<p>For what it's worth, we agreed on $100/mo spending money for the first semester - after that D was to be on her own, meaning using $ from the work-study job she got as part of her financial aid. Husband & I were both pleased and a bit surprised when she told us, after a couple of months, we didn't need to send her any spending money - none of her 4 suite roommates got any from their parents and she didn't want to seem overly indulged. As people say, the money thing is very individual.</p>
<p>That's where the campus cash gets iffy since spending $$ intermingles with board.</p>
<p>cpt - Ds school has about every food chain on campus - they pick up the food then eat in a communal area. Bit like the food court at the mall. So kind of the best of both worlds I guess.</p>
<p>cpt, oh, I see. My son's a cheapskate and is a bit strange about money- he spends his own and doesn't ask us for any. I do remember his college saying something about tying the campus card to a parents credit card but I didn't see the point in that since the only place besides the food courts to use the card on his small campus is the bookstore or for campus activities. We figure he can use his money for non-food stuff. I wish the local eateries (the main street is two blocks from his dorm) would be an option for the meal plan. One of the nice perks of Roanoke is that there is no charge to use the washers or dryers so he doesn't need cash or card there!</p>
<p>Yes, his school has every food chain, some private ethnic eateries (large international/asian population) and every possible amenity you can think of except liquor stores and the like. It's also in a suburb with a ring of highways around it, making it difficult to walk anywhere, really go into the city without a car. He spends very little on the campus cash card.</p>
<p>But he spent last summer in NYC, and that was a different story. Abused his ATM and charge cards, and racked up bills waay up there. His spending weakness is in unusual things, the daily grind does not entice him to spend, but something new and interesting will get him to spend without thinking.<br>
They say every kid is different, and so it is. A bad match between spending compulsions and opportunities spells possible disaster. You can't always predict how a kid is going to be from highschool spending patterns either.</p>
<p>every kid is very different, but my son does have a debit card and it is funded by his own money. sure makes it last longer that way. he is determined not to spend anymoney this semester....he has his eye on an iphone....</p>
<p>Ok, we're cheap (I prefer the expression "poor"...but hey, that's me). </p>
<p>We put $400 into D's checking account at the start of the fall semester. That was her fall "allowance" (books, and only books were paid for from a different source). She did work study, which gave her about $60 a month. After the semester she still had about $100. We will do the same for the spring semester. </p>
<p>D is frugal and knows how to budget.</p>
<p>i think that's the way I would advise people to do it, JustaMom if the parents are providing the money. Put the COA allowance amount adjusted by known individual factors into an account--whether it is checking, credit card or campus cash depends on the situation at hand, and see how it flies. If the kid whips through the money too quickly, a financial planning session and some discussion is in order if the explanation does not appease you. If you are lucky, there'll still be some money left.</p>
<p>Agree wbow. When our kids were growing up and would ask us to buy something for them we would often ask if they would be willing to pay for all or half of it with their own money. They quickly learned that if they really wanted something it was easier to save up their own money and buy it instead of having to talk us into it. Although their bank statements come here I don't open them but just drop them into their bedrooms so they can look at them when they come home if they want to. Both have set up on-line banking so they can look at their statements that way. If I had a kid that was questionable about spending money I'm sure I would be more intrusive. For us, having our kids in charge of their own finances empowers them and is easier for us.</p>
<p>i also think that boys are much cheaper than girls, so that helps! my son doesn't do manicures or pedicures--in fact, he doesn't cut his hair very often at all--good thing he has nice hair that looks pretty good long! those extra expenses can really pile up if you have a girl--even if she's not "high maintenance" </p>
<p>when my boys were growing up and asked for something, i would ask if they were willing to pay for it. if they were willing to spend their own money on it, i figured it was a good purchase. funny how many times they didn't want something if the cash was coming out of their own pocket...</p>
<p>wbow, guess we were thinking along the same lines! Not all girls are into manicures and pedicures. I had one once when I had a coupon! It's the expensive toys (my daugher has TWO i-pods) that they save for. We've also found out that backpacking equipment is not cheap.</p>
<p>I have seen many families have unrealistic expectations about their kids' spending/living habits. If you have been providing a certain standard of living all of these years, you cannot expect your kid to suddenly start eating cheapie ramen when he goes to college. Many of us remember our own hot pot cooking days, and scrimping and think that our kids will do the same when they go to college. Well, things have changed. The old hot pot and heating coil are pretty much banned, and the schools have all sorts of eateries screaming for their dollars, and that is where many of the students congregate and socialize. Thing are just more upscale these days. It 's great to hear of all of these thrifty CC kids on this board, but I hear a lot of outrage from folks here who have given their kids so much and then when the kid continues with that lifestyle at school, there is trouble. Need to communicate, and start the budgeting earlier than the summer before they leave (and some of those kids have luxery summers as grad gifts, to boot). Though it is wonderful if it happens that your kids have good money sense and are thrifty, don't count on it.</p>
