<p>My family is starting to work on our 2008 budget. Our oldest will be a first year college student next fall. I'm wondering, besides the obvious college expenses of tuition, books, room and board, and the like, what other things should we consider working in to our budget? It's likely he will be attending a private LAC within a reasonable driving distance from home, so we shouldn't have to work in the cost of air fare, yet we will need to budget for gas and possibly travel lodging. Beyond that, we are wondering, how much did you spend on things like dorm room needs the first year? What expenses did you have that perhaps you didn't think of ahead of time? Were there any financial surprises? Any advice for this newbie family would be very much appreciated.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman this year. Your food bill probably would go down a bit for you at home. Extra expenses to consider would be costs for drop off, parents weekend - hotel rooms are generally premium during those periods. I think we spent close to $1000 for her room, but we bought down comforter, new duvet, topper, a lot of organizers... So far we haven't had any financial surprises. We bought her first round trip bus ticket home, but I think she will start getting rides from other students. She is probably spending less money in college now than in HS because there are not as many places where she could spend money. She is probably going to join a sorority this spring. We have agreed that she would pay for it (or she may get it as part of her xmas present). She also bought many used books, so the cost was actually lower than I expected. No, it has been quite manageable.</p>
<p>We give her a set allowance every month, she also works on campus. She only spends half of it. She has a debit/credit card in her name. She doesn't have our credit card (which she did when she was in HS) - no surprises every month.</p>
<p>We spent a lot less on bedding! Bed, Bath and Beyond has sets that are less than $100. Even buying two pairs of X-long sheets and mattress pad would not come to much more than $100 (maybe we're cheap?). S bought a minifridge in Target (splitting cost with roommates--I think it was less than $100) and a used TV from the annual sale at his college (also split among roommates). A lamp, some filing boxes, stationery. I expect that we spent around $500 at most to furnish S's room. He brought his laptop and printer from home.
In previous years, a fair amount of cash went to local stores for late evening snacks. This year, S is on top of his House's late night cafeteria, so he saves on snacks.
Budget for entertainment depends on whether the student lives in a city where opportunities are plenty or in a more isolated setting. Many colleges have free entertainment (films, concerts, and so on); others charge much less than commercial venues. I don't think S ever spent the maximum of $200 a month he was given in pocket money. </p>
<p>Oldfort is right that you should budget for visits to college or for your S to come back home occasionally. Besides drop-off day, consider Freshman Parents' Weekend and pick-up day at the end of the academic year. There may be summer storage fees as well.</p>
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My family is starting to work on our 2008 budget. Our oldest will be a first year college student next fall. I'm wondering, besides the obvious college expenses of tuition, books, room and board, and the like, what other things should we consider working in to our budget?
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Ahhhhh.... now we can get into the meat of the discussion, again.....;) YOU don't have to figure out anything in your budget besides basic room and board, tuition, and your own costs to visit your kid. (Actually, you can offset the savings of lower food/utilities/shampoo,etc bills against the cost of visiting kid -- so let's call it a wash, and take that out of the equation.) You kid can (and in mho, should) be responsible for all other costs. Books, shampoo, tylenol, recreation, dorm bedding, clothing, etc. That's what the summer job before college and the work/study or parttime non-work-study job on campus is for! Makes budgeting a snap for parental units, and it makes johnny/janey oh so frugal and responsible. ;) (I must admit, we do still continue to pay cell phone charges for both our college students - but we have a family plan, and their lines are only an addition $10 plus taxes - so, it makes sense to continue this.) And if you are thinking about providing johnny/janey with a car? Nah, don't go there if at all possible. :) So, simplicity itself. You budget for tuition and basic R & B.</p>
<p>I can't give you exact figures, but here are some things worth thinking about:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Assume that you will need to equip your student's room at college with a full set of bedding (including pillows, as well as sheets, pillowcases, comforter, extra blankets). The size of the bed at college may not be the same as that in your student's room at home, and besides, it would be inconvenient to lug this stuff back and forth during breaks. The student will also need duplicates of some other things that are already present in his/her room at home, such as towels and a clock/radio, so that it won't be necessary to bring this stuff home during breaks. Students usually also want a fan (if the dorm is not air-conditioned) and may want to buy or rent a small refrigerator (splitting the cost with the roommate, if there is one). </p></li>
<li><p>If the student may be using public transportation (such as a bus) to travel home during breaks, a decent suitcase is essential. Bus travelers can't just throw stuff on the back seat of the car, the way auto travelers can. </p></li>
