h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's a Swedish TV series trying to help people who've messed up their economy - badly.

The first thing that struck me about the most recent episode I watched was that the parents paid for their daughter's living, in her own flat.

And I'm like

In my world, you don't move away from home until you have a more or less steady income so that you *know that you can pay for your own living.

When I first started having an income of my own, my parents started charging me (a small) rent for the services I enjoyed at home (full board, laundry etc) which I saw only fit.

I was still able to save up a lot for furniture and other stuff, and the last year before moving into my own apartment, birthday and Christmas gifts would consist of kitchenware, tableware and similar items.

And no, I didn't feel that I was 'pushed out of the nest', it was more like a mutual agreement. I didn't move out when my parents felt I was ready, I moved out when *I felt ready.

Common sense. Practical. Reasonable.

But to expect my parents to continue to pay my bills after I've moved away from home?

No such thing.

Luxury! I was kicked out of my parents home the day I ate more than I brought home

In their defense: We were 12 children and shared a cardboard box with all our 7 parents

Seriously: I don't understand it either. Neither do most other people. Which is probably why they chose her to make a fool of herself - and her parents - on national tv

I'm in a funny spot about this. Daughter has now started on a "folkhögskola" with boarding. If she had been 20, she would have gotten student loans to cover boarding, food, the field trips and everything. But as it is, since it's not university, but something like community college, she doesn't so she gets the 1050 base, same as in senior highschool (government paid) an extra 1000 for boarding, while just board and food is 3600. So her father and I add up to what she needs. We expected her to get the bigger grant/loans to make it, but it was not to be.
She'll use savings to cover the field trips - her grandfather put away money when she was little.
But luxury? No, she's not getting that.

That's a different situation, Milla. That's sensible

I agree with Pierce, I wouldn't consider a student loan to be an 'income' as such, and definitely not steady but very temporary. W*rking full time is a whole different situation.

Students shouldn't have to w*rk. Students should study. Both they and the rest of society would benefit from it.

But students should *also* try w*rk. And preferably ordinary jobs like supermarket cashiers.

Just not while they are studying.

Who should pay, I hear you ask. Society and student loans should fund their educations. W*rked for me - even if I had to pay back over way more years than I was prepared for because interest rose to staggering 15 to 20% after I finished . There should be a roof over those loans. Okay, I'll step down now

For sure, if you have a job, you pay for your own expenses. If you don't have work, you adapt your circumstances to what you can afford.

And student loans should be capped - sensible interest, and possible to pay off. A grant part that you don't have to pay off. Mine were related to my income - for the pay off part, and to the general interest and inflation for interest part. Which worked out. But I fear the current levels are different.

The latest episode gave me bad vibes.

When you have a young couple where both of them are tattoed almost up to their chin and on their hands and pierced pretty much all over...

...I thinnk it might have been a good idea for both of them to start w*rking on their self esteem *before moving together and having a baby.

Yes, I might be prejudiced in this but to me, a person who is covered in tattoes and piercings just signals poor self esteem, poor self opinion and a serious lack of knowing their own identity, knowing where they belong, and why.

And I'd be happy to get to know a well-tattoed, well-pierced person in RL to prove me wrong.

Can't help you there, I'm afraid. I'm a bit of a freak myself: Used to be a sailor but don't have even the smallest tat

A wiithout a single tattoo?

As for piercings - not even a ring in the ear?

Nope, nada, zilch, nothing

And before you ask: I've had enough blood tests to prove that it's not because of fear of needles