<p>Parents, do you give your college student an allowance, or some allotted amount of money for food or miscellaneous expenses? Or do your kids earn spending money over the summer, or through a job at college?
How much do your kids use, or how much do you supply them with?</p>
<p>I'll be a college freshman next year, and my mom and I were discussing this...figured this was a good place to get some ideas:) any response is appreciated.</p>
<p>My son works for his spending money over the summer. He hates asking for money, so he really tries not to ask. We send him money for his birthday (rather than other presents), and we did send a few dollars last year. He earned more money this summer, and hopes not to need any money from us. I am sure that we will need to supplement it, but not by much.</p>
<p>I have discouraged his working during the school year (his freshman year). Lots of students work and study, but I preferred that my son did not work while at school.</p>
<p>This is discussed a lot on here, and you'll see opinions varying from "zero money given" to "carte blanche on Daddy's Platinum."</p>
<p>Personally, we pay tuition, room and board, and books. My kids pay for everything else. They work all summer and sometimes during breaks, and even during the school year. The more money they want to spend, the more they work.</p>
<p>We have also done the "tuiton, R&B, books" payment plus cell phone since we want to be able to contact them without feeling like it's eating their money. Anything else is on them. We are about to put D2 onto a cell phone allowance instead of having her tag onto our plan since it will be hard to extract the overages from her when she's away, and we'd like them to hurt a little more. (Just how does one send 1200 text messages in one month?)</p>
<p>Definitely run a search. There are some cut-throat discussions on this one.</p>
<p>My family is like Weenie's. My parents pay for tuition, room and board, and books. They also put some money in my account to cover some other expenses (e.g. shampoo, toilet paper). My sister and I work during the summers and are good at saving our money.</p>
<p>X-posted with Dragonmom. My parents also pay for my cell phone plan. I have a pretty small plan, and I've never gone over. I don't have long phone conversations with anyone who it's not free for me to talk to, so it's mostly 15 second conversations and ocassional texting. If I were chatting away or going over the plan, then I'm sure my parents would make me pay.</p>
<p>As mentioned, there have been molto threads on this and related topics. My observation is that - while the opinions on amount vary all over the map as weenie says - the most commonly mentioned amount for spending money is $200/month.</p>
<p>So much depends on where the kid is, what kind of meal plan, whether they have a car, what they're expected to cover vs. what parents cover (if anything) etc etc etc.</p>
<p>We gave our S an allowance of $125/month, which he rarely spent. Turns out to be frugal to the max. This coming year he'll be using his summer earnings.</p>
<p>I'll be a sophomore this year, here's how my parents gave me money last year as a freshman:</p>
<p>We split tuition, fees, room & board in three (they're divorced) and they split the cost for books. Well dad paid 1st semester, mom paid 2nd semester, and the split the $200 for the all-sports pass. Whatever buyback I got at the end of semester was mine to keep. I mainly relied on money from my summer job and I got by okay on my own. I had to stop buying that cool new tshirt and lighten up the itunes purchases, but you'll survive without that one new song. Odds are the local radio station overplays it anyway. You'll be amazed how much FREE stuff you can scrounge up in college. When it came time for the Winter Break ski trip I had to empty out the $300 in my savings account to pay for it (I paid the $500 on my own) and when I was broke most of spring semester, I decided I didn't want to go that route anymore. </p>
<p>Fast forward to sophomore year:
Tuition, fees, room and board are still split 3 ways. I pay for my books from now on. I get into all sports for free through my internship, I also get all kinds of free t-shirts there. Plus there's still free stuff galore all over campus. I've been working all summer, will work at the same job during the school year (on campus), and my goal is to keep my bank account above $800 so that I don't have to ask my parents for money anymore. And so I don't have to zero out my account to pay for this year's ski trip.</p>
<p>But I agree with the above poster....some parents will fork over the credit card and say "have a good time" while others (like mine) will give minimal, if any, money. I've always been pretty independent and had a job through most of high school, so it wasn't a big change in college except that I learned the hard way freshman year that money will not magically appear from mommy and daddy's wallets ;)</p>