<li><p>You will probably need lodging for the drop-off (perhaps for more than one night if there are orientation activities that involve parents). Some colleges specify the time of day when students must move in. For example, my daughter, who is a freshman at a college a seven-hour drive from home, was required to move into her dorm room between 8 am and 10 am on move-in day. Obviously, a motel room in the vicinity the night before was essential. Often, you can save money by getting that motel room somewhere that's about an hour's drive from the college instead of in the college's own community. Hotels in college communities often raise their rates during the local college's special events, such as orientation, family weekend, and graduation.</p></li>
<li><p>Under-the-bed storage devices (available from your local Bed, Bath, and Beyond, among other places) are very useful.</p></li>
<li><p>Some colleges have orientation during the summer, not just before drop-off. This involves additional transportation costs.</p></li>
<li><p>If your student will need to take any family equipment (such as the family's one-and-only computer printer or one-and-only iron) to college, you will need to buy replacements for the rest of the family to use at home. </p></li>
<li><p>Many college students would like to own enough ordinary, everyday clothing so that they can go at least a week, perhaps even 10 days, without doing laundry. If your student does not ordinarily own this much clothing, there may be some extra expenses in buying it. (Try to make sure that everything, except for special-occasion clothing, is machine washable and can go in the dryer.) Also, consider that your student will be doing a lot more walking at college than may be the case at home and will need to do a good job of dressing for the weather. My son, who attends a college only 40 minutes from home in a moderate climate (Maryland), found it necessary to buy a serious winter coat, winter hats and gloves, and umbrellas once he got to college. He never needed these things in the identical climate at home because he didn't walk around much at home. More clothing: If your student will be taking physical education or plans to use the college's gym facilities, appropriate clothing will be needed for this, too.</p></li>
<li><p>Although it is not absolutely essential on some campuses, most college students want to own their own computers. Today's college professors give assignments that involve computers, and it is very inconvenient for students to have to go to the college's computer labs to complete every assignment. Also, the colleges tend to communicate with students by e-mail. Most students seem to prefer laptops to desktops. (A laptop can be taken to a study lounge or library if your child needs to work on it but his/her roommate wants to socialize or sleep; a desktop can't.) If your child currently shares a computer with other family members or has a desktop, you may want to add a laptop to the list of things to buy. </p></li>
<li><p>In my experience, students attending colleges in or near a major city spend more on entertainment than they did at home; those at rural campuses spend less (unless they join a fraternity or sorority).</p></li>
<li><p>Many college students feel that having a cell phone is essential. It's how they communicate with their friends on campus, and it will probably be how they communicate with you. Whether or not the student also needs a land line depends on circumstances. Some colleges require students to pay for the phone service in the dorm; others don't. In my experience, if the student lives attends a college really close to home, the land line is probably not needed. (My son, at a college 40 minutes from home and in the same area code, does not have a land line.) But students at more distant (or out-of-area-code) colleges may need the land line and may need to pay for voice mail on it because college offices and local businesses may object to calling an out-of-area-code number from their own land lines because it is a long-distance call. For example, my daughter, who is at an out-of-state college, needed her room phone (with its voice mail, which we had to pay extra for) this week so that the college clinic could call her with the results of medical tests that they had performed. The clinic would not have taken kindly to having to call an out-of-state number to give her the test results. (I am assuming here that if your student has a cell phone, it will be part of your family's cell phone plan and therefore will have your home area code. Our family has not investigated the possibility of the student getting a cell phone in the college community, with the college's area code, and using that phone exclusively.)</p></li>
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<p>Wow...terrific information from you all. I will be printing this off and saving it! Thank you!</p>
<p>We paid for room, board, tuition, fees, and the cell phone. For DD, we also bought a laptop and all cables, and a printer. DS, otoh used a used computer we had here for the first two years. It worked just fine. DD would have done the same but she was traveling cross country and a used desktop just couldn't make the trip!! For both kids, we included overnight costs for parent orientation...we went for both of them. We factored in Parents Weekend for DS, but since we lived close enough, we didn't spend the night. To be honest, one day was enough. The only other overnight time for us was for DS's senior recital. Re: linens and dorm needs...our kids both went "shopping" in their own bedrooms first, and then our linen closet. We had ample sheets (our kids used the jersey knit twin sheets which fit the x-long dorm beds just fine), towels, blankets, comforters, and other linens. We also had ample school supplies, desk organizer "stuff" and the like. The reality is that neither of them was HERE to use it so it went to college with them...if they wanted to take it. We did get a few odds and ends for each of them once we were at the schools, but I don't think we spent over $200 for either of them. Our kids pay for their own books and school supplies from summer earnings or their school year jobs. I think YOUR FAMILY needs to look at the types of things you think you may want to buy. As you can see from the responses you've gotten so far, there is wide variance on what folks buy for college and what they don't buy. One other thing you mighty need to factor in is the cost of copays or the costs of any prescription medications your kids take.</p>
