<p>They came to campus. It was iBanking. (Hated it)</p>
<p>In the fields I know (banking, consulting) prior related experience helps a lot but not prior unrelated experience like working in the cafeteria. It doesn’t teach any transferable skills.</p>
<p>The bank of mom and dad here funded tuition, room, board, fees, cell phone,and travel to and from home. We did not fund books or one penny of incidental spending. That was funded through a part time job…10 hours a week while in college. Both kids also worked the summer before college. </p>
<p>The key is not to be picky AT. ALL. Do any job…any. Son washed dishes. Not glamorous, but he learned everything Ther is to know about the restaurant business and worked his way up.</p>
<p>DD was a lifeguard…very good.</p>
<p>Too late to edit. In college…DD first was a caller at the call center. Not a glam job by any measure or means…but it gave her on campus experience when she applied for her next job in undergrad admissions. </p>
<p>We also sent little money gifts in cards for holidays and the like. </p>
<p>Some schools allow you to put a small amount on the student’s dining card to get incidentals like sodas or snacks around campus. I put some on my daughter’s account because she didn’t have a full meal plan, then she joined a sorority and switched her plan, so she still has these ‘extra bucks’ on her card. That amount is totally up to you and some would do $10/wk and some would do $25.</p>
<p>Other incidentals? You’ll probably load her up with shampoo and stuff when she moves in.</p>
<p>My parents also gave me an allowance…$15 per week back in the last 70’s. It didn’t go far. I never asked for more, but I did finally go get a job to have more money. I would give her $25/week. That will pay for $5/week laundry and then $20 for entertainment. It will not go far, and she will want more if she sees some clothes, or wants to do more stuff (which she will). If at that point she says something to you, tell her to go get a job.</p>
<p>We made our son save his summer savings and grad gift money. We then took it, and doled it out through his first two years or he would have spent it all the first two months. It came out to $35 per week. Not much. This year we haven’t doled it out…it’s all in his checking. It still only come out to $35 per week. </p>
<p>D will have to work for her spending money. We’ve discussed her taking the first semester to learn the ropes but after that she’ll be expected to work enough to fund her own entertainment expenses. She does make great money waitressing summers (has saved $11,000 in three summers) but that has to go toward tuition most likely. </p>
<p>Well, you’re asking a very different question than most of the people who ask about spending money. You’re not asking how much is appropriate. You’re saying you have a child who has flat out refused to work in the past and, whether anyone agrees with you or not, a little discomfort might be necessary for her to get moving. Some people might have luck with online apps, but my kids have always fared better with in-your-face, as in yeah, we want to interview, now go fill out the app. Also, references from friends who already work in a place are good way to get a foot in the door, but i digress…</p>
<p>If she has a meal plan, your daughter will not starve. She does not need money for snacks or dining out and you do not have to provide any. Load her up with toiletries before she leaves and when she comes home on break. If you’re worried she’ll run out of something, a Walmart or Target card for a small amount ($25) can purchase extra Kleenex and shampoo should she need something between drop off and the first time home. $10 a week should cover laundry. I don’t see need to provide any money for entertainment. Harsh? Maybe, but I’ve never provided any spending money for my college kids. They use summer money for spending and books, and both have found jobs on campus. Sometimes, not having work study is a challenge, but I suggested they sign up in dining services for catering events. Those are short term, flexible, and often don’t require work study. </p>
<p>Whether or not you provide spending $, you should encourage her to keep applying and FOLLOWING UP on those applications as you seem to value her getting a job. If she is not willing to get one now, what makes you think she will look for one when she gets to school - especially when she may be exposed to a roommate or new friends who don’t have to work. I would cut off any spending $ you are providing now or at least put her on a strict budget. You will be teaching her an invaluable life lesson. It’s nice things worked out for @user51969 but any work experience on a resume will only help you get the next job, IMO. </p>
