Family budgeting for 1st year college student in 2008.

Parents Forum
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<p>Books often cost more than they are budgeted for. These days teachers often assign DVD watching. This can often be arranged at library, but the kids buy DVD's to watch in dorms with classmates.</p>

<p>DD spends three times as much as DS, but she too was much more aggressive about finding and keeping a job. She did the same job over the summer, and it will span the four years. NYC is not cheap.</p>

<p>DS and his friends (some of them unbelievably wealthy) have made a game of spending as little money as possible. He even sent me the spending money his grandmother sent him telling me he had no need for it.</p>

<p>marite: You're not cheap. However, although both kids tried to economize with comforters I insisted we upgrade and buy beautiful ones they really liked and appealed to me. I cared more than they did, and it certainly wasn't necessary.</p>

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<p>Re: the blankets on the beds. BOTH of my kids wanted to take their bed comforters with them when they left for college. Neither wanted something new...they wanted their old comfortable and familiar blankets.</p>

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<p>mythmom:</p>

<p>My kids don't care as long as it's dark blue. And I don't care, considering that the comforters are usually covered by laptops, papers, books, clothes....</p>

<p>Now that they're both out of the house, I sometimes go into their rooms just to admire how pristine they are-- and come out wi****l at how quiet they are.</p>

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<p>We pay for tuition room and board, cell phone (family plan), transportation home (we want to see him), and books. Lap top was a graduation present. He pays for everything else. We didn't spend that much outfitting the room. A couple of pillows (home pillows were antiques), two sets of extra long sheets, a new comforter, a bookcase and some minimal kitchen stuff. (His room is an apartment.) We've definitely reduced food budget here at home, though the 15 year old is eating more than he did last year!</p>

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<p>Yeah, I'm kind of crazy about things like this. But I am happy to say DD is in her junior year with same comforter. I think DS will do the same. She was going to get bed-in-a-bag with some awful faux sixties print and the bed-in-the-bag DS got and we returned was ugly. Still, I think we outfitted each bed for under $200.00 and got really beautiful comforters. D's room is a striking almost hot pink with traces of a bittersweet orange and deep deep plum. S's is navy with traces of light blue and Chinese red.</p>

<p>marite: I still can't go into their rooms. Although their singles at school are very neat their rooms here are disaster zones I have been forbidden to touch.</p>

<p>Edit: Whoops! My figure did not take into account the egg crate and mattress pad.</p>

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<p>I'm sure we spent less than $500 furnishing S1's room. We bought bedding at BB & B, and a refigerator at Sears. (Refrigerator has since gone missing -- we're not buying another!) He brought towels from home, and some odds and ends. Sophomore year I bought him a small ironing board and gave him an older iron from home. He's pretty easy on furnishings, but books have been expensive. He's supposed to use summer/term earnings on spending money and books, but I think we'll have to start paying for books. He will be attending for 5 quarters in a row, so there are no term-off earnings.</p>

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<p>The Company Store (online) has good sales on down quilts, bedding and mattress covers. The two things we splurged on were an extra-long down comforter for upstate NY winters, and a high quality, extra thick XL mattress pad because dorm mattresses are not very comfortable. Also, my son is 6 feet tall, so the extra length was welcome. </p>

<p>He used to take a separate blanket for warmer weather, but stopped after freshman year. (Boys are great at de-aquisitioning.) He no longer takes anything more formal than a no-iron dress shirt and a pair of dark, but not dress, shoes. Instead of under-bed storage containers, he puts his suitcases and shipping boxes there and uses them for extra storage.</p>

<p>Back to the OP's budget - remember that your son will only be gone for 1/3 of next year (16-17 weeks). You should see about $50 savings a week in food, and some reduction in utilities and gasoline. I agree with the others that by letting your son pay for his own books and entertainment, he will save himself hundreds of dollars.</p>

<p>If you pay your own health insurance, see what the school provides and how it compares. My son switched providers to save a few dollars and because it provided better access to doctors in his new, small town.</p>

<p>Good gifts for the holidays and graduation for HS seniors (guys edition!):
laptop computer
compact printer
earphones
XL sheets
XL mattress pad
luggage (one rolling piece that fits all airline carry-on requirements, and one or two medium duffels)
new alarm clock (high school tends to wear these out!)
two pop-up laundry hampers
the latest cell phone
hanging Dopp kit (toiletry bag)</p>

