Any thoughts on how much spending money (for traveling/sightseeing) my daughter should bring while studying abroad in Australia?
That probably depends on a lot of things - does she have a bank account with a visa/debit card attached? That way she doesn’t have to travel with a lot of cash. Our kids have accounts linked to ours so I can easily do transfers when they are running low, cause frankly, I can’t guess how much they need for different circumstances. I just keep a certain minimum balance in it, fortunately they are good about being responsible with money. At our bank, we are able to go online and submit travel plans so card isn’t declined when they are away from home (when it is a pain to call bank and straighten out). We have a pro athlete that travels the world and while he has an organization looking out for him, I need to know he can always get a last minute plane ticket if an emergency comes up, so we added him to our AMEX which isn’t subject to limits a credit card may be, especially for younger people with lower limits. Australia isn’t a political hotbed obviously, but when in other countries ours registers with smart traveler enrollment program (STEP) with US gov. That way if something happens and he needs to get to a US embassy they already know he is there. Maybe more than needed for study abroad, especially in Australia, but I like to cover all bases when kids are that far away and thought I’d share what we have learned…that was a long winding answer to an easy question, sorry about that!
Australian dollar is pretty low right now, but it is still an expensive country. Will your kid have a meal plan? My kid had my AmEx, so she charged her travels to my card.
FYI - data service is very expensive in Australia. You should look into the kind of phone and internet services she is going. They do not have “all you can eat” plan over there. I signed up D1 for an internet service because her school’s internet was too slow and limited. She ran up over 500 cost by streaming movies and skyping.
The COL in Australia is brutal. Is this a jolly or an actual year of academic classes? Can she get a job on her student visa?
The actual answer is probably alll of it LOL. She doesn’t need to actually take it though, Australia has the internet etc. She should have a credit card. Australia isn’t always so Amex friendly, just FYI.
Same rule applies in Australia as in many locations - bigger businesses and locations take Amex (hotels, car rides, airlines, market chains, hospitals) it is the mom and pops that are less likely because Amex charges higher fees to the businesses. But being able to put anything on it makes it attractive to have. Having an MC or Visa and Amex covers all bases.
I have no idea what to budget for kid studying abroad as it depends on how many activities and touristy things they will actually do. Is it a serious semester abroad or destination education?
D1 also had a Visa. It is good to travel with more than one card. We banked at HSBC and her acct was tied to mine, so she could take cash out at any ATM without fees and I was able to transfer money to her acct.
Capital One and Charles Schwab have no foreign ATM transaction fees. An Amex card for emergencies is good. Will she have health insurance? Is room and board included and are you trying to figure spending money and transportation? I also agree that it would be wise to have her sign up at the State Dept. website.
When D1 was in Australia, she had mandatory insurance through her school.