<p>For those who provide spending money to their college kids, how much do you give them? From previous threads I see some provide $0 so kids earn all their money. Some parents do give money, but I couldn't get a great sense of the average. So your thoughts on what is reasonable are greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Well, you’re going to get individual responses with what each individual provides. so you’ll have to determine your own average.</p>
<p>DS gets $2,100 per year from us. Out of that comes his textbooks, fraternity dues, lift tickets, and the occasional dinner out.</p>
<p>What will your child need money for?</p>
<p>clothes?
toiletries?
meals off-campus?
transportation?
weekend beach/ski trips with friends?
school supplies?
books?
Concert tickets?
Movies/clubbing/entertainment?
Dates?</p>
<p>Since different parents have different expectations for what spending money is to be used for, the amounts will greatly vary.</p>
<p>You need to decide what you can afford, and what your child needs money for. </p>
<p>Then you need to decide what you’re willing to pay for, and what (if anything) you expect your child to earn any money to pay for.</p>
<p>Do you expect your child to pay for anything?</p>
<p>My thinking is that any necessary expenses we would cover – this, to me, includes transportation, books, school supplies, toiletries and clothing. </p>
<p>I guess my question is better asked as what expenses do college students have these days? All (or at least mostly) all meals are covered. I wonder how much campus activities are these days – movies, concerts, etc. Of course there are dates and eating/activities off-campus. Does anyone know how much their kids spend on campus activities and off-campus activities?</p>
<p>It depends on the schools. At S’s rural LAC, social events are all free, he gets used books and he hates shopping. At other schools, you may have to pay for activities, buy books new, etc… In an urban school, I’d expect off-campus activities to eat up more money than at self-contained school.</p>
<p>We gave S $500 the first semester for everything and asked him to track his expenses. Turns out that was way more than he needed and he got a part-time job that kept him in pocket money. Didn’t need the $500 next semester. Of course, he was honest about his expenses, he’s not extravagent and it’s not unusual for him to call and ask if we’ll foot the bill for something special. But every kid is different and every family has to work out what’s comfortable for them.</p>
<p>we also struggle greatly with this questions. I do think girls spend way more than boys - mainly due to clothes, tolietries, cosmetics, beauty products, etc… that seem to really add up.</p>
<p>We pay for:
plane tickets to and from school for each vacation
all books, some school supplies
dorm and meal plan Freshman year</p>
<p>Freshman year we also gave her about $300 for the year on the school’s campus/flex dollar program, and that was it. All the rest of her spending money was from her own earnings and money gifts from relatives for birthday and Christmas. It was very tight for her.</p>
<p>I do buy her (do not give her the money any more, but go shopping with her, then I know how the money is spent) about $1200 worth of clothes per year, which sounds like a lot, but really does not seem to go very far.</p>
<p>Sophomore year she is living off campus, and has brought a car down to school.
We give her:
$80 per month for gas (500 miles per month). We are trying a gas station gift card. Shell has a refillable one we may try next. If she spends more than that, she pays herself.
$400 for food/groceries, which is divvied up some on the school’s flex dollars so she can eat on campus. We also do grocery store gift cards and a refillable VISA card.
This way, our money is kept a bit seperate from her money, and is for necessities. Her money is for social, extras. We DO NOT pay or give her money for any trips, concerts, etc.
We also pay for monthly utilities, cable, rent for the apartment</p>
<p>My oldest is a senior and living at home. He doesn’t get spending money from us. He can earn it doing chores or getting a job. We pay for tuition, books, transportation, and living expenses here. </p>
<p>My next will not be a commuter student. Depending on where she goes and what kind of aid she gets, she may or may not get spending money. Since her education will be paid for not by us, we will give her some spending money. I know that at a minimum, she will need help to pay for medications, laundry, toiletries,etc.</p>
<p>We pay for…</p>
<p>clothes
transportation
textbooks
toiletries
most clothes/shoes</p>
<p>They have part-time jobs as campus tutors to pay for…
movies
dates
weekend trips
extra clothes
dining out</p>
<p>We gave both of our kids $100 a month above and beyond necessities, ( tuition, books and school supplies, clothes) even though one was in school in an urban area and one was in a suburban college. The urban kid (female) didn’t spend all of hers and put the rest in her bank account for later, which was fine with us. She also didn’t work outside of school, although she did have volunteer work in college.</p>
<p>The suburban son took a car with him, and gas is something he had to pay for himself, so it probably ate up a good portion of the money. He also has always had a campus job, and worked through each summer. He has always been very resourceful at finding work and has managed to save quite a bit. Some people would think it’s silly to give him money when he’s making his own as well- everyone has a different take on what makes sense for their family. </p>
<p>We just gave what we could afford and thought was reasonable given that most everything was already paid for. They also knew that if they did need more money for something important, we’d help out. Both kids have a frugal nature, so we were never worried about them taking advantage of “extra” money they might have.</p>
