<p>Yikes! Just checked my sophomore son's bank account online and realized he spent $550 from mid August to mid September. Last year he averaged about $125 per month. I called to let him know that at this rate his savings will be wiped out by the end of the school year. Based on his transactions, he's eating out 2-3 times a week on top of meal plan, making numerous trip to the ATMs at $40 each, making trips to Wal-Mart, etc. I'm considering whether we may have made a mistake by letting him have a car on campus this year. I think this might be behind a lot of the spending -- freedom to come and go and spend.</p>
<p>Does he have a new girlfriend? That is what that behavior sounds like to me.</p>
<p>My daughter has been spending about $150 a month and that includes dues for an excerise class ($60.00) and all the misc things girls buy. She has a car but seldomly eats out as she really likes her food at her dorm.</p>
Hopefully by the time one is a college sophomore, they can actually do the math themselves. ;)</p>
<p>But to your question…no idea. S2 knows that he has whatever sum he earned during the past summer to spend on himself all school year long. We pay the items billed by the school, reimburse him for reasonable book costs, give him $50 per semester for laundry and pay for his travel home. Everything else is at his discretion. And he’s a math major, so I assume he can figure out how long his money will last.</p>
<p>One way to solve this is to have him earn his OWN spending money…including the car expenses. Maybe he’s doing this already…if so, it’s his money! </p>
<p>If it’s YOUR money…then you might want to reconsider how you allocate spending money. In my experience, kids are more careful with spending when it’s money they have earned (and that’s all they have) than when they have money from other sources.</p>
<p>Some of this could be just filling the car up with gas! I don’t know what kind of car you have but I’m spending quite a lot each time I fill the tank.</p>
<p>As an undergrad and grad, my D spent as much money as she wanted to. Because she always had a part time job to fund her various extravagant purchases. I highly recommend it.</p>
<p>You would be surprised as to how thrifty they become with both time and money once they have to earn it themselves.</p>
<p>^ It is his money, not ours. But when it runs out that is it. One problem is that he never bothered to get a password from the bank so he could see his account online. He was having me make transfers from his savings to checking. I realize now that this has to stop. I told him to call the bank right away and get access set up.</p>
<p>Just to add…my kids both earned their discretionary money. Because it was money they earned (and spent), I honestly have no idea how much they spent. I did not have access to their accounts because it was their money. And to be honest…I didn’t care…they were earning the money. </p>
<p>I can tell you, my DD was a big spender, but she also had a job that paid $12 per hour and she worked at least 10 hours a week, sometimes 15. SO…she could have funded $500 a month in her own earnings.</p>
<p>But <em>I</em> would never have given her that amount of money.</p>
<p>DS had less lavish spending habits but he also earned every nickel of his spending money.</p>
<p>OH…both paid for their own books too.</p>
<p>Cbug, I’m not sure this is what you wanted to hear…but I DO think you will be happier if you have no obligations towards discretionary spending money. You have to be prepared NOT to bail your kids out. We told our kids we would not be contributing to discretionary spending…and we meant it.</p>
<p>Suggestion…don’t look at his account. If it’s his money…let it go…but do not give him more if he overspends.</p>
<p>My son was the big spender. He also worked to fund his social life, so I have no idea what he spent. Philadelphia was an expensive city and his crowd favored high-end clubs and restaurants. Many of his friends had a LOT of money and he tried to keep up as best he could. Now that he is living on his own and working in a less expensive city, he is much wiser about his spending. He cuts back on things like medical care (inhalers, etc), too, which is stupid.</p>
<p>Most people have no idea what a car actually costs to operate. And on top of that, it’s too easy for a kid with a car to become the dorm chauffeur. So I’d be concerned both with how much money he’s spending AND how much time he’s probably spending hanging out waiting for his friends who have errands to do.</p>
<p>My kids did not have cars at college. They were in cities with decent public transportation plus the university vans which ran 7 am -midnight. In a pinch they took a cab. I think an occasional $10 cab when you’re stranded at the Greyhound station after a visit out of town is a much better deal than having to pay for gas, insurance, parking, and maintenance on a car which you probably only need once a month.</p>
<p>My kids learned to use ZipCar for a few out of town job interviews which was very cost-effective. Plus a run to Ikea on the way home!</p>
<p>I am a joint signer on my D’s account, just for ease of use, especially if she were to become incapacitated or needed someone else to make a withdrawal for her due to time restraints. I haven’t even looked at her balances, though. It is her money to do with as she wants and I am just on it for emergency purpsoses.</p>
<p>My D has always been frugal, a hard worker and conscious saver. She has not been able to find an on campus job this semester, even though she was awarded work study.</p>
<p>I will likely send her $20 or $40 from time to time while she is not working, but not on a schedule that she will figure out and as long as she keeps trying to find an on campus job and keeps her grades up. I don’t want her to depend on it and I want her to be able to have fun sometimes.</p>
<p>There is really no better way for a kid to learn to handle money than to live with the aftermath of squandering it (been there, done that with my S). I would take a big step back and let him figure it all out. You told him how to monitor his bank account–now stop looking at it yourself and declare yourself done.</p>
<p>Perhaps your son is buying pot? It has gotten very expensive!! My friend’s daughter was going through a lot money pretty fast and she admitted she had bought small amounts of pot at school. I know you are going to say “my son would never smoke pot” but we never really know what our kids are doing!</p>