One of the best things a parent can do for their kids is to let them move back home as long as they are going to save and invest the savings. Putting as much money away as possible at 21 and letting it compound over the years will put them way ahead in the future. And of course, if you want to teach the value of money paying rent, helping with food and chores is cool as well.
But to move home so she can party in Europe. No freaking way.
Move home because I can’t afford to live independently yet while putting money into retirement, emergency fund, and life-happens savings? Yes.
Move home to save for a car or a house while maxing out the 401(k) & IRA, creating a solid emergency savings account (6 months minimum of living expenses), and beefing up the life-happens (1k-5k for surprise car repairs & the like)? Yes.
Move home to have money for travel because I am maxing on my 401(k) & IRA, I already have at least 6 months of expenses in the emergency fund, and about 5k in my life-happens fund, and I’m on track with savings for car or house, and everything is lined up except I don’t have anything left over for travel? Yes. Include Mom in that trip, and you get a gold star. 
@gardenstategal a downpayment is different. I wouldn’t mind if she did that, within reason. As in not moving in for 10 years to save for downpayment, but for a year or two that’s fine.
@greenbutton I agree 100%. I love travel and it is something our family values. When she went on a trip after graduation with some money she had saved up and graduation gift money, we gave her some spending money for the trip for her birthday. I agree it is important for our kids to learn how to live within their means and to realize that sometimes you can’t afford to do what you want all the time. I’d love to travel overseas every year, but I can’t afford to.
D1 has lived at home since she graduated 18 months ago. She is teaching elementary school and was in a little bit of holding pattern over housing while her BF figured out where he is going to grad school… She doesn’t explicitly pay rent but we ask her to pay for groceries about every 3 weeks.
@MaineLonghorn she is good with money. And she is not the type to take advantage. That said, I think she is like most kids and sometimes doesn’t realize it took years for her parents to get his kind of standard of living. Heck, I thought the same thing at her age too.
@yourmomma I agree. Moving home to travel more, is not a good reason. Not a bad one, but not good enough.
@happymomof1 The first two yes. The last one no. Why are kids so eager to move home? I had a great relationship with my parents, but I was ready to be out and on my own.
Honestly, first question that crossed my mind is whether she is saving for retirement yet. Ought to take precedence over travel.
I might let her move home if we got along well, but I’d charge rent and set expectations regarding laundry, meals, etc.
This is tricky. Where do you draw the line of “doing this to help her out” or “doing this to make life quite convenient and easy for her”???
We just had S and DIL live with us for 7 weeks between leaving their apt and moving into their first home. It really went quite well but also…it’s quite well to have them in their own place now.
I’d make a list about what this means for you and anyone else ( H or sibs) living in the house - perks and not perks.
Think about how this changes your daily house routine. Is the space she would stay in being used for another purpose? Is there room for her car in the drive? Can you relax and enjoy your home now knowing when she is home or out with friends? Will you have to share a tv? So many things!!!
She also needs to understand that she is coming back in a different situation than last time she was there. She is older. You have your own routine.
All that…BUT…I still have a beef with the fact that this is all to sort of make life easier for her - at your expense somewhat. Your home, utilities, refrigerator, space, etc. Traveling is so awesome - but I’ll bet there are some ways she can save $$ now to make the trip happen a little faster - while living on her own.
FINALLY, saying no doesn’t mean you don’t love/enjoy your daughter! You are no better of a parent to say yes to her whim. No one is keeping score - your relationship can flourish either way!
@intparent she has a 401k through her job and I know she contributes to that.
@abasket well said. I am happy to help my kids when they need it and they do always have a place at home. But, just doing something to make life easier for her can be too much. Travel is great, but it’s a luxury. Parents don’t have to cater to every whim.
