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" &#128165; Buy tickets for Fun Fearless Life 2015 here. &#128165;\u200B Cosmo&amp;#039;s financial guru and CEO of LearnVest, Alexa Von Tobel, answers real life questions on how to handle your family financial woes. &amp;quot;My parents are charging me rent to live at home while I job-hunt.&amp;quot; \u2014Sarah P., 22 Join the club: One in three millennials lives with her parents. Whether your parents charge you rent on principle or need your help to cover the added utilities, food, and other costs of your living there, it may seem weird to pay to sleep in your childhood room. Set ground rules to feel more in control. Will they give you a discounted rate if you pitch in with chores? How long do you plan to be at home? And use this period as an opportunity to hone your money skills. Talk to your parents about their housing budget and you&amp;#039;ll be ahead of the game when you move out on your own. &amp;quot;My mom and dad still pay my cell-phone bill. It&amp;#039;s awesome, obviously, but embarrassing.&amp;quot; \u2014Allison R., 27 It&amp;#039;s possible this is something your parents really want to do for you\u2014maybe they think of it as a small price to pay for staying in touch. If that&amp;#039;s the case, put the money you&amp;#039;re saving to good use (like an automatic contribution to your savings account). If you&amp;#039;d feel more comfortable paying, figure out what portion of the family bill goes to your phone usage and send your parents a regular check. &amp;quot;My mom is unemployed and asks me for money\u2014then never pays me back.&amp;quot; \u2014Miranda G., 23 Saying no to your mom can be tricky and you don&amp;#039;t want to micromanage her spending, so here&amp;#039;s another idea. Instead of handing her money directly, offer to pay for her to talk to a certified financial planner (we have some great ones at LearnVest). That way, she can get expert, unbiased advice on setting up a budget and getting back on track. &amp;quot;Years later, my parents still talk about how much they paid for my wedding. I feel awful.&amp;quot; \u2014Louise B., 34 They need to know what you&amp;#039;re feeling, so the next time they bring it up, calmly tell them. Acknowledge their generosity, then change the topic. You should remember your wedding for what it signifies to your relationship, not for the bottom line. Focus on the memories you made that day. Pull out the photo album if you have to! &amp;quot;I borrowed money from my dad, and he charged me interest!&amp;quot; \u2014Elise C., 23 Think of it this way: Your dad took money out of his savings account, where it would have earned interest, and had you cover the interest he lost. Was it strict? Absolutely. But I&amp;#039;d guess he was trying to teach you an important lesson, that credit has a cost. Two things in life are incredibly easy to gain and hard to lose: extra weight and credit-card debt. &amp;quot;When my siblings ask my parents for money, they get it. But when I do, all I get is a lecture.&amp;quot; \u2014Mary W., 22 Most parents try to be fair, but it doesn&amp;#039;t always work out that way. They may think you are worse with money or have less need than your sibs. Or they may not realize they&amp;#039;re playing favorites. Try giving more details on exactly why you need the loan and when you&amp;#039;ll pay it back. As in any relationship, it&amp;#039;s all about communication and compromise. Photo Credit: Francisco Canton/Eleven Diamonds "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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