<p>Trying to budget son's expenses for 1st year away at college..</p>
<p>He will be living on campus (with meal plan), not taking his car and on the other side of the country. </p>
<p>How much spending $$ does they really need?</p>
<p>There are some other threads on this topic, but it seems as though $100 to $200 per month is what most people say. It depends on how expensive the area is and how big of a spender you have.</p>
<p>I think it all depends on where the school is and on your own child.
I don’t believe our daughter even spent $50 a month.
Her school was not in a city. There was a van that went to Target and Wegman’s on Sundays. Freshmen were not allowed cars on campus.
She did buy groceries - but I am thinking now that she came once a month to work and when we took her back to school, we went to the grocery store first.
She was also on the full meal plan, so the groceries were mostly fresh fruit, orange juice, milk, snacks, popcorn. That sort of thing - not really food for meals.
A good idea is for your child to have a debit card that you can transfer money into. It worked for us.</p>
<p>Have your son apply for campus jobs. He’ll spend money more wisely that way. You’re already paying thousands upon thousands for his room/board/tuition. Why pay for his beer money too?</p>
<p>My S is working this summer (and every summer while in college) to make his spending $ for the school year. I’ve suggested that he bank at least $1000 for the school year. He will have his own account & debit card–we are planning to stay out of it. I’m sure we’ll be sending the odd check (i.e. good grades. …), but given the cost of tuition, we feel he needs to take this small step toward independence & responsibility.</p>
<p>When I actually do spend money, which is not every week, I use like $25 a week. Around here that is enough to go to a movie and have a few dollars left over, or maybe out to eat twice if your tastes are inexpensive. My school has a lot of free activities and I am always so busy anyway, there is really not much time to go out and spend money usually.</p>
<p>Yes, our kids have to save their earnings for “spending” money in college, much like they did during high school. In general they spend $100 - $200 a month if on a meal plan and living in a dorm. Do be aware that if the kids are going to a school with a large population of wealthier kids they may have friends with much more spending money. I hear stories sometimes that make me chuckle but I heard them all through high school, too. I have a friend with a student in a sorrority affectionately called Visa Visa Mastercard by the students on campus.</p>
<p>“Visa Visa Mastercard” Now that’s funny.</p>
<p>Mine gladly accepts any money I give him, but hardly spends anything at all. His minimal campus job would probably cover all his cash needs.</p>
<p>Our daughter earned her own spending money. She knew what tution, room, and board were and felt that she could contribute her own spending money from summer jobs and a campus job.</p>
<p>0.00</p>
<p>I don’t spend a time on-campus unless its for blue-books or some other scam. The only money I have spent has been on bus-fare to get home.</p>
<p>Same story here. Each son had banked his own spending money for years; we encouraged it by keeping it with our savings and giving them a healthy interest rate from the time they were little. This became their spending money for college, which they had estimated at about $500 a semester. That would have covered the basics, but traveling on their own and other expenses motivated them to work at school to supplement it.</p>
<p>Ask what the total COA is. The fin aid office will know. That is the total amount in Direct Loans that you can get with a kid in that school. That is how much total federal aid that can be given to a student at that school at 100% need.</p>
<p>My S is working this summer & saving for his spending money. He may also work over winter break. I told him if he wanted the ‘extras’ he’d have to fund that. I am figuring he’ll need $150 -$200 a month plus whatever the ski club will run him.</p>
<p>This is such an important thread for the parents of H.S. juniors to see. Given the amount of $ spent on high school senior year (prom, grad fees, senior trips, etc) it is easy to lose sight that $ needs to be set aside for spending money freshmen year college. </p>
<p>I just learned of one girl who got into her “dream” college if she takes summer classes – not sure of all the details, but I got the impression it is a bridge program for inner-city Philly kids to transition to college and get up to speed in reading/math. Great opportunity for her, but all-in-all it means she must give up her job & won’t be earning the amount of money she expected this summer.</p>
<p>So glad that someone posted this thread. We are paying for everything for our child (full tuition, room, board, textbooks, and flights, home) and thought something like 150-200 dollars, monthly. It’s good to hear that we are in the ballpark.</p>
<p>Our kids were informed that the Misc. section on the COA was their responsibility. Summer jobs, work study, other jobs, whatever they earned they could spend. As mentioned in earlier posts, if they have to earn it themselves they are much more conservative about how they spend it.</p>
<p>^Amen to that! I sent D a few “goodie boxes” and took her shopping for a few groceries when she came home. She started the year with $900 of her own savings in her checking account (after she bought a new laptop and the few books she could only get at the bookstore) and ended with $450! Even though there’s tons of free/low cost entertainment on and near her campus, I have a feeling that if that had been MY $900 it would have been long gone! Her two roommates also had to provide their own spending money and they all found creative ways to have fun without spending much money. But maybe it’s easier for girls? Just thinking about the dating thing…that gets pricey for my HS son!</p>