<p>We do tuition, R&B, and cell phone. Books and fun money are our daughter's responsibility. I will throw in a roll of quarters with care packages, and last year, I did buy one of her textbooks because I found it used online, and she didn't have a credit card. If she were really up against it, we'd help her out, but she only knows that her summer earnings are <em>supposed</em> to last all year. This year, she hopes to get an on-campus job, and if she does, I suspect she'll feel rich compared to last year.</p>
<p>We are on the "Weenie Plan" at this house. We pay tuition, room, board, fees. Kids pay everything else. Kids work and spend their own money for everything else. They tend to spend a lot less of their own money than mine!!</p>
<p>We're on the Weenie Plan minus the books, but plus the cell phone. (It's a family plan, so officially the kid's phones only cost $10 a month- plus taxes makes it more..) Kids pay books, transportation, school supplies, medicine, clothes, snacks, and anything that floats their boat. They don't have cars, and due to our insurance company's policy, we don't have to pay anything to insure them - even over summer and holidays when they are home and driving. It's amazing how frugal the kids are when all the choices are theirs to make. ;)</p>
<p>We pay all academic costs and basic living expenses costs (rent, utilities, preset amount for groceries). Kids pay all extraneous costs such as clothing, travel, entertainment, eating out.</p>
<p>Gosh,</p>
<p>We're on the Anxiousmom plan at our house. Add sorority dues to the list of things that D is responsible for paying. She saves her $$ from her summer job and will have an paid job on campus.</p>
<p>He knows what the tuition, R & B and that he, me, and she are paying for this out of pocket and investments. If He wants any inheritance then he should spend wisely. </p>
<p>Really not much to buy because She sends everything. As for entertainment-He joined the club that puts on the movies, and he teetots for drinks. He's the life of the party-cheap, designated spokesperson and lookout.</p>
<p>Thanks, all, for the speedy and insightful replies! (haha, "weenie plan").<br>
i agree that the weenie plan is the fairest. i had planned to use my summer earnings for most of my spending money, and any misc. entertainment items. me and the mother just began to write out a budget of one-time costs and monthly costs to see what is needed/wanted.</p>
<p>I guess we have been on the "Weenie Plan," too. :) S has worked every summer since junior year in high school and diligently saved his $$.</p>
<p>Most of my summer work money went into paying my first bill. Good thing I had 6k in scholarships for this first semester.</p>
<p>We are paying tuition, room and board, and cell phone (she's on the famplan for $10 per month so no big deal and she doesn't text 'cause I said not to). I did buy her plane ticket out to school, but told her transportation is hers, although I plan to kick in once in awhile to make sure she gets out to see her grandma. We are west coast and she's halfway across the continent so if we want to influence her travel we probably have to contribute to the cost.</p>
<p>I think I'm the opposite - I'm responsible for R & B (paid partially by a small inheritance left by my grandparents, most of B is covered by being an RA - dad acts as cosigner for the loans which cover the balance). My tax refund is going toward transportation costs (unlimited T-pass). I think my parents realize that I wouldn't really have enough money to pay for books/minor expenses like food/medicine since an RA precludes me from having another job (not including the small amount I get for being a tour guide) so they cover the rest. I worked full time while attending a state u last year, and would be happy to continue if I was able to.</p>
<p>What I wouldn't give to be on the "weenie plan"!</p>
<p>We are paying about half of tuition, and R & B. DS has saved, has been gifted some nice money from his godparents, and will have some loans, and schollies.</p>
<p>Books are on him. I figured it would be a great way for him to take an active role in saving money, and being a shrewd purchaser of books. Has saved about $175 for Fall semester alone (about 45%), by contacting profs early and letting his fingers do the walking (typing) with Amazon and half.com.</p>
<p>We'll provide some extra spending money for him, but he does have cash reserves. We may bump up our contrib later in his college career. A lot will depend on his grades!</p>
<p>We use a modified "weenie plan". H and I pay for tuition, room and board and transportation costs for home (other transportation is on their dollar). They pay for everything else, including $500 towards the car insurance. They have a very nice aunt who contributes $200 per semester towards their books. Two have graduated and H and I both noticed how easily they transitioned to "adulthood" because they were already living on a budget. They both know how to live within their means and saving is not a foreign concept. We expect the same to happen when #3 graduates in two years.</p>