No, not a good enough reason for me. Part of being an adult is learning to live within your means or at least, doing without the “extras” if you can’t afford them. I certainly wouldn’t have a problem, necessarily, if one of my kids wanted to live at home in order to save money to purchase a home of his/her own, or to save for deposit for a rental unit. But providing rent-free living so that my kid could enjoy nice vacations would mean for me, that I had somehow failed to teach my kids the importance of living within your means.
@natty1988 I very much agree with your sentiments expressed above. Unfortunately, there are way too many people in our country living with debt because they don’t live within their means. It is a valuable lesson to teach our kids rather than enabling them. There are very valid reasons for allowing an adult child to move back home, but IMO this isn’t one of them. At least not for my kids.
The part-time job S has created allows him full control over his hours and how hard he wants to work and IF he wants to work. That kind of flexibility can be tougher if you are an employee. He likes the extra disposable income he gets so he enjoys it—sort of a money-making hobby.
@natty1988 , it sounds like you don’t feel like this is the right reason to do this. I think more people would feel that saving for a down payment is worthwhile while saving for vacation is not, but there are some out there who might not be troubled by that prospect.
On top of rent, I would add the caveat of having to be the travel partner :).
@4kids4us agree with everything you said. That is something I have always emphasized with my D. Living within or below your means. And making priorities about your spending. I also made a huge deal about saving for retirement and emergencies. I also emphasized that sometimes you have to do without certain things and even though it’s tough, that’s what real life is. You don’t always get what you want.
@HImom I’ll suggest something like that! Thanks!
If the goal of living at home is to afford travel she won’t be home much. I personally don’t like travel all that much so wouldn’t be envious. But I think travel is a worthy goal. Certainly someone who is well-travelled has a deeper perspective on life. And why not when you’re in your twenties? Plenty of time to learn that life is stern and life is earnest when you settle down and have a family.
Get her a copy of “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey. Want to travel? Go deliver a few pizzas.
This really is on her. She needs to make her own priorities about money without involving you.
Travel is an extra and not an essential. But there are options beyond living back with parents–which is why I suggested the book. The solution may boil down to finding very cheap travel.
I vote with the majority. Want to come home to save money for a house, pay off school debt etc? Okay. Maybe.
Travel? I think I want to travel first. I’m financing my own trip before yours. If I want to pay for you to come on MY trip–you’re very welcome–no strings attached.
@gardenstategal I think there are many different opinions. I’m not troubled by this, but I don’t think you need to move home for this reason. Saving for a downpayment is different…
My daughter did that. She’s in a PhD program and on a stipend that would barely pay for her expenses if she were to rent her own place. She lives in my basement, rent free, while she pursues her studies. What she saves on rent goes toward traveling. I’m OK with that. She WILL be moving out once she finishes her degree. That we both agree on 
I have mentioned this book way too many times on CC recently but once again it relates to this thread. The book is Cait Flanders “The Year of Less” - it is about much more, but in her year of not spending (austere for sure) each month she set goals to save a certain % for the bank and a certain % for traveling - traveling was one of the ONLY things she agreed to spend $$ on during her year of less because it was really important to her. She took a lot of trips that year!
If you don’t think it’s a good enough reason for her to move home then that’s your answer. It’s not your responsibility to solve your daughter’s problems and you don’t have to come up with alternatives for her.
First of all, I don’t think your D needs a lesson here - not on how to save, how to spend, how to think, or how to deny herself. She wants to be able to explore the world, which is a wonderful goal. She’s considering giving up a bit of her independence to help make that happen, while living with people she loves in an arrangement that might work for all.
It’s really up to you. Let her move in or not, make her pay or not, make her contribute in other ways or not. You need to decide what works for you, morally, ethically, and logistically. I’m not sure why anyone is trying to decide if this is a “good enough reason” to let her move in with you. It’s an arrangement that would allow her to do what others can’t because of monetary restrictions while young. Personally I would do a lot to help my kids explore the world - life is for living and is hard enough. If you can help her and are willing, why on earth not? But this is your choice, not any of ours. What’s your heart telling you?