Discretionary spending during college

[Ginevra]

How do you all handle discretionary spending (if you provide some) for your college kids? Do you figure up a fixed amount, leaving them to budget and manage it? Does the amount change if they earn other income? Do you give them a food budget if/when they no longer live on a board program? Amy other experienced thoughts about this subject welcome. Thanks!

[Hoggirl]

I will be watching this thread with interest. We will be new at this, so I have NO experience. Our plan is to give ds a monthly amount of spending money. He will not be working. We have told him that we plan to start low-ish in our amount and that he will need to keep a record of his spending and "justify" any increase that he can demonstrate is necessary. I would rather start low and increase than start high and have it be too much, kwim? We pay for his phone, and he will not have a car. Until he gets where he is going, it is kind of hard to know how much he will need, especially since it is in area so different from where we live.

 

I would hope he could buy a couple of smoothies a week, and perhaps go out or order a pizza once a week. Also pay for haircuts. He may come home with long hair so he can eat out more! Lol!

 

I would work it the same way if he were not on a board plan. Just kind of guesstimate what he would need, start with that, and adjust as necessary. I would expect it to take two or three months before a workable budget would emerge.

[Jenny in Florida]

How do you all handle discretionary spending (if you provide some) for your college kids? Do you figure up a fixed amount, leaving them to budget and manage it? Does the amount change if they earn other income? Do you give them a food budget if/when they no longer live on a board program? Amy other experienced thoughts about this subject welcome. Thanks!

 

For my daughter, we gave her a set amount each week. She had a dining plan (required by the college because she lived in the dorm), but the dining hall was pretty close to useless for a vegan. So, we gave her enough to allow her to keep herself in convenience foods she could prep in her room or the dorm's lounge. We put the money on her debit card each week, and she managed it as she saw fit. 

 

She was too young to have any opportunities to earn income. (She tried to get some babysitting jobs, but she attended a women's college in a very small city. So, there was a lot of competition for few gigs.)

 

In general, she paid for her entertainment and splurges like ordering Chinese food or buying a book out of the basic weekly budget we provided. For larger purposes, I sometimes just ordered things to be delivered to her (clothes, non-school books, etc.). Or when it made sense for her to handle something locally, we would put extra money on her debit card.

 

It worked well, allowing her discretion and independence while keeping our monthly output consistent. We plan to take pretty much the same approach with our son, except that he will get a smaller amount per week. He feels confident he can eat pretty well on campus. So, we intend to pay for the unlimited dining plan for him and adjust his weekly budget accordingly.

[Caroline]

Probably not the best way to do it, but our DS has a credit card we pay for. He isn't a big spender, and it has never been an issue. If he wanted to do something big, he asked in advance. But it was never an issue this year. I realize that we aren't teaching budgeting or anything doing it this way. He does have an unlimited dining plan. His football and basketball tickets were part of his fees. We did pay his fraternity dues. 

 

Like I said, probably not the best way. But it worked for us. 

[texasmama]

My college girl lived in the dorm her first year so expenses were set, and her food was provided, making it easier.  We pay for her cell phone, and her dad and I share costs for her gas.  I know those are set expenses, but those are her main ones. 

 

Dinner out?  Clothes?  Movies?  Her dad and I might hand her some money on occasion for "fun".  I might take her to buy clothes here and there and pay for them.  She got a job starting mid-year her freshman year, which gave her spending money.  She continues to work during this summer and is responsible for her own fun money.  She works at Old Navy.

 

So we never really gave her a set amount.  She is a frugal girl and responsible so it was not a problem.  She is not a kid who has ever had her hand out much for money.  She had the desire to work and earn her own spending money.  This is not much of a system, but it has worked very well for us.  It had give and take and relied on her to communicate with us when she had a need.

[Luckymama]

We give dd a set amount per month, transferred into her bank account. She uses it for coffees, pizza, California Tortilla takeout, and entertainment like the odd movie or a book (though she doesn't have much time to read for enjoyment during the academic year!). She had a rough time with dining hall food this last year (food allergies) so we bought some groceries and fresh fruits for her (her dorm was literally 1.25 miles from our house---I'd drop stuff off once a week).

 

She will have an on-campus job next year working in the writing center. That doesn't begin until February as she has to take a specific class first.

 

She has been searching for a summer job since April and has had no luck :( Food service jobs are out because of her allergies. She's been picking up a lot of babysitting/kid driving jobs through the neighborhood-young professor network.

