One of mine spent about 150-200/month, never needed us to send spending money, could pay her own bus fare home. (And she was the one who partied and fusses most about her appearance.) If they ordered pizza or Chinese once in a while, a group shared costs. They didn’t Uber, but friends had cars. Once in a while, they needed a Zip Car, but the school had discounts. Events on campus were free, they watched movies there or on their laptops, etc. As juniors and seniors, maybe once a month they’d go off campus to dine or to a movie theater.
The other had/has the proverbial “hole in her pocket.” But she mostly held to her campus earnings, about 220 or so/month.
We gave them a budget in August and December for misc clothing, toiletries, etc, at some local stores at home. I didn’t count that as “extra” college expenses because it was already an expense we took care of, in the family budget.
My daughter goes to HS in Boston. She gets $40 a week for discretionary spending. That does not include clothes, books, cell phone, or anything we provide normally at home. She is a social kid and likes to go out with friends. If that $400/ per month includes things like clothes, transportation, etc I could see my D using all $400. I suggest you plan to socialize more than you do now, but try to be frugal.
-Transportation costs, especially if you have a car which includes gas, maintenance and insurance. If you don’t own a car, but a friend does, and takes you around town, you need to pony up for gas.
-Cable and internet access split with roomies- per month.
-Any and all internet expenses and postage.
-Surprise! lab fees.
-Engineering kit supplies
-Field trips -yes, two of my dd’s had these as part of a course.
-Any discretionary spending.
-Does your college have free laundry machines and dryers? Its not just about paying for the soap. You have to pay to wash your clothes.
All’s well until the end of the semester when those flex points are gone. Both daughter and her boyfriend were out of points about 10 days before the end of the semester. BF’s roommate had some left so they sent him to the campus store for food.
That’s fortunate, but not all colleges offer that. S1s meal plan is dining hall only, but he does have a “late meal” provision. S2s is dining hall only which closes down at 7pm. He gets $50 flex cash a semester for the snack bar-I wonder why they even bother! That is less than 50 cents a day, lol. There is this:
and then there is reality. 18 yo boys, especially athletes get hungry after 7.
I realize it may be different at different schools…that’s why I said “here” (i.e. with my kids). They budget it so well (or don’t really need as much as they get) that they end up having to find stuff to buy so they don’t lose it.
Interesting side note, for my D’s school the flex is for the semester (she ends up buying a ton of stuff at the end of the semester), but for my S is per week. So he finds himself trying to spend it at the end of each week.
My daughter had all ‘flex $$’ last year, no meal plan. She could eat at the cafeteria or any of the snack places (pizza, deli, smoothies) or buy stuff at the grocery store. She was way under her budget, so started spending more and then ran out of money. It’s tough for a kid to figure out exactly how much they need when she was budgeting and spending what she needed to, but then would have forfeited about $500 if she didn’t start spending like a sailor on shore leave. She gets a lot of ‘free’ meals in the spring because that’s when she plays her sport and the coach provides the meals so she can’t really say “I’ll spend $200/wk” because some weeks she spends almost nothing. It just seems very wasteful to buy snacks or go to the dining room for $12 for a bowl of soup just to use up the money on the flex card.
We just talked about this and she’s going to drop her flex dollars way down this coming year (living off campus). She can just go to the grocery store and no pressure to use up the money at the end of the semester.
For one of our kids…we did a run to someplace and bought some snack things he could have…and also toss in his backpack. We also provided a large Rubbermaid container to keep them in.
Look, I obviously don’t know the specifics of your kid’s particular situation. My point is this: figure out how much you think you need each semester above and beyond what’s included in meal plans, etc. Have an allotment for that amount of money. Spend it wisely over the course of the semester. Have a general idea of whether or not you are on target with your spending as the semester progresses. Make adjustments as necessary. That’s what I mean by budgeting. For many college kids, it’s a new experience, but it’s a critical skill that needs to be learned for adult life. Same as learning how a checking account works: “What!? I can’t be overdrawn! I still have checks in my checkbook!”
How much do these kids need to eat, after the meal plan? They want a cheeseburger at ten, every night? (Threads about boys’ eating always surprise me.) Are kids really spending big on dates, going off campus, they need to see a movie outside or hang at the local mall, every weekend? Not.
Remember to consider medical and dental expenses, corrective eyewear, medications, subscriptions, membership fees, gift-giving, and technology costs, too. Plus, any car or bike expenses.
We covered medical,and dental,exoenses of all kinds. The rest of this list…covered by our kids by working part time jobs. We did not oaynformtheir gift giving, subscriptions or memberships. We did not cover car or bike costs. What “technology costs” are you talking about?
I think personal expenses for girls are higher than for boys.
Clothes for girls are more expensive and girls need more clothes than boys.
A boy can walk to some place at late night hours but a girl may need an uber or a taxi.
When we raised ours, before and during college, health, a winter jacket, family meals, buying shampoo, etc, were all on us and in the basic budget. I didn’t consider them a surplus charge, a “college expense.” When we visited, there was always a “WalMart run,” but again, that was part of what we expected to cover, as their parents. And we set a limit, as we always had. Not over and above the “normal” expenses.
I suggest you plan to socialize more than you do now, but try to be frugal.