<p>I’m a senior at a LAC and my mom gives me about $100-200 per week. It sounds like a lot but I have a lot of expenses, especially now. Graduate school applications and sending GRE scores and transcripts is expensive. Plus I live in an on-campus apartment and am off the meal plan (thank God!) So I buy/cook all my own food, that’s about $75/week alone. Between that, sorority expenses and other random things to make life here bearable it shakes out to a couple grand/semester. It sounds like a lot but I’m always the one who doesn’t have money for things. Most kids here have credit cards with no limit.</p>
<p>I forgot to add that’s not including the $750/month in rent and utilities, and yes that’s the cheapest option we have for places to live. We’re no longer allowed to live off campus so they can charge whatever they want for housing.</p>
<p>We give $200/month, and pay for books.</p>
<p>*Most kids here have credit cards with no limit. *</p>
<p>Wow…where do you go to school that “most kids” are given credit cards with no limits? </p>
<p>That must be a school with nearly all affluent kids.</p>
<p>“That must be a school with nearly all affluent kids.”</p>
<p>It is. If you look at my screen name you might be able to figure it out. Its a 50k/year LAC in Lancaster, PA. Most of the kids come from very affluent backgrounds and don’t know what its like not to have money for something. All you see is new Mercedes and BMWs in the parking lot, but yea thats how things work around here. It can really get to you after a while because it gives you a distorted view of what the world is like. I know most kids carry credit cards, no one ever has cash on them. Which is a good thing because there are a lot of robberies.</p>
<p>burry:</p>
<p>Something to consider - depending on the college, it might be fairly easy for the student to get a part time on-campus job. These can be wide-ranging from food and transportation service, IT support, library, lab assistant, office work, etc., are usually very flexible on hours so they don’t impact studies very much, and usually pay more than minimum wage. They can help the student be even more involved in the campus, learn to manage their time well, learn what it’s like to work at a job, be on time, deal with bosses, deal with others, have pride in earning some of their own keep, and keep them from spending as much money (i.e. not as much idle time). The icing on this is of course, the income they get which should usually be more than enough for anything beyond the direct school related costs of tuition, housing, basic food (i.e. dining hall or grocery - not regular restaurants), books, assorted fees (don’t forget those - lab fees, special engineering fees, etc.).</p>
<p>It’s sometimes good to not start in a job right away but perhaps after the first semester/quarter once they’ve gotten used to the lay of the land and have had a chance to check out the opportunities.</p>
<p>“It is. If you look at my screen name you might be able to figure it out.”</p>
<p>Oh shoot, I can’t! But quite an eye opener for me. My kids high school peers probably think they are well off, because they didn’t get full time summer jobs. Not sure WHAT my college kid’s friends think, but she is still pretty frugal. She’d go with holes in her shoes ( and has) , before she’d give up her EC’s to get a job, if given a choice. This (sophmore) year she took an unsubsidized Stafford loan, but she doesn’t get any “spending money” from us.</p>
<p>We don’t give the kids money directly, but we pay for books, travel costs to come home twice a year, and I contribute $15/mo towards each kid’s cellphone costs. When they’re home on breaks I buy them any necessary clothes, replace worn-out shoes, etc.</p>
<p>Personal expenses money is up to them. Both have on-campus jobs.</p>
<p>My daughter is planning on taking a NMF full ride so we figure we need to give her ~$200 -250 per month for extra spending. We will get her a basic meal plan on top of this and upgrade her dorm paid for with the scholarship to a better one, but that is only a $600 semester cost. She will also have a gas card to use as needed and a credit card to use in emergencies or with prior approval from us. She will have her car as she will be driving to and from school for the holidays. She is trying to get additional scholarship money so we don’t have to give her any money and she has had a little success with that. I really want her to use this opportunity to volunteer, both in the community and with a researcher, which could eventually lead to a paying job. She said she also wants to become a tutor as soon as she is able for a little extra money. We may end up not having to give her anything for school except gas money. Her goal is to be as independent as possible. (She has already paid for her 1st semester meal plan with outside scholarships.)</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all the answers. Clearly there are many different situations so no solution works for all kids. I am not a huge fan of working on campus in the school year just because I remember being in college and thinking how difficult it would be to keep my grades up. It certainly can be done and I admire those who do it, but I would not insist on it and, in fact, would lean against it. Working in the summer is different. Also my son is fairly frugal. I think $100/month would be reasonable. If there is a special event, he can let us know.</p>
<p>We are generous with our kids, but the budgeting is their responsibility.
We pay tuition, fees and books directly, and their cell phones on our family plan, and transportation costs home 2x a semester.<br>
Once they move off campus, we give them the equivalent of full meal plan and the cost of a single room but divided and doled out monthly; they add their summer earnings and are responsible for rent, utilities, food, toiletries, entertainment, etc. And if/when they had a car for an internship, we paid insurance and maintenance, they paid gas.</p>