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<p>Our S got a laptop as a graduation present from us. He did not require a lot of items for his dorm, 2 XL twin sheets, a comforter and blanket. Since we brought the TV, his roomate pays for the micro/fridge. They split the cost of the monthly cable bill.
Since S is not working this semester, he tried to bank his summer job money. We also had him bank his graduation money as well. He now gets an allowance from that each month for extra spending money.
Most colleges have 'bucks' that can be used at the campus stores and markets and at some of the local places as well. We put $300 on that account and he uses it mainly for groceries, Starbucks and Subway, and anything needed at the bookstore.
One word of caution, kids love to text each other in college. Not all of your childs new friends will be in your network. It is best to check the details of your current cell plan before that first bill arrives. There is a big difference between unlimited in network and not. Trust me on this one.
Books cost about $500 for both new and used. Hopefully he can return those at the end of the semester for some kind of credit. Our S is an engineering major so he plans to keep some of them for future use.
For us the biggest expense has been clothing. He attend private school from K to 12 and wore a uniform so we were very spoiled on how little clothing he needed during those years. Now it seems like all he has been doing is buying clothes. the campus apparel is very expensive as well. It seems like most of the larger schools have moved to the big brand names.</p>

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<p>We figured that graduation gift $ was for the dorm items. (or would have been if she had been in town to do the shopping... ) We pay room and board, books and cell phone ($10 added to my family plan plus the fee for unlimited messages). The rest is on her. (or would be if she didn't need so many new warm clothes and no decent shopping in that tiny college town). I'm starting to see a pattern here so I'll quit and go bake her some cookies and send another sweater from REI.</p>

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<p>I know this is minor, but you may want to factor in the cost of sending care packages to students far from home. During her freshman year, for holidays I sent a box with miscellaneous treats, cards, photos and other small tokens so she knew that we love and support her. Sometimes she would ask me to send some item she forgot to take. Each box costs about $20-25 to send cross country, so it can add up, but it's worth it.</p>

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<p>Our S has a weakness for high thread-count sheets, and The Company Store had 600 tc sets at a reasonable price. He started at school a week after he turned 18, so the adorable little flat TV was his 18th birthday present. We didn't go too nuts about anything else. Like some others, his school required a laptop...that was his graduation gift. He had mono over the summer and couldn't work, so his graduation money is his spending money for the whole year. We pay the cell phone; it isn't any more than it was at home. We spend a LOT less on food. (I think it's half.)</p>

<p>S did want more clothes when we visited him for Parents Weekend...he was quite up-front about not wanting to do laundry more than once a month.</p>

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<p>Thanks, again, everyone! I'm taking lots of notes. There have definitely been some little details pop up that I would not have considered.</p>

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<p>My parents are really generous to us two girls (identical twins). We both start college June 6th...and our mom is also in college getting a Bachelors in accounting.</p>

<p>We are each getting a laptop and I think we might just share a printer. They are buying us a fridge and microwave. They are also buying us a rug for the dorm room. </p>

<p>We asked our Grandmas (almost 78) to make us quilts for our graduation gifts to take with us to be used on our beds...she hand sewed us two beautiful fan quilts.</p>

<p>I worked at CVS and while there they had a huge summer sale and I bought a floor lamp, a compact ironing board, 4 egg crates, a 3 tiered shelf, and 2 small desk organizers for like $22. And I bought a compact iron to take on a mission trip one year for $20 at walmart....I ironed my clothes and 2 guys clothes all week. It is the nest iron I have ever used...and its coming with us.</p>

<p>We do still need sheets, matress pads, egg crates, drying racks, and storage units, big towels. And then the small stuff like toiletries, cloth hangers.</p>

<p>We each usually end up with $200 for our birthday and Christmas. I am probably spending half and savings half. I recently quit my job and have $1000 in my checking account to be used at college.</p>

<p>Oh...here's a neat thing I think. We will be in Valdosta, Georgia for college and just a few miles from campus is Wild Adventures...an amusement park. Our parents are getting as yearly passes and a parking pass to go there as often as we desire. So thats neat. Basically (to us) free entertainment. They always have really good concerts there for free or you can pay $20 and get a reserved eat (MercyMe, Switchfoot, Casting Crowns, BarlowGirl, Keith Urban, etc.)</p>

<p>My parents don't want us working for the 1st year of college. They are paying for cell phones (family lines), books, room and board and fees. Our tuition is covered by a huge scholarship. I'm guessing that they are also paying our car insurance and gas. (We share a 2000 dodge neon).</p>

<p>I'm not sure how the "no working" things gonna be because I hate asking for money...</p>

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<p>Your parents sound wonderful. It is even nicer that you appreciate it so much.</p>

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<p>I am very grateful to have the parents I have. They supported me quitting CVS on Friday due to the fact that it was stressing me out. And I have $1000 saved from that job. I plan on using the money I get from the graduation announcements on clothes for college. They usually give us $150 each for clothes a year and the rest is up to us. But due to that I have known how to budget since like 7th grade. I am now a very frugal spender because its mostly my money :) </p>