 

Once dd has a paying job we will drop the monthly allowance. We did the same for ds----a monthly allowance until he landed his on-campus IT job.

[Pawz4me]

Probably not the best way to do it, but our DS has a credit card we pay for. He isn't a big spender, and it has never been an issue. If he wanted to do something big, he asked in advance. But it was never an issue this year. I realize that we aren't teaching budgeting or anything doing it this way. He does have an unlimited dining plan. His football and basketball tickets were part of his fees. We did pay his fraternity dues. 

 

Like I said, probably not the best way. But it worked for us. 

 

That's pretty much how we plan on doing things (although maybe it doesn't really qualify as a plan? LOL).

 

DS has had a debit card for a couple of years now.  We recently got him a credit card (added him as an authorized user to one of ours).  We'll be able to track his spending on both of those, so we'll know exactly where the money is going.  And he knows to check in with us before making a big purchase.  He's always been good about that.

 

We haven't set any monthly spending amount or limit.  We'll see how things go.  As long as he keeps things reasonable, we probably won't.  Although at this point I'm not even sure what constitutes reasonable.  As with so much of this stuff, we're playing it by ear.

[Guest]

That's pretty much how we plan on doing things (although maybe it doesn't really qualify as a plan? LOL).

 

DS has had a debit card for a couple of years now. We recently got him a credit card (added him as an authorized user to one of ours). We'll be able to track his spending on both of those, so we'll know exactly where the money is going. And he knows to check in with us before making a big purchase. He's always been good about that.

 

We haven't set any monthly spending amount or limit. We'll see how things go. As long as he keeps things reasonable, we probably won't. Although at this point I'm not even sure what constitutes reasonable. As with so much of this stuff, we're playing it by ear.

This is actually a pretty good "plan," I think, even if it is kind of not a plan! I can see this concept working for my dd.

[Muttichen]

Our kids earn their own spending money through summer and/or term-time jobs and spend it as they wish. I can't imagine looking over a 19 or 20-year-old's shoulder at what he is spending!

[Gwen in VA]

My kids have all have had jobs before they left for college so they had money in the bank. My older two had campus jobs, and my youngest will be working off campus, so they were also earning a bit of money during the semester.

 

At college they were responsible for ALL expenses that were not room, board, or tuition. They paid for textbooks, broken lab glassware, movies, toothpaste, museum admission, etc. If they wanted an internship that didn't pay, they needed to find funding or pay the difference by themselves. We ONLY did the room, board, and tuition part.

 

I am thankful that my kids had money in the bank before college -- I cannot imagine supervising a young adult's spending!

[*LC]

My college kid has two credit cards. One is linked to my CC, and she uses that to pay for food. She is exempt from the food plan due to food allergies, so I pay for her groceries as well as eating out. It is just easier to pay it all at once on the CC rather than worry about getting her cash. I also buy her things I know she likes or needs when I see them on sale/clearance. 

 

The other CC is completely in her name, and she puts her other expenses on it. She pays those out of her savings for jobs she held in high school, but she likes to use the CC to have a record of her spending. There have been times she wants something that she wants me to pay for or split the cost. We discuss those over the phone, just like we would have when she was home. This is my kid, who is currently debating spending less than $10 to buy a second charger for her laptop, so I don't worry about her purchases. She is planning on getting an on-campus job this year to add to her savings as she wants to save all of her earnings from this summer and next to have money to buy a car when she moves off campus in another year.

 

I will have to change the plan or do a lot more talking about budgeting with some of my younger kids, who spend money as quick as they get it, if their habits don't change as they mature.

[Jane in NC]

I suspect that this is another "it depends" situation! The variables here include the sort of the college/university your student is attending (is it residential or a commuter school?), what kind of mandatory meal program is there for residents, what is your kid's personality like--frugal or spendthrift?

 

There are some other issues too.  My son's college did not charge for use of the laundry facility; he also received a generous semester print allowance that he never exceeded.  Further, his chosen meal plan allowed for x-number of meals per week as well as y-dollars on his card. The latter could be spent on toothpaste in the college store, snacks or fancy coffee drinks.  Some of his suite mates burned through their college bucks quickly because of their addiction to fancy lattes.  This was not the case for my frugal boy.  The point here is that he did not really need any extra discretionary dollars on a daily basis.

 

Not every high school student has been able to find employment over the last few years.  Some kids have a substantial nest egg saved for college from earnings but others do not.

