<p>I was wondering if some of the parents could help me with a budget for school for next year (ie how much to fork over each month). In the past lived in the dorms with meal plan. This year paid for university apt for the semester and figured out how much the meal plan was last year and used that.
Apt for the fall is $650 plus utilities. How much would you give your kid per month including the rent and utilities to live on? He has zero savings, is in engineering and could never do a part time job along with school load, and is going to summer school so will not have a job this summer. Also, gets no scholarship for living . Not in a frat.
Thank you</p>
<p>Well, we figure it around $1200 total a month for rent, utilities[ room in a house with other USC students] food and misc extras. We load around $300 per month onto his USC card every couple of months to pay for any food he buys on campus at the various cafes using Discretionary money [ lunches, and often dinners when he is there late.] Any other items groceries, etc he changes on our credit card account [ we added him to our Visa account and had a card sent to him.</p>
<p>That sounds like a good idea, that way you can track what he spends, and as a student he wouldn’t have to go through the hassle of asking for money every time he needs it.</p>
<p>ant other parental input?
thanks</p>
<p>Students can feed themselves in an apt much cheaper than the cost of a full dorm meal plan. The meal plans are ultra convenient but expensive.</p>
<p>I’d budget a $200/month for food and necessities and see how that goes.</p>
<p>Our D is moving into an apartment her sophomore year and we will be giving her the equivalent of what we were spending had she lived in the dorms. While it is true that she should be able to feed herself for a lot less than what the meal plan costs, the rent will be higher (she no longer shares a room) and she will have to fork over for utilities, internet, etc. I did a rough calculation and it should come out to a wash, perhaps a slight benefit to her. For $100 or so a month it is not really worth wasting brain cells. The nice side effect is that she will be forced to budget.</p>
<p>I think the $1,200.00 per month figure sounds very realistic for USC. You might be able to do $1,000.00, but that will be stretching it pretty tight sometimes. $650.00 is very reasonable rent for this area so you are saving money there.</p>
<p>Is $200-$300 a month on the USC Card pretty typical?</p>
<p>Every family will have an amount they are comfortable with and can afford. What is “typical” should have no bearing. Our poor child had to manage with $200 per SEMESTER on her USCard while on the meal plan as a freshman. Anything beyond that was her own responsibility - and she made no complaints. Next year she will be in an apartment. We will provide a 25-meal plan and $200 on her USCard per semester. The rest will come from her savings and/or job. She has expressed only appreciation that she is at USC and is very willing to scrimp and save.</p>
<p>I completely support the decisions of parents who provide different amounts and it is wonderful to read all of the posts here - everyone has put a lot of thought into it. I plan to check in with her often to be sure she isn’t having to scrimp so much that she gets overwhelmed.</p>
<p>I’ve got the 10 meal plan, so I am wondering how expensive it will be to eat the rest of my meals per month. I am a light eater but I don’t usually skip meals completely. Are the meals expensive?</p>
<p>You will get 10 meals per week - the 25-meal plan I mentioned is for apartment dwellers and is 25-meals per semester. You also get $500 dining dollars with your plan, which usually go a long way. My D and her suite mates tended to grab breakfast in their room - fruit, cereal bars, snacks. There are lots of food places - The Lot, for example - where you can grab inexpensive meals using dining dollars. Last year they allowed students to take one piece of fruit as they left the dining hall, which works well for breakfasts. Most reports - my D included - say that you get PLENTY of food with the basic meal plan.</p>