<p>Better to have to learn to live on a budget now then when she’s graduated and has to make her earnings cover rent, college loans, and other expenses. Can you afford to give her an allowance for doing odd jobs around the house until she gets an outside job? My kids (both teens) get a small allowance and earn extra money by doing odd jobs for our neighbors. We encourage them to save. My son is a natural saver but my daughter is a spender. She’s gotten much better in just the last year because we’ve started making her pay for certain things. When she wanted brand x shoes (because they had comics on them) and we felt we could only afford y, we told her she had to come up with the difference. (She did). She likes certain types of shampoo and makeup which cost more than I pay for my own, so I pay what we’ve budgeted for them and she makes up the difference. She’s starting to see that brand x isn’t always better than brand y, so sometimes she’ll opt for the cheaper brand. Other times, y is really preferable to x, so she’ll spend the extra money for y. I’m starting to see budgeting skills like buying the less expensive brand of one item so she can get the more expensive brand of something else, buying fewer of one item (like pants) so she can afford to get something else (like a belt to wear with them), or putting off buying something she wants until she feels she can better afford it. She used to go through money as fast as she got it; now she always has a reserve and she no longer takes all of it with her when we go out. Financial maturity can take time. Whatever small steps you can take now will help your daughter when she goes away to school.</p>
<p>DS is a sophomore. He is in an on campus apartment. No food plan but we give him $80 a week for food,laundry and whatever. It comes out of his student loan money. Because he uses a debit card for spending the $80 a week I know that $15 to $20 a week is spent taking his GF out to dinner… So I would figure that $20 a week for your daughter ought to be plenty. If she doesn’t want to work how about having her take out student loans to pay for her spending money? It might help her decide to get a job instead. Is your daughter doing non-paid research at school? That might help her with getting a paying job. </p>
<p>If there is a college kid on a campus in America with a full meal plan who has starved to death, the media has yet to report it.</p>
<p>I think you and your D should sit down and make up a list of all the things she thinks she’s going to spend money on in college. I think some things could go into the “Bank of Mom and Dad” column- contact lens solution? Special (but not prescription) soap for an allergic condition? Basically anything where you don’t WANT her economizing or going without because it would compromise her health or safety.</p>
<p>And the rest goes into the “Bank of new college Freshman” column-- the 30 kinds of styling products she likes for her hair, expensive coffee, etc. These are the items where your attitude is “if you have to go without, it’s a good life’s lesson”.</p>
<p>And then leave it alone. She’s going to see the number at the bottom of the page- you are giving her $30/month to cover laundry and “health and well being” requirements, plus her meal plan. Her needs might be $50 PER WEEK to fund the lifestyle she thinks she’s going to have. So- it’s time to get serious about finding a job now so she can bank her earnings, and she will need to be proactive about finding a job once she gets to campus. That’s life. You either cut back your expenses to match your resources, or you find a way to increase your earnings.</p>
<p>“Really stress that she should find a job NOW and not count on getting one at the college campus. If you don’t qualify for work study there is a good chance NO jobs will be found.”</p>
<p>^This. My son wasn’t able to get a job on campus until the end of his second year. It was one of a few jobs open to non work study students. He works approx 10-15 hours a week (about $80/week.) He has been able to keep this job until he graduates. He also works over breaks/summer at the part time job he has had since Sr. yr. of high school. It has been great for him not to have to worry about finding a new job every summer when he comes home. He has even had full time internships two summers and still worked at the part time job nights & weekends. </p>
<p>He pays for all his books, gas, entertainment, clothes, personal items, laundry, parking tickets, etc from what he earns. He has run short at the very end of the year so we just put in $100 or so in his bank account to tide him over until break. </p>
<p>He goes to school in a small depressed city in Maine and there is not a lot to spend money on. The kids can go out on a Saturday night for $20. </p>
<p>Things we pay for are: cell phone, auto insurance, car repairs, one offs like driver’s license renewal, passport, etc. </p>
<p>Oh, we are putting the pressure on her now to get a job. We’ve cut off 95% of the money we give her. We still pay for her phone and her clothes, but at this point, if she wants to hang out with friends, buy a gift for someone, etc., that’s on her. I’m sure that’s the only reason she has finally started applying to places. </p>
<p>And that’s exactly why I’m asking this question. Because I want to give her fair warning about the approximate amount of money she’ll need to have next year. I’m giving her the opportunity to do some advance planning. Whether she does or not, that’s up to her. If she doesn’t, well, she won’t have any extras. Such is life. </p>
<p>Just for background, the reason it’s gone on this long is that she has major depressive disorder and anxiety. The last two years have been extremely tough. She has missed A LOT of school. But this is not a disorder that goes away. It’s one she needs to learn to deal with. And we don’t want her to use her problems as an excuse, and she also needs to resist the urge to hide from the world and just sink deeper into depression. This year, she is going to school - she has only missed three days, which is a HUGE improvement. Her grades aren’t great but they are much improved from last year. She is functioning better and we are working with her therapist to try to help her be prepared for college.It’s time for her to demand more of herself - force herself to get out there, interact with others, take responsibility and do things that she may not think she can do - but she really can if she tried (like get and hold down a job). So this is important for her for several reasons - the money, the experience she’ll need now if she wants a better job or internship later, and the good it will do her self-esteem to get out there, function competently and interact more with others. </p>
