Well, I THINK they are. Half of it's coming from scholarships, and half is coming from student loans. I'm not sure if they're expecting me to pay off the student loans myself (I intend to anyways regardless).
Are they willing to pay for your room and board (ie, allow you to live at home while you're attending college?) Do you have a job at all yet? Have you ever had a job? Are you driving? If so, who pays for the gas? Who pays your insurance? And who paid for your vehicle? Do you have a cell phone? Who pays for that? What about your clothes, McDonalds, internet access, computer, etc? What about health insurance? Who's paying for that?
All these things cost money - and plenty of it.
They did pay for the previous two years though (it wouldn't have been even theoretically possible for me to pay myself because the early college program forbids students from having jobs).
But you were under 18 at that time, right? Your parents have a responsibility to you as a minor to feed, clothe, and shelter you till you're an adult. College, cell phones, internet access, McDonalds, vehicles, etc are all "perks" and luxuries that they are not obligated to provide.
Now that you're an adult, frankly they owe you nothing.
You must realize, there is more to parenting than finances. They're not very effective in any other regard, and in fact most of the time their influence is worse than simply being out figuring stuff out on my own (ie, mom made fun of me about girls before I actually started liking girls, and as a result I'm still resistant to the idea of speaking about the opposite sex to my parents to this day, my parents still insist that I go to church only for them to complain about petty issues afterwards, my mother is a constant source of discouragement for my career goals, etc).
Sounds to me like you and your parents hold polarized views when it comes to religion and politics. This doesn't mean that your views are correct - or that their views are correct. All this means is that there is bound to be friction between you on these topics, especially if one or both parties are outspoken about them.
As for going to church with them - hey, it's their house. They have the absolute right to insist that people who live in their house live by their standards. Now - I wouldn't suggest that they force an older teen to attend church, but it is their right to enforce that expectation. You may not like it, but attending church for two hours a week is not what I'd call abuse.
I would wager a nice little sum that your general attitude toward them is one of open disdain and disrespect (as a very good book says so eloquently - "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks").
I used to (rather recently) always promise myself that once I was on my feet, I would save up money to pay back what they spent on me as I was growing up, but now I'm so fed up with them that I've pretty much thrown that idea out the window.
Convenient position - and probably more realistic in the long run. It would probably take you decades to pay them back.
And I would bet that they wouldn't accept your money.
Agreed. I'm not exactly the most emotionally stable people in the world. (Plus, I have a vague feeling that if my parent's inclination to use arguments from authority ticks me off, I won't get along very well with the sergeant either.)
You really need to get a handle on this issue with authority before you start working.
Your first few jobs are likely to be entry level, which means that your immediate supervisor (and probably several layers up from that) may not be particularly wise and mature. You may have to be taking orders from someone whose politics and beliefs are absolutely abhorrant to you. You may find yourself working under the direction of someone who seems absolutely ignorant to you philosophically. How are you going to deal with that?
Would a credit check require that I have a credit account to begin with? I don't have or intend on ever using credit cards.
I agree with Alceste on this one - you should get one credit card, and use it very sparingly - for instance, charge $30 on it and then turn right around and pay it right back. If you have online banking, you can use that credit card, and then immediately shoot off a payment from your checking account - and never "feel" the debt or pay a penny of interest.
Paying for a cell phone won't build your credit, but NOT paying a cell phone bill will definitely impact your credit!
You can apply for a small line of credit associated with your checking account - and just simply never overdraw your account and keep the line of credit at zero. That will show as a line of credit TO your credit - one that you handle well. Sometimes those lines of credit are easy to qualify for -but only if you have a job.
It's hard to be an adult and build a responsibly run life of comfort and security. It takes many years to "get ahead of the curve" and go beyond living paycheck to paycheck. Many people never even reach that point - it takes planning and prudence. If your parents have reached this point in their lives (as it sounds they have) you should at least respect them for this - and appreciate them for starting you off from such a vantage point. I have a feeling that if you made an effort to show them some respect and appreciation for what they've done well, your relationship with them would improve quite a bit.
It's very difficult as a parent to live in close proximity with someone who holds you in disdain and thinks they are so much wiser than you, especially when this person is someone you love so much you would sacrifice your life for them. Believe it or not, this is the sad litany of most parents of teenagers, many of whom are absolutely insufferable. But life is also full of irony and humor. As each of my five children has crossed over that threshold and begun to build successful lives on the foundations I laid for them, they've gone from rebellious and, frankly awful, to respectful and loving (well, four of the five - we still have an 18 year old at home who thinks he's sooooooooo much smarter than we are!). I am very thankful for these transitions - but I also admit to a sense of "HA! Take THAT!" when they call saying things like, "Oh my gosh - tires are so expensive!" or "And then he just fell down on the floor in the mall and started screaming at the top of his lungs - I was so embarrassed!"
Now - payback will be complete when the current 18 year old's future son wrecks HIS vehicle three times in two years - and he has to pay the insurance premiums - and deductible.
