I left home at age 19 because it just didn't seem right to be living the way I was living under my mother's roof. I was filling up trash cans with brown glass all on my own. lol.
My father had 4 girls. He sat us down in 9th grade and laid down the law: "I'll pay for you to go to college, Grad school, Med school...whatever you want. BUT. You've got to stick with it. If you drop out or don't make the grade, you're on your own. No moving back in, no support from Mom & Dad."
I didn't "make the grade". College dropped me after my frosh year, so I worked as a bank teller, sharing an apartment with two other girls. It wasn't long before I saw the light and told my Dad I wanted to finish college. He offered a deal: "Save up the tuition money and then we'll talk about my helping you".
It took me 4 years. I saved enough to pay my tuition, car payments and insurance---if I continued working while going to school. Dad then let me move back home. I majored in accounting and got a job in the accounting lab. I got an exemption to take 24 hours/quarter...the money would only last so long. I graduated with straight A's in under 2 years. I moved out the week before graduation and went on to have a fabulous career (I'm now retired early and doing odd-job accounting).
My Dad was a wise man.