College kids spend too much money today

Parents Forum
21

<p>I can see both sides of the issue...</p>

<p>My parents didn't give me any money during college. I never asked, but they never offered either. I worked pretty much non-stop from the age of 15 during high school and saved spending money with my higher paying high school jobs (retirement home jobs are great for high schoolers btw!). My savings allowed me not to have to work during my freshman year, and summer savings allowed for me not having to work for my first semester sophomore year. </p>

<p>My sophomore year I actually brought my car on campus (very expensive in Pittsburgh...) and paid for all of the associated expenses, including insurance. I worked a waitress job my second semester sophomore year and saved up to get an apartment my junior year. I then managed to support myself in my apartment junior and senior years with no additional help from my parents. My second semester junior and senior year had a great internship with flexible hours, allowing me to make as much or as little money as I needed. </p>

<p>The only money my parents gave me is what they had started in growth funds for my education. Most of that money went bust after Sept 11, but I still had enough to pay for my tuition until my senior year. So, I had to take out loans for my senior year for tuition. I was luckier than most kids I knew, as my parents actually set aside money for my education to help pay for tuition. </p>

<p>I now pay for all of my own expenses in graduate school as well, but I now get a stipend and tuition remission. I actually have more money and more time as a graduate student...go figure! :)</p>

<p>My friend here at graduate school is in the exact opposite situation. She spend a lot of money on clothes (most of which she never wears before taking to goodwill), liquor/wine, eating out, etc. She never actually asks for money from her parents, but they end up giving her gobs of money, 100 bucks here, 200 bucks there, pay her rent sometimes...She actually gets paid more than me (on an RA instead of a TA) and does less work than I. Her parents don't believe in taking out loans, so her credit cards are pretty much filled and they bought her a 2005 Honda Accord in full in January for her. </p>

<p>Her parents never really made her work and I feel she's going to be in for a wake-up call when she has to get a job later this year when she'll graduate with her MS. She has said on many opportunities she wants to just be a bum and travel all around the world by working odd jobs to make enough money to get the next place and then moving on. </p>

<p>Parents:</p>

<p>I think you'd do a dis-service to your children if you don't make them work at all during college (summers are ok for this) or teach them money management techniques by limiting funds to the bare minimum necessity to need to get by. In the end, I think both me and my friend will have a successful transition to the workforce and our adult-lives. However, I think my transition will be easier and less of a 'wake-up call' than my friend's.</p>

22

<p>Does anyone have some hard numbers here, like discretionary spending per college student per year? Further breakdown, by region, by public/private, by type of insitution? Trend lines, since 1970s, inflation adjusted? This is piquing my interest.</p>

23

<p>"There is a woman in my office who has a kid in high school and is super concerned with how she's going to finance this kid's MASTERS degree. If that doesn't beat all I don't know what does. "</p>

<p>We fully expect to pay for our childrens' masters degrees (and PhDs if they want them). We believe a master's degree today is the equivalent of a college degree when we graduated and saved accordingly. We tend to be frugal spenders on most stuff, but consider tuition and travel to be worth extravagance. While we have taken and/or sent our kids on trips overseas numerous times since they were small (always to a new country), we looked at sweatshirts in the UVA bookstore over the holidays and decided to wait until they show up at SAMs club because the cost seemed pretty ridiculous. For us, it isn't a matter of affordability but of cost/benefit and personal spending preferences. Our kids have been told that they will be expected to pay for 10% of all tuition, fees, books, room/board and 100% of entertainment and nonessential spending. This was to give them a personal stake in the process, particularly in the private versus in-state choice. Both have worked since the age of 14 and the oldest has already paid us his 10% of the ED deposit. We have started an Excel spreadsheet to track each cost. Since the oldest one is going in-state, he has already saved enough to pay his share without loans but he expects to continue to work in college.</p>

24

<p>Sac - She babysits or does other odd jobs when she can to add some extra $$ to her account. You are right though, she has become quite frugal. She and her suitemates grocery shop at Fairway Market and cook for themselves. It is much less than the meal plan (and the food is better!).</p>

25

<p>I asked my S how he and his friends decide on where to go and how much to spend given there is quite a range of "means" among his group of friends. He said it isn't really an issue, they simply figure out what is the most any individual in the group going out can spend on an activity and limit everyone's expenditures to that amount. Sounds reasonable to me.</p>

26

<p>I just finished my first semester at the University of NH. We have unlimited meal plans, and my roommates and I rarely eat anywhere that's not covered by the meal plan (I never have; they may have spent $20 or $30 on food all semester). So food is not an expense involved in the coming comments.</p>

<p>In one semester one of my roommates blew through $1300. About $500 was on books; the rest was stuff she ordered online, stuff she bought (and we're not even talking about the money her parents blew on her...), tanning sessions, booze and who knows what else. It has become very apparent why she's worked since before she was legal....
On the other hand, including books, money out of my pocket has maybe reached $400 over the whole semester. It might be closer to $500, but it's not a whole lot. And that's what's out of my pocket; I've spent more money than that, but it was on stuff that my parents were willing to pay me back for (medicine, stuff they asked me to buy them at the computer store, etc). I've had a pretty fun experience though. I've bought no booze (I'm not a drinker). Been to most of the hockey games and a few football games. All sports events are included in the fees that are paid with tuition so I don't get charged extra. And at UNH I get some of the best football and hockey in the nation, so I don't really need to do anything else. I've been to a professional ballet (Cinderella). That ticket cost me $10 since I'm a student. I've been to 3 movies on campus that I had to pay for: $2 each. 3 others that were free, including two advance showings. We go shopping downtown occasionally, and I've hit the mall here at home. I've really become frugal since I left for college. I've never been a huge spender, but now I really consider every purchase. I've also learned how to squeeze money out of my parents ;) . No they're not spoiling me, but my mom is more than willing to take me shopping for snack food for my dorm room whenever I'm home.</p>

<p>And in comparing my roommate and I, I should add that that does not count any tuition stuff she may have had to pay for. That's simply the number that she announced, half proud half shocked, at the end of the semester. My number doesn't include any tuition either, and my portion of tuition comes from my 529, and not out of my pocket.</p>