If you have kids in college, how do you handle everyday expenses?

[Jane in NC]

As a college student my spending money came from an on-campus job, plus whatever I earned from my summer job. (that was leftover after paying for books)

 

I wouldn't have thought to ask my parents for spending money.

 

Pretty much if you have a meal plan, anything else would be frivolous spending.

 

Meal plans come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  A friend's daughter who is a vegetarian always had a veggie option at her college, but the choices in the rotation were extremely limited.  This was a while ago so I suspect that her college and others have gotten better about other diets including gluten free.

 

Text books have also risen through the roof.  In the case of certain popular books, new editions come out every couple of years so that students can't even sell a hundred or two hundred dollar book for more than ten bucks.  Further, students these days are often advised to do summer internships but not all of these pay.  A German student whom I adopted from the regional university did her internship in New York City and had to pay all of her related expenses. 

 

No hard and fast rules these days for college situations.

[Pawz4me]

As a college student my spending money came from an on-campus job, plus whatever I earned from my summer job. (that was leftover after paying for books)

 

I wouldn't have thought to ask my parents for spending money.

 

Pretty much if you have a meal plan, anything else would be frivolous spending.

 

Hopefully I'm misunderstanding, and you don't think that deodorant, toothpaste, shampoo and (for females) that-time-of-the-month supplies are frivolous?  What about haircuts?  And most people occasionally need some new clothes, socks, underwear and shoes.  Those are all things we categorize as basic necessities.

[trinchick]

Like many people here, when I went to college, my family covered tuition, room, and board, but all other expenses (including books) were left to me. These expenses were funded through my summer jobs and an on-campus job. I do think it helped me to "build character" but if I am honest, I can say that I felt very much at a disadvantage compared to many of my friends.

 

I attended a small, private liberal arts college, and many of my classmates were from far more affluent families than my own. I often declined invitations/opportunities because I couldn't swing them financially. Additionally, my summers were devoted to finding work that would provide the greatest income, as opposed to gaining experience in my chosen field through internships, research positions, etc. I don't want my kids to be in that position, so I suspect that I will provide spending money in addition to the basic expenses. Fortunately, we are on track to be able to do that when the time comes.

 

However, here is my big caveat. I will offer these gifts to my children because it is my pleasure to do so. The day that it becomes an expectation (on the part of the child) is the day I write my last check.  

[texasmama]

Giving a set amount and letting the college kid do his own budgeting would be great, I think.  That is what my parents did.

 

My college girl has a bit of her own income from small side jobs here and there, Christmas money, etc. so she is frugal with this and then asks us if she needs extra.  She is very careful and frugal, though, so I trust that when she asks for money, she needs it.  Sometimes I just hand her money or a gift card just because I know of her frugality and appreciate it.

[Shawn On the Border]

Wow! Thank you all for your many replies!

 

My feeling is that ds should stay on campus the first year. This goes against my frugal nature, but he is a quiet kid. It would be easier for him to get involved and make friends. He does want to do that, but he also wants a car so that he can come home whenever he wants. As many of you mentioned, the university doesn't recommend that. It is expensive and inconvenient for parking. I don't see how he'll be able to pay for that, but that is up to him.

 

jjhat7- My frugal side agrees with you that he should commute from home. He could graduate with no debt! What a great way to start life. We'll leave it up to him, though.

 

hjffkj- I also lived on campus first semester freshman year. My parents lived about a mile down the road. My mother gave me the option of paying half of room and board, but I wanted to save my spending money.

 

I went to a small liberal arts college for women. Many of the students were quite wealthy, even bringing their horses to campus! Although my parents contributed some, I still owed a lot in student loans when I graduated. I was pretty clueless about money.

 

Dh's parents helped him buy his first car, but that was about it. He went to community college and worked 2 part-time jobs. His parents even charged him a little room and board.

 

CathieC- Yes, jobs are tough to find around here as well. Ds has been applying for 2 years and hasn't found anything. I think he may get a job at a fast food restaurant, because it is someone my husband knows (through work).

 

texasmama- ds is a very frugal as well. He doesn't usually ask for much. Right now, I think he's thinking how fun it would be to live on campus with a car. I think I will just tell him how much we are willing to pay, and he can decide what to do. He is very analytical- I'm think he'll make the right decisions.

 

 

 

 

[Cinder]

How do you handle your college kid's expenses? Do you pay for their car expenses, restaurants, small purchases? Do you give them a set amount per month or help them out periodically? Do they have to earn the money themselves?

 

 

Ds1 is a freshman at a local college this year. Dh and I went through our budget and determined how much we could help ds1. Fortunately he has a full-tuition scholarship this year; he received no other financial aid. We cover fees and books, gas and a meal allowance.

 

Ds1 decided, based on this budget, that he would commute rather than live on campus. If he chose to live on campus he'd have to come up with the difference between our support and the cost of room/board. He has the use of one of our cars, and we give him a monthly allowance for gas. (This is part of the college budget we established.) For food we gave him a semester's allowance based on how many meals he'd need while away, primarily lunch. We do not give him a "fun money" allowance; he has to fund his own fun. Since he's still at home we purchase whatever toiletries he needs as part of our family budget, and for now, he does get a small clothing allowance that is separate from the college budget. And we pay for his phone.

[Lisa in Jax]

The first year, we purchased a university meal plan (she lived in the dorm). The main things (tuition, dorm, meals, books) were paid by her scholarships. We gave her a small amount of money weekly for "everything else."  She had to budget her money to cover toiletries, movies/entertainment, gas and fast food.

 

The first year, we put spending money in her account weekly.  The second year, we put it into her account twice a month, and this year (her senior year), we deposit money monthly, so she has gradually learned to budget for longer periods of time. 

 

HIH,

 

Lisa

 

 

[Rebel Yell]

If my kid was going to school 1/2 hour from home he would be living at home to save money on room and board (like I did) or paying for the room and board himself.

 

Sometimes, it doesn't work out the way it should.  We live 18 miles from a MAJOR university. With no traffic, easy under 30 mins.  In rush hour, 1.5 hours is good. Parking can cost $10-$20, less if you're willing to walk 20+ minutes up & down hills. With no/few sidewalks. Then there is gas money, or if there is not a car available for the student to take then the parent has to make two miserable round trips each day. Public bus costs $4 each way, and only runs a few hours in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. Then there is the class schedule- you might need 1/2 hr to an hour between classes to get from one building/section of town to another. So it can also be a very long day...  My friend actually SAVED money, had time for a part-time job, AND got better grades when he moved to an appartment near school- he no longer needed a car, and wasn't wasting 4+ hours/day commuting.

 

Just doing some rough math- if Diamond were at the major schoool as a commuter, here are the costs of commuting:

Her own car would need to be purchased. Let's figure a $200/month payment.

$200 car payment

5 days/week, $15 parking = $300/month

18MPG (on our sad little old car), so 2 gallons gas/day, 20 days/month figuring $4/gal = $160/month.  If I drove 2 round-trips it would cost an additional $160- so the car payment starts to make sense, especially since I'd go a new kind of crazy if I had to make two roiund trips in rush hour traffic.

Also, very little time for a job if the first priority is grades. Class schedules can easily begin at 8am and go until 5 or 6pm- getting home after 7. Not man shifts start at that time.

 

Soooo $760/month JUST to commute. Plus we STILL would have to figure in packed lunches and snacks, and bought lunches when we just don't have anything to send along. If Diamond went tot he city school she absolutely would live on campus. I can barely afford gas to the community college 5 miles away, and we share the car. :driving: