<p>We've figured out the tuition payments, room and board, transportation to/from school, and the direct expenses (books, lab fees, etc...). But how do you figure out how much money to give your kid for their personal use? Even if he eats every meal on the meal plan, he'll still have expenses occasionally-an off-campus activity, the thank-you gift, the lost gloves to be replaced, etc... We don't want to give him carte blanche: Managing expenses is part of the experience and his education is already the most expensive thing we will ever purchase, but we also don't want to deprive him of the opportunity to do normal stuff with his friends. We also want him to earn as much of this as he can over the summer, but don't want to set unreasonable expectations. </p>
<p>Also, how do you do it? A direct deposit to their account each semester? A debit card with a fixed amount? A credit card in their name with you reimbursing whatever seems reasonable?</p>
<p>Needless to say, this is our first kid at school, and we are setting a precedent here that number 2 is sure to cite later.</p>
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But how do you figure out how much money to give your kid for their personal use? Even if he eats every meal on the meal plan, he'll still have expenses occasionally-an off-campus activity, the thank-you gift, the lost gloves to be replaced, etc...
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<p>For my first two years of college, I was given a sum of a few hundred dollars each term for this sort of thing. I also had credit cards that were billed to my parents' accounts, to use in case of emergency (depending on how much you trust your kids to spend responsibly, this may not be a good idea). For my second two years, I decided that I wanted to work for this money instead of getting it from my parents. I worked in labs on campus and in the admissions office.</p>
<p>My H and I have differing views on this and so our approach is at best a compromise. With the first, we adopted H's view and gave money as needed/requested and reimbursed credit card expenses. The first worked summer jobs and Christmas jobs and never asked for much. So, I didn't have an objection to the amounts, just to the lack of discipline or training. </p>
<p>The second wasn't as motivated, and I wasn't willing to give carte blanche like the first. We compromised on the amount we deposit monthly. It works out to about $25 or $30 a week and hasn't increased since freshman year. Credit card purchases are emergencies, books, or approved in advance. Fortunately, the amount must have been about right as he decided it was time to start working to supplement some personal expenses he had. We had a couple of overdraft situations to deal with but generally he's done OK.</p>
<p>Have him get a token job (5-10 hrs per week) on campus and tell him you will match every dollar he earns for spending money (transfer money into his account when his auto deposit shows up).</p>
<p>It helps him connect the value he is getting for the money for the effort he puts into getting it. If he wants to live big, he's got to work big. If he values his time more than things, that is OK too.</p>
<p>Most colleges provide an estimate for "personal expenses". Start by using that number and see how the math works out for the job earnings and your match. It is more than OK for him to be able to get significantly more than the college's estimate. It means that he is more engaged in both productive work and meaningful living.</p>
<p>DD is a freshman this year. We are having her pay for her incidentials with money she earned this summer. If she needs to buy a "needed" item-ie: textbooks,contacts, medicine, winter clothing-we reimbursed her. Other expenses she pays for-does not let us know how much money she is spending-or for what she is spending her money on. Her business.
She secured a credit card when she opened her checking account.
She also took some of her summer earnings and put it into a savings account attached to her checking account in case of over-draft. She pays her bills online. I hope this helps-APOL--a mom</p>
<p>We did not want the kids to take any jobs during school year just for the sake of having spending money (we are paying A LOT for their private colleges, and wanted them to take full advantage of their educational opportunities instead), so we gave them $150/mo for incidentals. We did not monitor their spendings, but since we have access to their accounts for the purpose of direct deposit, I know that they never overspent. Both also got on-campus jobs as TAs of sorts, so that increased their "income".</p>
<p>I would think that the amount of spending money needed depends a lot on school and location. I would expect that kids at NYU would need more spending money than kids at Williams or some other self-contained school.</p>
<p>My daughter saves all her summer money for spending expenses and tries to have some left at the end of the year. She has a credit card for emergencies and NEVER uses it without calling me to ask first.</p>
<p>She also gets financial aid so work study is part of her package, although for spending money only. SHe works 6-8 hours a week and lives very frugally. She also participates in a varsity sport. Personally, I feel having a 6 hour a week job is not necessarily a hinderance, but can enhance your education. </p>
<p>She values all her things and is responsible.</p>
<p>My son is a Sr. in high school. He made about $4500 this summer and probably will not make as much next summer as he will have to stop working sooner, but I am hoping he will be as responsible as she is.</p>
<p>He will have work study too. Hopefully, it will not be for tution but for spending money, as my daughters is, so you can work as many hours or not as needed.</p>
<p>To me, there are a number of different questions here. And I am leaving aside the question of whether parents should contribute at all; the OP's question assumes parents will contribute and most of us do:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How much is a reasonable amount of money? There have been a number of threads on this, with great variation based on location, perspective on appropriate lifestyle, family finances, etc. I notice that there is a tendency toward $200/month as the mode, but that is just casual observation.</p></li>
<li><p>What logistics are best? Cash infusion up front, cash infusion monthly, debit card, credit card? I think a lot of this is based on personal convenience. Note, though, that there are pros and cons to credit cards/debit cards and there have been several threads on this.</p></li>
<li><p>How to help kids be financially responsible at college? This seems to be the key part of the OP's question and I also think it is the most important one. In my opinion, the methods involving "reimbursing whatever seems reasonable," or handing over cash upon request as the student articulates his wants and needs do NOT accomplish that goal. Those approaches, imo, keep the student in the "child" role financially and vest responsibility for finances in the parent. As the OP hints, college can be the time for them to move out of that child role. I think that is best accomplished by some method which gets the student involved in managing his funds, making the trade-offs ($200 tix to a cool concert means fewer pizza nights with friends or not buying the cool jeans). So I favor establishing a budgeted amount that the parents will contribute at the outset. Fund it once up front, once each semester or monthly (whichever you like) - let the kid manage it. When the funds are gone, the funds are gone. If you think the kid might not have a good feel for money management, do it monthly. As their feel grows, do it by semester or by year (if you can) - this gives them even more responsibility for managing their own money.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, helping kids be financially responsible ideally begins way before college. Modelling financial behaviors which they should emulate, talking to them about wise vs foolish use of credit cards, giving them allowances which they manage on their own to learn about trade-offs, teaching them as youngsters to divide their money into fun money/short term savings (buy a desired toy)/long term savings (for when I'm in college)/charitable giving.</p>
<p>Very difficult in our case, and evolving constantly. Sons are not on the meal plan, eat SOME meals at their fraternity, and have a declining balance for fast food eateries on campus, which I can check on and replenish online. Those bills get paid by moi. We deposit $200 a month into their checking account for the rest. Older son also has to pay utilities, but he also has a part time job. They've always been very active with athletics and actually work hard to keep weight ON, so I have never made an issue about the amount of food eaten, and therefore cost of food.</p>
<p>What we did was ask older son, after he had been there a semester, to come up with a budget for himself, taking into account the meals he eats at the fraternity, gas, personal expenses, entertainment. Then we reviewed it together and agreed upon a "payday" each month. </p>
<p>They also have online banking, so they can check their balances daily (they only use debit- except when son writes the one monthly check for utilities). If they are getting low, they can call us and explain the situation. I think they've been pretty reasonable and responsible about it, considering their ages.</p>
<p>In my family personal expenses are left up to the student. Parents pay tuition, room, board, and travel expenses home and then deposit or give checks to cover the costs of books and an allowance for basic living expenses (shampoo, bathroom cleaning supplies, etc.). That money is given by the term. I'm not sure what the exact amount of money is; I believe it's different for me and my sister given our different situations--I'm urban, she's rural; I need to clean my own room and bathroom, her dorm cleans for them; etc. </p>
<p>Having said that, my parents are generous if either of us feel stressed out about money. They've loaned money to my sister for school related travel, which she is paying back, and when I come home to visit they often give me $20 or $30 before I leave. </p>
