<p>My son will be a freshman at Bard this fall. I was wondering how much spending money per month is usually needed.</p>
<p>It probably depends on a number of factors - will he be going into NYC very often, will he hate the food and want to cook for himself some/much of the time or buy food at Down the Road Cafe or in the villages, and will he be earning anything himself? There’s not a lot to spend money on right there - but he’ll need lots and lots of quarters for laundry. Everyone take note - send your kid to Bard with many rolls of quarters - they will be grateful. My son rarely went into any town for anything which meant he purchased sundries at the Bard bookstore - i.e spent more than he should have for shampoo toothpaste etc. You can send things to them via some online shopping sites like alice.com but then they have to pick up the package at B&G (building and grounds) which can be far from their dorm… (my son was on North campus and there is still a care package from February languishing at B&G because he could never find time to pick it up!) There are shuttle buses into Red Hook where there is a grocery store and pharmacy and, hopefully, your son will be more willing to travel there to shop than mine. Also weekly shuttles to malls in Kingston - where there is a Target and such.</p>
<p>I second the quarters. Dorms vary from $0.75 machines, which each laundry will total $1.50, to $1.50 machines, which each laundry will total $3.00. </p>
<p>My parents usually give both my brother and me each $200/month which depending on the child, will either be too much or too little. My brother goes through his money quickly. Also, I think this is a good budget for someone who doesn’t go off campus all too often (I’d go out to eat MAYBE once a month off campus and if you run out of Bard Bucks, money is also a necessity, especially since it’s easy to go through them if you get buildups at DTR or get more than the 12-point food system at DTR if it fits in your meal plan, or at Manor.)</p>
<p>I’d also recommend, if this of issue which it doesn’t seem to be, that you give your son money per month verses per semester. I’ve found that I’ve become (relatively) skilled at saving money and making it last while some friends of mine who get all of their money for the semester at the beginning run through it very quickly.</p>
<p>Also, the first month of every semester I’d put in $100-$200+ extra dollars for books, unless your son is getting them from somewhere other than the bookstore.</p>
<p>But like SpiritManager said, it depends on how often he’ll want to go out to eat, go into the city, etc.</p>
<p>Thank you for the help. Your responses are really useful.</p>