<p>There are really two questions to be considered:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What needs to be bought</p></li>
<li><p>Who is responsible for paying for it</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think they have to be considered separately. </p>
<p>In our family, for example, we do pay for clothing, transportation to and from campus, books and supplies, and dorm room essentials, and we provide a small allowance. Also, both kids got laptops as high school graduation presents. (My son, a computer science major, has since replaced it with a much more sophisticated computer bought out of his own funds.) But when my daughter decided that she wanted a single room instead of a double in the dorm, we told her that she would have to pay the cost difference (which she did, from her summer job money). And if either kid had wanted a car, they would have had to pay for it.</p>
<p>We found that most college-type bedding was on sale at big discount in August, and I was glad I didn't buy the stuff ahead of time. We found sheets, comforter, pillows at very reasonable prices at places like JCPenney and discount linen stores. </p>
<p>Unlike Marian's kids, my son did not want to be bothered with taking an iron. Not a surprise to me.</p>
<p>His program required a laptop computer. He got his as part of a scholarship package, but others did have to spend around 2K for a computer that met the school's specs.</p>
<p>Since he has no car on campus this year, we have a discount on insurance fees, and he is not so likely to spend a lot of money off-campus. His university provides a lot of on-campus entertainment.</p>
<p>He bought all of his books used, some from online general book retailers (he e-mailed profs during the summer to get exact titles and editions), others from the school bookstore.</p>
<p>My kid is cheap, and he likes to live cheap. His dorm room is very basic, which is how he and his roommate like it. Sometimes it is parents who like the pretty dorm rooms more than the students, according to my observations. However, son and roommate did want a mini-fridge and microwave; we provided the fridge, he brought the microwave. They don't have a TV, just mooch off others who do.</p>
<p>He already had a cell phone, and has since he started driving. He did not have a text-messaging plan when he started, but found that all of his friends like to communicate that way, so we added it to his line for $10 a month. His line is still on my family package, which makes it cheaper. (It also makes it possible for me to determine that he makes a lot of phone calls in the middle of the night, since the detailed call log comes to me.)</p>
<p>I really do have a smaller food budget now. He had a lot of friends in high school, and they spent a lot of time here; we buy far fewer snacks and drinks, and less regular food as well.</p>
<p>Only D wanted an iron. </p>
<p>S wouldn't recognize one if it fell on his head.</p>
<p>I forgot about the car insurance discount. If your student is at a college far from home (I think the cutoff point may be about 300 miles) and does not have a car at college, your family will probably get a substantial discount on auto insurance AND it is still OK for the student to drive the family's cars during breaks.</p>
<p>Marian - I was going t point out that the difference was not Marian's child vs Midmo's child but that Marian was indeed discussing her FEMALE child!! I don't think my S has an iron yet!! (working in Boston) but I do also wonder if D has actually used the iron and table top board I soooo carefully stored in her closet!</p>
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If your student is at a college far from home (I think the cutoff point may be about 300 miles) and does not have a car at college, your family will probably get a substantial discount on auto insurance AND it is still OK for the student to drive the family's cars during breaks.
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With Geico, in Texas at least, the distance is 150 miles, and kids are FREE. Really. I pay nothing for either of them for car insurance, and they are covered if they drive my vehicles or friend's vehicles while away at school or home on vacation.</p>
<p>My son had a suggestion re: need vs want in college. He suggested that students put everything they think they NEED on one room of their house (say the living room)...then take 1/2 of what is there. They won't need or miss the other half and it won't fit into the small dorm rooms well anyway. Now...having said that...we found that our kids traveled very light for different reasons. DS packed less because he just didn't feel he needed very much (oh yes..he had an iron and ironing board...but he's also a music major who had a LOT of dress clothes as well). DD packed less because it ALL needed to fit into the three suitcases she packed for cross country flying. Because I was going as well, we had four suitcases...I needed one for MY things for the days I was there...the other three were for her things. One was completely filled with her linens. The other two had her other "stuff" including her clothes. She carried her computer bag and I carried her instrument case. You know...she had NO trouble putting everything she needed into three large suitcases. This year (her second) she took even LESS with her than the first year. Actually my son took less and less and less every year. I will say, I think most boys pack lighter than most girls. But that is my opinion.</p>
<p><a href="oh%20yes..he%20had%20an%20iron%20and%20ironing%20board...but%20he's%20also%20a%20music%20major%20who%20had%20a%20LOT%20of%20dress%20clothes%20as%20well">quote</a>.