<p>What are you providing for her now while she is living at home? Her life style is not likely to change when she is in college. When our kids lived at home, they were given allowance for entertainment and presents. We continue with similar arrangement when they went off to college, except it was with the condition of getting a part time job at school. They were lucky that it was easy to get a job at their school, both girls were able to get a job for 10 hrs/week. </p>
<p>I think students need some spending money when they are in college, whether it is coming from parents or from a part time job is different for each family. </p>
<p>I think $250 a month in walking around/beer money is very reasonable for a college kid who has all their real bills paid for (tuition, room, board, books, cell phone, transportation to/from home). We told our kids that walking around money was on them – summer jobs and/or part time jobs during the school year. If they have a meal plan I don’t see how starvation is possible.</p>
<p>How about babysitting? My daughter who is a senior thinks babysitting is the best job ever. She makes enough in a night that I’ve often thought I could be back up when she is not available! In the summer she worked 3 days/week (no weekends in general) and now babysits a couple evenings a month. $10/hour straight up. It’s not a lot but allows her to save a little, spend a little, gift a little. </p>
<p>We pay for our son’s meal plan each semester ($1,400), along with his fees, books, cell phone, flights to/from school and car insurance (he does not have a car at school). His additional scholarship money pays for his room this year, while he has a full tuition scholarship. Although he generally eats on his meal plan, sometimes he goes off campus with his fraternity brothers for dinner. So we give him $100 a month. I’ve been known to send a care package or two each month with snacks and other things he likes. He has said that he is looking for an on campus job for next semester so he can pick up some additional spending money (he has to pay for his fraternity dues). He also plans to referee youth soccer – something that he’s done for nearly four years.</p>
<p>He understands that we are not made of money, and he must share in some costs, particularly the fun ones. His older brother is in law school. He has loans for his apartment and living expenses, but since he is just 70 miles away, I drive down once a month and bring him some leftovers or dishes he likes. I also give him a gift card once in a while, so he does not need to cook every night. When he was an undergrad, we gave him $100 a week for food, as he lived off campus. He mostly ate out. Now, in law school, he cooks regularly.</p>
<p>Honestly, if your kid needs more than $100 per month, I’d be worried.</p>
<p>As for getting a job, I don’t believe in forcing the issue. And I don’t believe getting a retail job is helpful at all for a college student, unless their family is that short on money that every little bit helps.</p>
<p>Even if she is not work study, there are part-time jobs available in various campus departments. I worked at our medical school, and did some really interesting stuff, paid the same as if I worked at the McDonald’s down the street and they were happy to have my help with the research.</p>
<p>If she actually put together a resume, and targeted departments and professors who are in the areas she is most interested in, it is far more likely it would help her out of her depression. Would you consider letting her do a volunteer position in the field of her choice?</p>
<p>I deal with this somewhat, in that, when it comes down to it, keeping my son alive is more important than things like his job (he had suicidal ideations when younger and has been depressed off and on). He has been requesting way too few hours for his job, he should be at 10 hours per week but has less than two hours per week most weeks. I do not feel that pushing him to work when he has enough on his plate would be worthwhile.</p>
<p>“And I don’t believe getting a retail job is helpful at all for a college student, unless their family is that short on money that every little bit helps.”</p>
<p>My son’s part time retail job that he’s had since high school (he is a college senior now) has netted him about $3000 a year. That is a nice chunk of change he has to buy his books, pay for his entertainment, etc, when he is at school. </p>
<p>In addition, they have already asked him if he is interested in their executive training program. He’s not, though he did tell them if it was in the corporate side possibly, but if he has no other options when he graduates it might be something he would reconsider. </p>
<p>I know someone who has worked their way up the retail food chain and is now CEO of Uniglo. USA. </p>
<p>Retail does not always equal dead end. </p>
<p>Not sure why someone should worry if a kid spends more than 100 a month. What, every kid lives the same way? Some kids spend 1000+ and some kids spend nothing. My kid is some where in between and I am not worried. </p>