<p>There is a downside to budgeting--if the kid gets TOO cheap & misses out on important college experiences. My S was weighing & weighing whether to buy a card to get into sporting events on campus (a BIG social event & he LOVES sports). I told him he was very silly & it was one of the cheapest things he could get at his school & told him to go ahead & charge it on our joint credit card before they ran out of passes. He finally did & attended EVERY home football game, loving it!</p>
<p>When I want to be sure he actually spends money, I have to prod him & earmark funds for it if I want to be SURE he gets whatever it is.</p>
<p>It becomes a little more complicate in year 2 and on. S has a kitchen in his dorm room so he purchased the minimum dining plan. We upped his spending money to match the difference between the new plan and the old. Our dilemma was that we did not want to incentivize eating poorly. We bought him several cookbooks, got him following recipes that would be good for the dorm while at home, and he learned to shop at Costco. He is alive, so it must be working. Turns meal plans are expensive and he ended up eating well and with extra money. He plans to use it for a quarter break trip with friends. Next year he will move to an off campus apartment (which is actually much closer to campus than his dorm) and we will provide the room & board difference. At least heat is included in the rent so we don't have to worry about incentivizing freezing.</p>
<p>Kids who are having mental and/or physical health problems at colleges may be exacerbating it with poor eating habits. Many times they are not being truthful when they say they are eating well, citing some meals when they are not. When my son was living with a bunch of them, his roommates got a gastric virus that did not go away. Son was the only one who did not catch it, attributing it to his great immune system. I saw their kitchen--the sink, stove, and frig, and I would not be surprised if food poisoning was not involved. In fact, they did not recover until they went home winter break. I also did not see much of a balance in what they were making in the way of food--no salads, no fresh fruits, few veggies. Lots of ramen lunches and I am dubious about the quality of those dried rament soups. One good thing about the old cafeteria is the salad bar and fruit bowls that are included in the all you can eat cost. It just isn't worth the $$ to some kids to pay for the fresh vegs/fruits, but they will partake a bit if it's included in the price. There is never a shortage of the carb crap that every convenience store and snack shop sells in abundance. Sugar and white flour galore. I do suggest a small freezer for kids going off campus in an apt with some high protein relatively balanced frozen meals that you can purchase at Costco and microwave in a jiffy. Some kids jump right into the cooking great, delicious, balanced, inexpensive meals (I did), but most do not and need to reach that place in smaller increments.</p>
<p>Yea, I am inclined to buy my S a meal plan even if he lives in an apartment on or near campus, just to be sure he actually eats by telling him it's a "sunk cost," and he should be sure not to waste it. He could otherwise probably live on pizza and canned stew & rice, as his uncle did decades ago when he was in pro school. I actually ate very well when I lived in an apartment--my boyfriend & I would alternate cooking. My room mate would sometimes also & we had inexpensive & very nutritious food. We made our own bread, sprouts and yogurt. We shopped at the farmer's market & had ridiculously low food bills and were very healthy. My son is a product of his time & very unlikely to do any of this, but we'll discuss it over the summer before he has to commit to any meal plan or dining option. He may cook with his friends, I honestly have no idea.</p>
<p>D makes about $100-$150 a week from her campus job (7-8 hours). I don't give her a regular allowance but I subsidize larger issues that come up occassionally. I pay for all travel and books.</p>
<p>My son is a very lazy eater. When he lived at home he always had breakfast (2-3 bowls of cereal) before he left for school. At college he rolls out of bed and goes to class and then eats dinner and/or lunch at the dining hall. His college makes freshman get the 19 meal/week plan. He says that he sometimes grabs a bagel at dinner to save for breakfast. My concern for my son is that he would just live on cereal if he's off campus because it would be too much trouble to make it to the dining hall. He can easily live off bags of snack foods, slim jims, cheese sticks and cereal bars. I bought him a bag of dried mangoes at Costco so I knew he'd get something sort of healthy. I don't know if he would go to the trouble of ramen noodles because that means you have to boil the water.</p>
<p>My daughter loves to cook and is a vegetarian. When she's home she cooks most of our dinners and they're delicious. How did they turn out so differently??</p>
<p>Our greatest fear when S went off to college was that he would never eat again. We will insist he purchase the minimum meal plan even when living off campus. We just want to be careful we don't encourage not eating in order to save money. We will make up any difference provided by not buy good food.</p>
<p>See, I'm the opposite--I'll miss cooking in college. As the only vegan in a family of omnivores I do a lot of my own cooking, and the things I make are not only cheaper than takeout, but taste better, too! I'm also a very picky eater: I don't eat junk food or candy (70+% dark chocolate is not candy ;)), watch out for additives, refuse to eat anything that doesn't look 100% fresh, make my own salad dressings (and samosas, and tomato sauce, and...), shop at Whole Foods, and don't frequent any fast food establishment besides Chipotle. I have a feeling life on a meal plan is going to be hell for me.</p>