Ranchers reveal they were hit with backlash for charging daughter rent

Ranchers-turned-TikTok stars made headlines after they revealed they were charging their daughter, a recent high school grad, rent to remain in their home.

“Nothing in life is free,” first-generation rancher Erika Archie told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on Friday’s “Varney & Co.” 

Erika and her husband, Cody, shared with host Varney why they have received criticism for charging their 19-year-old daughter rent. 

Following their daughter’s high school graduation, the Archies began charging their daughter 200 dollars a month while living at home, as a way to help her learn how to save money and prepare her for the future. 

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The parents explained how they were met with backlash about their daughter’s living situation. 

“I think we got a lot of backlash from people that said, ‘I would never charge my kids rent. They can stay forever for free,’” Erika remarked. 

Despite the reception, she explained they wanted to instill good money skills into their daughter, and believed this was the way to do it.

“We wanted to make sure that she knew that nothing in life is free, and that you’re going to have to learn to save money. You have to learn that you have to pay rent or pay, you know, a mortgage to live somewhere,” Erika argued. 

The couple noted their daughter moved out for a little while to “explore on her own,” but that she did end up returning to live with her parents. 

“I think it taught her a lot of lessons in the long run,” Erika continued. “Now she’s back, and we’ve got other arrangements where she’s kind of working for her rent right now.” 

Varney weighed in, explaining that when he was growing up “half a century ago” in England, it was standard for children to leave their parents’ home at 18 years of age. If they stayed, they would pay their parents rent. 

The FOX Business host asked the couple if they believed that practice was commonplace in America today.

“I don’t think so,” Erika said. “I don’t think we see it a lot, but it’s definitely something that we teach our kids, because we’re not going to get free rides around here.”

“We’re not going to teach them that they can just stay forever and live off mom and dad’s dime,” she concluded.