<p>To all current Wash U. students and parents - What have you found to be a reasonable amount of spending money for a student? I'm not talking books, class supplies, etc. - just "extra" pocket money for food, entertainment, etc. Thanks.</p>
<p>I think about $3,000 a month ought to do it. At least that is what my D is trying to tell me.</p>
<p>OK, seriously, I think $300 a month is probably enough, with more in reserve for special occasions. I have heard some parents go as high as $500 or more, but my S just finished 2nd year and never spent nearly that amount.</p>
<p>lmao@ fallenchemist.</p>
<p>My mom thinks I need $100-200 a month. But I can easily (and am able to) get by on around $30-40 a month. Note: this includes money for my sports club (money for every practice), but excludes things like when chapter money is due for my fraternity (the service frat, yes I’m actually a girl; tends to run $35, once a semester).</p>
<p>However, I know people that literally take cabs at least 3 times a week… ridiculous in my opinion, but it does increase the amount they spend by a lot.</p>
<p>Personally, I’d feel too guilty if my parents gave me nearly as much as they try to do. They’re already footing the tuition bill, and I like to feel somewhat responsible.</p>
<p>I would absolutely agree with Johnson181. If the meals were covered by the meal plan, then $100 - $200 is more than enough. But then again, I suppose it all depends on what the student has been used to at home. Ownership of one’s education (ie. - earning personal spending money) should be part of the experience.</p>
<p>Ok, I checked with my S. He is not at Wash U btw, but still. He has only spent on average about $100-$125 a month (I had no idea he had so much left in his account from what I put in, lucky me). So I think Johnson is right at $100-$200, depending on particular needs and habits.</p>
<p>I just finished out boarding school, and I <em>needed</em> no more than 100 a month, but to keep up with the habits of all the wealthier kids would take much more. Making 200 from both allowance and babysitting monthly got me through comfortably, meaning essentials were taken care of as well as eating out now and then and buying (relatively nice) clothing once in a while. </p>
<p>Of course, it seemed most kids had a lot more than that, but I never truly felt without. Just couldn’t go to breakfast daily or starbucks 2x/day like them. Certainly no suffering was involved.</p>
<p>defusee- since meal plans exist, and you can get coffee on campus, money isn’t even needed for that.</p>
<p>I really don’t get what people spend so much money on. There’s a TON of free stuff available to college students.</p>
<p>As I said, I easily survived on $30-40 a month (I’m frugal, but not that cheap), and anyone can certainly get by with $100 a month if you want to buy things for yourself fairly often.</p>
<p>Johnson - I guess the problem is that I am an old fart and used to have to pay all the expenses for my dates. Not sure if it still works that way, but from what I understand often it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Haha dating is different. And I’m a girl (even though I have issues with guys paying for me). I guess I didn’t really have any expenses from this because from my experience over the past year, college dating is really different from any dating I did in high school.</p>
<p>Since any guy I was dating I could easily spend time with on campus, we were far less likely to go off campus to meet somewhere. And on campus is cheap/free.</p>
<p>We’ve been giving our D at WashU $200 a month spending money. It has worked out pretty well and seems to cover her “entertainment” expenses. D is on the meal plan and we pay for all of her books, school supplies and living incidentals such as shampoo, deoderant, laundry needs…etc.</p>
<p>I think I need to use $3000 a month. You know got to get my game on.</p>
<p>listen a kid shouldn’t need more then about a hundred bucks a month maybe 150. But really tell these kids to get jobs on their own if they want spending money. I know many kids who do extremely well in school, work, and our involved in other activities whether it be sports or clubs. There is definitely something to be said of learning the value of working for something.</p>
<p>D makes do with about $100. A coupla times we had to supplement (i.e., she had to pay someone back for a concert she went to, etc.). Otherwise, this seems quite sufficient.</p>
<p>Patriot - we are all sending our kids to live with you since you seem to want to parent them all. I know you won’t mind picking up their tuition either.</p>
<p>lol well who knows maybe they will live with me at washu. But lets be honest there are far to many kids who get out of college without the feeling of what it means to fully work for anything in their lives. Yes they work for grades but thats a completely different situation. In my opinion, and i’ve seen many examples, is kids who don’t ever have to work for anything end up having money issues that come from not being able to budget, prioritize, and save. But lets be honest if your giving your kids that much money when hes twenty two, you’ll probably still be willing to pay his bills at thirty two.</p>
<p>Well, that is a good example of how dangerous it is to generalize. I certainly don’t disagree that what you say happens a lot, but there are a tremendous number of counter examples. For instance, here was my D’s reasoning when offered a job this summer by a family friend (my D will be a freshman at Tulane this fall on full tuition scholarship):</p>
<p>“I have 3 friends who also want this job, and all three need the money more than I do. Jobs are very scarce this summer for teens, and 2 of the 3 have fathers out of work right now” (RI has the highest unemployment in the country I think). She asked me if it was OK with me if she didn’t earn her own spending money this summer so that one of her friends could and that she could volunteer at either the literacy center or the homeless shellter instead. I told her yes, that was absolutely fine since we are lucky enough to be able to provide her with such money and she had “earned” about $160,000 over the next 4 years already anyway.</p>
<p>I don’t know about you, but I think that shows pretty commendable socio-econometric (I just made that up, I think) awareness. So be careful about generalizations and remote parenting.</p>
<p>Fallenchemist - I think I’d like your daughter!</p>
<p>thanks kaykay - she is a gem.</p>
<p>fallen- I think your daughter and I would be really good friends! I hope she enjoys Tulane- New Orleans is an incredible city (I’m from here). </p>
<p>As to the topic of spending money, school surroundings definitely make a difference. I would want/need far more money in New Orleans where I could probably eat non-stop off campus (there are some INCREDIBLE po-boy places along St. Charles) which isn’t covered by a meal plan, whereas St. Louis isn’t quite the same in terms of great food right next to campus.</p>