<p>I'm blessed to have them. I am hoping that FAFSA helps us somewhat due to the fact that 3 of us will be in college...but we will see. And now that I am no longer employed I think I will be going scholarship crazy...</p>

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<p>Greetings.</p>

<p>We also were able to furnish D's dorm room for less than $200. </p>

<p>On the plus side of the balance sheet, many kids pick up scholarships through their high school at graduation. These help tremendously the first year. D was able to buy the laptop required by her school and had a bit left over. Also, if your child owns a car they may need to sell it because many campuses don't allow freshmen (and sometimes sophomores) to have cars on campus. Because of this, my D was able to sock away some money in a checking/debit account for expenses. This meant that she didn't have to get a job first semester, and could concentrate on settling into life as a college student.</p>

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<p>Here's things that I had to get for college:</p>

<p>Bedding w/ pillows, sheets, comforter, etc.
Lab coat, goggles, chemistry model kit
Printer (mom paid for)
Towels (mom paid for)
Desk lamp
Laundry detergent
Books
World of Warcraft w/ subscription (a requirement for one of my classes, no joke)</p>

<p>A lot of the stuff I have I or my roommate just brought from home. My TV that we use I already had (gift from grandmother) my mom switched jobs so she didn't need the small fridge that she had in her old office and just gave that to me, I didn't buy any new clothes because I haven't grown since beginning of high school and have plenty of clothes to wear. My roommate bought a futon and a microwave (since I brought the TV and fridge) and </p>

<p>My parents only pay for my room and board and my tuition that isn't covered by scholarship. I pay for everything else including books (about $700 total this semester, should be about $450 next semester and that is used when possible) weekend expenses (food, movies, etc.) and gas. I try to take food from my pantry at home when I can back to campus and otherwise I just use my meal plan to eat food.</p>

<p>Most of my other friends however get money to pay for their books from their parents and get some form of allowance per month to cover other food, entertainment, etc. which is usually around $150. A majority of kids at my school simply get however much money they need, but that's because I go to a private school with tons of wealthy kids.</p>

<p>Oh, and I forgot to mention that I live 45 minutes away so that takes away most travel expenses, hotel for move-in and parent's weekend, etc.</p>

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<p>Food:</p>

<p>Alot depends on your kid's food plan. My D's school had several options that revolved around all you can eat dinner meal with a dollar point system for lunch and breakfast and late night snacks. The school has great food which unfortunately is very expensive so you must budget a little extra money if the school does not have for freshman a three meal per day seven day a week plan.</p>

<p>Books:</p>

<p>They are very expensive,just beyond belief. If your kid takes alot of reading intensive courses versus science and math plan on about $1,000 for the year. Buy school supplies at discount store before school starts.</p>

<p>Computer:</p>

<p>Unless your kid wants to use college's computer which is very much a pain, your child is going to need a good laptop. At my D's school all of the kids have one. We comparison shopped and the MAC purchased thru the school's computer store which was fully pre-loaded with all the school's programs and all other programs she needed plus a printer, a lock, an an extended service warranty was $2700 for the 17"screen. That was an expense that will be a non- issue for the balance of her college career.</p>

<p>Transportation:</p>

<p>Depends if they are in the middle of nowhere like many lac's. Kid has to get to a train station or airport and that can be expensive if school doesn't have a subsidized shuttle. So tell your kid to use the school's ride board to hitch rides or share cab or van expenses. Call AMTRAK or airlines for projected costs plus ground transport. MAKE RESERVATIONS LONG IN ADVANCE FOR THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS AND SPRING BREAKS AS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY TRAVELS AT ONCE.</p>

<p>Miscellaneous:</p>

<p>I agree kid should get a summer job to pay for weekend activities both off and on campus. Our D's school (lac) has a million free and inexpensive activities every weekend and none of the kids are ever bored. Any school supplies over what u get them at the beginning of year should be on them.</p>

<p>Then when u get your budget together put aside an extra thousand for stuff u didn't think of and that is not counting parents weekends, taking kid to school for drop off day and picking them up at the end of the year. Best of luck to u and your checkbook.</p>

<p>Dana's Dad</p>

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<p>To follow up on danalynne's post, what do people here think about ride boards?</p>

<p>This has been a topic of disagreement between my husband and me. He thinks our daughter should be encouraged to use the ride board because it's the cheapest way to get home during school breaks, while I think that we should not pressure her into using it instead of taking the charter bus that serves our area. She does not like the idea of using the ride board and having to ride with strangers who might not be responsible drivers.</p>

<p>I would like to hear some other opinions.</p>

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<p>Marian,
if your D is not comfortable, then by all means let her take the bus. In time, she may get to know people in her area. The bus fare is a small price to pay for D's peace of mind, and yours.</p>