“When they are buying the books themselves, they are very receptive to buying used or renting or buying/renting digital or using Amazon for rentals etc. It’s amazing how much they can save when they know it’s their money they are saving.”
I paid for my kids’ books. They were still very good at finding bargains/rentals/etc. I don’t think I ever paid more than $200 for an academic year.
"working 10 hours a week will not hold a student back from their studies, joining clubs or socializing. "
Totally agree based on my own experience and that of my kids and our friends/relative.
“It seems odd to me how many people give kids a very small allowance and but then pay separately for most of those things. Not sure how that helps them to learn budgeting for later on.”
Agreed. And I believe in giving my kids a set amount every month that they can count on rather than random dribbles and drabbles without consistency. I think it all is good practice with budgeting.
Reading this thread, I am beginning to think my kid must be a real cheapskate!
But it is also true that he went to a rural college, so most of the action was on campus and free. Location probably makes a big difference in this type of thing.
Just over one month into S’s time at college, my husband asked if he had gone to the ATM machine yet. (An exciting new independent living skill!) The answer was no. He had not needed to. He had spent under $30 cash so far! It would have been even less, but his group had gone to the local movie theatre to see a movie and also had eaten dinner in a local restaurant.
Really, it seems the only month he spent much more than that was the month a group of his dorm friends got into buying and selling stocks for fun. That month, he shared that he had spent $73 on stocks.
The biggest expense was course books, which he paid by credit card. That is a big expense, which needs to be considered when you plan how much money your child should be able to access… unless that expense is covered under your child’s financial aid plan.
I guess it depends on your kid’s personality, as well as the location of the college and his/her group of friends and their interests. For my kid, we set no limits but it didn’t matter, because he spent very, very little.
Today he went out to lunch with some high school friends. One of his friends had no money to pay for lunch, because he spends his summer job money as soon as he earns it and never saves any of it. If that were my kid, I would be setting limits and teaching my child to live within them.
“NU is very close to Chicago. I think we maybe went once a year and we took the subway. $1.25 each way. Lunch was inexpensive. I just think kids are spoiled now. Think they need $4.00 coffee drink every day.”
Very very judgemental post, you assume a lot of things that just not true in today’s world. First off is that public transportation in CA is not good, and that’s being kind. I know students and alums at NU who could affordably go to Chicago, but that’s not case here in the bay area anyway. Even if you go just once a month to SF to see the city, it’s going to be probably $30-40 for that one trip. I’m not saying you dine at a 5-star , but you don’t visit SF to dine at a Chipotle (the equivalent to your pizza trip in Chicago), you can do that in Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, or Berkeley. Since the OP mentioned freshman expenses, I’m not even including drinks, but let’s just say that it’s not hard to drink as a freshman in college, as we all know, adding to expenses.
“But it is also true that he went to a rural college, so most of the action was on campus and free. Location probably makes a big difference in this type of thing.”
Huge difference - I’m very familiar with expenses at Cornell and Columbia, you should not assume that whatever can carry you in Ithaca can apply in NYC.
I hope people read this post when they are making their kids’ list because expenses can wildly vary. Honestly, California schools didn’t even enter my mind. We never looked west of the Mississippi. I get that it could be very expensive if one is ubering around everywhere in traffic. My vantage point is from Big Ten schools where kids can ride their bikes around campus or take public transportation and from LACs that have walkable towns.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
I think the OP, who has not returned, has received some good advice to start so I’m closing the thread since some recent posts have been, at best, OT to the point where I needed to clean the thread.
The cost of Sorority dues is the reason I’m not going to join. I’m paying my way through college; tuition, fees, fun money, car, etc. If sisterhood was super important they would make things more accessible.