<p>I think personal expenses can usually be covered by summer earnings, assuming the money isn't going toward tuition or anything else.</p>
<p>I get $20 every two weeks from my mom - it's direct deposited into my bank account from hers. We've had discussions about decreasing it before, and I wouldn't be surprised if she did (it used to be $50 every two weeks, but I wasn't spending that money). I am on work study, and I enjoy working. I earn close to the total money allocated to me, and I'd probably be looking for a job if I weren't a work-study student - I enjoy working and having a paycheck.</p>
<p>I pay for my books and incidentals. My parents pay tuition and room and board (though I occasionally chip in on this part). In August I became an authorized user on one of my dad's credit cards - every purchase I've made with it has been approved before I used it (so far, it's been for things like theater tickets my parents gifted me for my birthday or a hotel room before a job interview) and I had no problem getting through three years of college without it. I will admit that being an authorized user on my dad's credit card has helped my credit score. :)</p>
<p>We pay tuition, room, board and college fees, and travel home during breaks. Kids earn money for books and all discretionary spending (that would be entertainment, clothes, travel that is not to home, food other than the meal plan etc). Both kiddos worked during the summers, and both kiddos worked about 10 hours a week during the school year. Both budgeted their own earnings...we didn't even know how much they earned (until time to complete the FAFSA!!). DH and I felt that they would learn to be responsible financially using their own money better than with ours. This has worked for our family. But it is a family decision and this has been discussed each year here at CC with varying opinions. Some families give their students a spending allowance. Some families give a partial allowance. Some families (like ours) have the kids earn their spending money. Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>By the way, it is a good idea for the kids to use the credit card (in their name) occasionally, so they will have some sort of credit rating when they leave college.</p>
<p>Oh, they should also pay off the credit card regularly, so their credit rating is good.</p>
<p>My expenses freshman year came mostly out of money that I got as graduation gifts and some of my savings. My sophomore year, I got a job that pays $400/month so I'm pretty much supporting all my own expenses now.</p>
<p>I got a debit card and a credit card before freshman year. I barely used my debit card freshman year but now I use it much more frequently...credit card has a really low spending limit and the bill goes to my parents. I pretty much just use it for buying my textbooks online, but it's helping me build credit.</p>
<p>We pay tuition, room, board, and cell phone (family plan). Kids cover everything else including shampoo (Suave), haircuts, clothes, books, etc. etc. Simplicity itself. (And amazing how frugal they are. ;) ) They both work about 10 hours a week at school or workstudy jobs. DD also does some tutoring on the side, and won a felllowship at her school next semester. DS works in the summer to make some money. DD has managed to participate in various free studyabroad or educational things in the summer, and has made most of her money during the school year.</p>
<p>Keep the travel-home budget on your side of the ledger, so your visits home don't get traded off as a budget-booster. I could imagine mine sitting alone in a dark dorm room right through Christmas if he thought he could "earn back" his plane ticket money. :D </p>
<p>We also tell them we'll fund equal value to the trip home if they want to visit somewhere else (like a friend's home in a new city) so they can enjoy some variety. You might not imagine it, but after freshman fall term, they discover other places to visit for college vacations than you. I thought it was oppressive to say, "If you want SPring Break in someplace warm and pretty with lots of friends, just go but you'll have to fund that destination yourself. Or, I'll freely fund you to fly you home to our cold, muddy, northern home in March or April." Don't make your home the worst choice on the menu; assume an equal amount of transpo to home, but make it available to go anywhere else. </p>
<p>Our kids worked in summers and on-campus. One could do the time-management well, so got more summer free time. The other was concerned for her academic balance, so didn't work during the school year but worked hard for cash in the summer while living at home. </p>
<p>Here's another way to look at how much allowance. Suppose campus jobs are $8.00/hour and a hypothetical kid works 6 hours/week for a light job expectation. That's $48. (I'm using gross wages here, obviously, because kids get these taxes back eventually). Times 4.2 weeks in a month: $201.60. So those who are sending $200/month are putting their kids on par with others working a 6-hour/week campus job. Mine had finaid, so with work/study worked 8 hours weekly during the school year, fairly typical I think.</p>
<p>My son earns his spending money during the summer, plus he has a 10-15 hr. per week job that supplements his money. I can also see his bank balance because the account is joint we send his tuition money, he pays it with the debit card so I can see what he's earning and spending and it appears to run about $200 per month which I think is alot for a college student, but he's earning it so I keep my mouth shut.</p>
<p>S worked this past summer and used that money at the start of the semester until it ran out. He also banked all his graduation money and between Sept and May (non working months) he gets a monthly deposit into his debit account from that money. He has a credit card in his name that is to be used in emergencies only for school related expenses. So far he has been very responsible in using it and usally calls before doing so.
Hopefully with a full time job this summer he can repeat the process next school year.</p>
<p>My idea of making my son be financially responsible in college was for him to start working in 7th grade and start saving. I pay his $33,000 tuition and airfare. He is responsible for room, board, books, and everything else (about $14,000/year). Earning and paying for college will make a child learn financial responsibility IMHO.</p>