 

Family culture and finances once again enter the discussion too.  Not every student can find funding for an international study or internship experience.  I would not want to see my kid deprived of these opportunities if he did not have the funds to pay for them but I recognize that we are in a financial situation in which we can help. 

 

About monitoring spending:  I have a very open relationship with my son about money and other things.  Because he has spent the last three summers living in a tent in another country with minimal computer access, he asks me to monitor his accounts for fraud, money transfers, etc.  As Chief Financial Officer of our family, I suspect that he will turn to me for investment advice regarding retirement plans.  Budgeting is something we discuss.  I do not prohibit spending or chastise him--he is an adult. 

 

 

[Cosmos]

At college they were responsible for ALL expenses that were not room, board, or tuition. They paid for textbooks, broken lab glassware, movies, toothpaste, museum admission, etc. If they wanted an internship that didn't pay, they needed to find funding or pay the difference by themselves. We ONLY did the room, board, and tuition part.

 

That was my experience in college as well, and I suppose I assumed it was the norm. My parents did also pay my airfare for trips home, but everything else I did myself. Threads like this are always good reminders for me that there are lots of ways to do things, and lots of different family situations.

[Pawz4me]

I suspect that this is another "it depends" situation! The variables here include the sort of the college/university your student is attending (is it residential or a commuter school?), what kind of mandatory meal program is there for residents, what is your kid's personality like--frugal or spendthrift?

 

There are some other issues too.  My son's college did not charge for use of the laundry facility; he also received a generous semester print allowance that he never exceeded.  Further, his chosen meal plan allowed for x-number of meals per week as well as y-dollars on his card. The latter could be spent on toothpaste in the college store, snacks or fancy coffee drinks.  Some of his suite mates burned through their college bucks quickly because of their addiction to fancy lattes.  This was not the case for my frugal boy.  The point here is that he did not really need any extra discretionary dollars on a daily basis.

 

Not every high school student has been able to find employment over the last few years.  Some kids have a substantial nest egg saved for college from earnings but others do not.

 

Family culture and finances once again enter the discussion too.  Not every student can find funding for an international study or internship experience.  I would not want to see my kid deprived of these opportunities if he did not have the funds to pay for them but I recognize that we are in a financial situation in which we can help.

 

About monitoring spending:  I have a very open relationship with my son about money and other things.  Because he has spent the last three summers living in a tent in another country with minimal computer access, he asks me to monitor his accounts for fraud, money transfers, etc.  As Chief Financial Officer of our family, I suspect that he will turn to me for investment advice regarding retirement plans.  Budgeting is something we discuss.  I do not prohibit spending or chastise him--he is an adult. 

 

I liked it, but that's not enough -- very well said!  I particularly agree with the bolded parts, while also realizing that's not the case for all families.

[Teachin'Mine]

Just like homeschooling, different families, and even different students, different policies.  Dd is earning her money for books and discretionary spending, so all I do is make suggestions or give her things to consider, but the choices are hers to make.  I can thoroughly understand parents who are footing the bill not wanting to allow it to become a free for all situation.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Thanks for this thread ... it reminds me of conversations we need to have around here. 

 

Our oldest son went to college with money he earned to use for discretionary spending as well as his own books and gas $$ for trips home.  I didn't give him a budget, but talked with him ahead of time about what he would be using that money for and how much things would cost.  He managed his own money without my input.  We did pay for tuition/room and board on top of what his scholarship $$ covered and stuff for his room to get him set up (.  I think I bought him a laundry card and put some $$ on his dining card in case he had to skip dinner in the dining hall or needed a late night snack.  He covered everything else.  Over the summers, he has worked on campus and lived in an apartment.  Other than helping him buy things for the apartment and his first trip to the grocery store, everything else was on him (parking pass, gas in the car he uses for the summer, meals out, etc.)    We do try to send him back with a few freezer meals and some goodies.  Now, he is a frugal kid and didn't spend much.  This fall, he will be living in an apartment all year with a very basic meal plan (7 meals/week) so we will need to discuss finances a little more with him since we will have 2 in college. 

 

I will have to go over finances with our 2nd who is leaving for college this fall just to make sure he understands what he will be responsible for. 

 

[readwithem]

How do you all handle discretionary spending (if you provide some) for your college kids? Do you figure up a fixed amount, leaving them to budget and manage it? Does the amount change if they earn other income? Do you give them a food budget if/when they no longer live on a board program? Amy other experienced thoughts about this subject welcome. Thanks!

 

I have known various families who successfully used all of the options you listed. Some used the same method for the entire college time and some switched it up.  Some used a different option for each child depending on that child's personality and spending habits.

