a financial pickle?

Remember, as a single woman with three kids, statistically you are at the highest risk of being homeless.

Scott.