<p>So, how much will a freshman girl, living in an Honors Dorm, hoping to pledge a GLO, with no car, a HUGE meal plan and a healthy wardrobe, spend each month on “whatever.” ???</p>
<p>Sorority girls often have extra expenses…tshirts, evening attire, gifts for Bigs, out of town games, weekend food, etc. Does your D get mani/pedis? spray tans? hair highlights? </p>
<p>Even with a big meal plan (which will change to Greek when she pledges), she will not likely eat much in a dining hall on weekends. Many kids do NOT eat very often in dining halls on weekends. Instead, they roam to The Strip, Midtown Village, or Downtown and eat there. Many kids eat off campus starting on Thursday/Friday night.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on the spending habits they have now. My freshman D is in Honors dorm but is not in a sorority but is in MDB. She has spent about $150 a month and complains about how much she is spending. She has a car on campus and helps shuttle around her friends who do not and she is able to drive home once or twice a month as well. She spends a little on groceries at Publix even with the huge meal plan because she likes to cook and she does eat out some b/c of the band schedule. Laundry runs about $10-15 a month–lots of band practice clothes.</p>
<p>I would agree that it depends on your DD’s spending habits. She will have a Purchase fund account through Greek Resources which will take care of t-shirts, coozies, sunglasses, zaps and anything and everything they make for every single game/swap/date party sorority related event. Your DD will have meals available at the sorority house from Monday thru Friday lunch. DD does eat out a lot. We put money on her Bama Cash …as she uses that sometimes. She is a daily visitor to Starbucks both at the Ferg and Midtown. We give her a loaded Starbucks card and then reload it when she come home (or I visit). Since she lives in the sorority she does not pay for laundry (your DD will have to pay Freshman year…again when DD lived in Tut she just used Bama Cash to pay for laundry). We have spent $$ on gifts for her little, Christmas Exchange, but it seems that birthday gifts are eating us up! Lots of birthdays. I would have a chat with your DD and set an amount to try first semester. When she is home for Xmas break then you can assess how it went and adjust as needed.</p>