 

Figure out what will work for your family, be willing to change it if it doesn't work, and don't look back :)

 

 

[J-rap]

We have mostly covered it this way...  We pay for tuition and the structured room and board, at least for the first couple of years.  They have summer jobs and part-time school-year jobs for most of the remainder:  "spending money" -- things that aren't really necessary, like entertainment, snacks, meals out, clothes that they don't need (which is most  :)), concerts, bus fare, small school expenses, etc.

 

They also all have a credit card with our account that they know they can use in an emergency. 

 

They're still on our health plan, and three of them are still on our phone plan (so we pay for that).

 

However, I've found that as our children get older, even when they are still in college, they really want to take on more of the cost themselves to save us money.  As they get more settled into college life, they seem to find ways to earn a little more money at the same time.  So far, they have all transitioned to an apartment or room in a home where the rent is far less, which they can often pay for themselves with part-time jobs.  Two have lived with relatives where they pay just $100/month or even nothing for rent.  We would still pay for it though, if that was the only way to make it work.  Those that have cars pay for their own gas and car insurance, although we've helped with car maintenance work. 

 

We try and work with each of them in their own situations, encouraging them to become more responsible as they get older, but stepping in to help when needed.

[Susan in TN]

This is a good question. My immediate thought was - what would ds need extra money for? He has full room and board, free laundry, and no vehicle. Your responses are helping me see that he may need a dollar or two on occasion. :D Pencils, paper, books for music lessons, snacks, gas money for friend, basic toiletry and laundry supplies. Haircuts. Emergency taxi money. His phone is billed to us.

 

We'll have to see what he has saved in his account and go over likely expenses.

[texasmama]

Yes, if your child does not have a vehicle, please have a talk with him/her about offering gas money when asking a friend to drive somewhere.  My dd ended up doing a lot of ferrying on her (our) dime last year.  I think that the roommate/friend did not have a clue to offer, and dd (despite my coaching and advice) did not feel comfortable asking.  These are often new situations on both sides for young people.

[Annie G]

Dd lived in a house owned by the school this year and we paid for tuition, room, and grocery money. She found that when she needed a ride to get groceries that friends were more than willing to trade a home cooked meal for that ride.  But other than the money she spent on Starbucks, she spent less than $200 the whole year. The school has fabulous free events- concerts, comedians, bingo on Friday nights, great speakers, etc. She really didn't bother to go off campus for entertainment after the first time she ventured into a bar and discovered that a soft drink costs as much as a beer.  

 

I think a lot of spending depends on the school and the kid.  Dd's school offers a lot of free entertainment that she enjoys. 

 

And oddly enough, even though tuition at this school is ridiculously high, the cost of books has been about $100 per term.  Ds is still at the community college and his books for one term cost more than hers do for the whole year. 

[Kareni]

As to allowances, we did not provide one. My daughter had generous need based aid; her college did not provide merit based aid. She worked about ten hours a week for her work study job and also had loans. We paid for her books and her flights home. She lived in the dorm and had a full meal plan. My sister generously gave her a cell phone, and she was on their family plan. She was also gifted with a laptop as a high school graduation present by that same generous aunt. Any other expenses she paid for herself out of summer wages or gift monies.

 

I copied the above paragraph from this older thread on the same topic.

Regards,

Kareni

[Starr]

Ours earn their own spending money. But dd says college students spend money even if they don't have it. It's as if the money they borrow for school isn't real. it's hard if you are on a budget and your friends aren't.

[Jenny in Florida]

Our kids earn their own spending money through summer and/or term-time jobs and spend it as they wish. I can't imagine looking over a 19 or 20-year-old's shoulder at what he is spending!

 

Well, my daughter didn't turn 19 until three years after she graduated. And my son won't be 19 until near the end of his junior year. So, our situation is a little different.

[*LC]

I suspect that this is another "it depends" situation! The variables here include the sort of the college/university your student is attending (is it residential or a commuter school?), what kind of mandatory meal program is there for residents, what is your kid's personality like--frugal or spendthrift?

 

 

I like hearing a variety of thoughts/plans on these kinds of subjects. I never think of all the "it depends" factors on my own, so reading these posts helps me consider all the issues.

 

P.S. The college where my daughter is working/living this summer has free washers/dryers. She likes it and wishes her school did too.

[katilac]

Our kids earn their own spending money through summer and/or term-time jobs and spend it as they wish. I can't imagine looking over a 19 or 20-year-old's shoulder at what he is spending!