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<p>D is not a music major but is a member of a wind ensemble. She only worries about wrinkles when it comes to her concert attire. There may be a trend here.</p>
<p>I did hear something about the kids making iron-on T-shirts to wear to some campus event, though.</p>
<p>One more thing that may need to be considered in the budget: Sometimes, an individual student's schedule makes it impossible to eat some of the scheduled dining hall meals. Those meals will be wasted, and the student will need to spend extra money to buy food in some other way. For example, this semester, on Fridays, my daughter has classes from 10 AM to 3 PM straight, with no break for lunch. She buys non-perishable snack foods at a campus convenience store and eats them while walking from one class to another on Fridays, and her already-paid-for Friday lunch does not get eaten. She has also had the same sort of thing happen on other days of the week, when she had to go to a professor's office hours or a medical appointment during the one free period in the middle of the day that was supposed to be devoted to lunch.</p>
<p>This is a little off-topic but with all the discussion of buying things for your student's room, I would seriously recommend adding student personal property insurance to the list. My youngest is in an urban environment and has a bike she keeps locked outdoors so we decided to get her insurance as recommended elsewhere on CC. (It cost $185 to insure $8000 worth of her belongings for a year.) Just a few weeks later, her digital camera was damaged. To my amazement, she received a check for the full value less a $25 deductible. The company we used is called CSI and it is affiliated with Fireman's Fund.</p>
<p>Each kid is different. My oldest had lots of stuff and needed places to keep it all. Plus she was not driving distance so many things were easier to purchase then ship.
With the 2nd we drove him to school. He did his shopping in our linen closet. We still had his old twin down comforter but purchased a more grown up cover from IKEA. We had twin xl sheets from a summer program. He grabbed a few towels. Not even bothering to match them.
We did purchase- IPOD style clock radio, printer, computer and a few school supplies. His needs weren't many. All told aside from technology we probably didn't spend 200 dollars. When I asked would he like a rug for his room both son and Dad looked at me like I was nuts. His roommate already had a frig and TV. He has friends on his floor with big screen tv and xbox.
His meal plan covers all meals and he has something called bucks that can be used at a few campus spots for late night meals. We send him 20 bucks a week for spending money. Half the time my husband forgets to send it and son doesn't ask. I have a feeling he supplements his income with a few poker games.
My oldest seems to cost us money everytime she moves. Boy versus girl. On the other hand she is much more willing to work at paying job. Her wants are just more expensive then his.</p>
<p>If you start shopping early and take advantage of department store sales and coupons (gotta love Bed Bath and Beyond) you can accumulate what you need over a period of time and save a chunk of cash. A lot of what you need depends on the weather--blanket, comforter, winter clothes for New England vs. bathing suits for Miami. Little things like bandaids and pencils were a tiny extra purchase each week at the supermarket. Our mantra is that remember that what you take has to come back with you at the end of the school year!</p>
<p>I just wanted to "ditto" the lower food costs at home. Also last year we were paying monthly fees for piano, dance, etc. - not this year, but obviously those $$ can go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Also, in terms of spending $$ (if you are providing or if your student is planning) look at the opportunities for spending $ in their college town. My D is at a rural, small private college and honestly, her spending costs per week are almost none - I'm talking less than 5-10 a week! Unless they drive out of town, there just aren't many spots to spend! We also since we can see her every couple of weeks one way or another, keep her stocked with drinks and snacks etc.</p>
<p>Spending money truly does depend on the individual child. My D is the complete opposite of abasket's. She receives what I consider to be a very generous allowance and yet she had the gall to ask me the other day if I would reimburse her for a Target run to buy shampoo, etc. I was flummoxed and said "What do you think your allowance is for....beer?"</p>
<p>My daughter is more like abasket"s daugher, similar type of location too. We also see her almost every 3 weeks, so we have been stocking up her refrig. The other day I checked her acct, I saw a huge spend ($96, relatively) at a local store. I asked her why. She said, "For sister's birthday. I have no where else to spend my money." I hope she'll remember my birthday.</p>
<p>Yes, I forgot all about her piano, ballet, SAT tutoring...umh - maybe her college tuition isn't that expensive after all.</p>