 

The possibility of finding part-time or summer employment varies quite a bit by location. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

The possibility of finding part-time or summer employment varies quite a bit by location. 

 

Exactly.  This is the second summer my middle son has not had a job.  He is trying (not hard enough, but trying.)  It is discouraging.  My older son was hesitant to apply for a summer research position on campus because he wasn't sure he wanted to be away from home for the whole summer.  When I asked him what full-time job he would find here in our town, he decided to apply and got it.  It is not like we are in a terribly economically depressed area, but many of the typical "teen jobs" are now being filled by older adults who have exhausted their unemployment benefits.  The only "teen job" left would have been a terrible fit for my middle son - summer camp counselor.  With his sensory issues and the fact that he has always found big groups of kids annoying - even when he was a kid, it would have been a disaster. 

 

[Muttichen]

The possibility of finding part-time or summer employment varies quite a bit by location. 

My kids have never been able to get typical, burger-joint type jobs, but they've always been able to earn their spending money, because, well, they've had to!  In high school, they ref soccer and lifeguard. My college kids have had paid internships, they've tutored, they've worked for the University raising money (i.e., harassing alumni!). If they absolutely couldn't find something, we'd help, but they want the freedom and independence that comes with earning.

[Laura Corin]

All of Calvin's money comes either from loans or from our college savings for him (which will cover accommodation for three years).  So the loan money is up to him to manage.  He will probably have the loan money in a savings account and transfer a proportion automatically each month into his current account.  He very much wants to be managing his money independently.

 

If he doesn't spend much, he will need to borrow less in his third year, or he can use some loan money for any post-graduate/internship expenses.

 

L

[Hoggirl]

Good grief! There is a thread over on CC asking about giving a DD $1,200 per MONTH!

[katilac]

Good grief! There is a thread over on CC asking about giving a DD $1,200 per MONTH!

 

How nice to have that as a possibility, lol. 

[Laura Corin]

How nice to have that as a possibility, lol. 

 

Nice as a possibility, but I think a bit of frugality at this stage in life is no bad thing.....

 

L

[Teachin'Mine]

Personally I think the $1200 per month thread was begun by a 10th grader having some fun, or by someone who wanted to generate some lively conversation as the summer has less traffic on the site.  Just my take on it.  I really don't think anyone is that clueless to ask if that's enough.  The spending money per month wouldn't be for housing, otherwise that could very well be reasonable, or even insufficient.   But I''m sure there are some students with huge amounts available to them, but I would doubt their parents would be asking on CC if it's enough. 

[Pawz4me]

Personally I think the $1200 per month thread was begun by a 10th grader having some fun, or by someone who wanted to generate some lively conversation as the summer has less traffic on the site.  Just my take on it.  I really don't think anyone is that clueless to ask if that's enough.  The spending money per month wouldn't be for housing, otherwise that could very well be reasonable, or even insufficient.   But I''m sure there are some students with huge amounts available to them, but I would doubt their parents would be asking on CC if it's enough. 

 

I think a LOT of the posting on CC is by bored kids.

[unsinkable]

I want to throw this out there...

 

My friend is an excellent cook and her DD was absolutely repulsed by the college food service food. Money is very tight for them and it was difficult for my friend to hear how awful the food was (that they were paying a pretty penny for!) and that her DD was still hungry.

 

Hopefully, none of you will have that issue.

 

DS says the food at his college is awful, too, and that most of the girls he knows barely eat there.

[Teachin'Mine]

I want to throw this out there...

 

My friend is an excellent cook and her DD was absolutely repulsed by the college food service food. Money is very tight for them and it was difficult for my friend to hear how awful the food was (that they were paying a pretty penny for!) and that her DD was still hungry.

 

Hopefully, none of you will have that issue.

 

DS says the food at his college is awful, too, and that most of the girls he knows barely eat there.

 

Yes, costs for food outside of the meal plan can be huge depending on the college.  I would encourage looking at the food ratings when considering colleges.  Some parents or students consider this to be unimportant compared to academics, but for some students this should definitely be taken into consideration.  Meal plans should be considered as well as some allow for fewer dining hall meals and allow more flexible spending at other eateries on campus or even off campus.  It amazes me that some top colleges go with such poor food service providers.  When the costs are around 60K what does a few hundred more for good food really matter?   I don't put good healthy food in the same category as unnecessary luxuries.

 

[Jenny in Florida]

Yes, costs for food outside of the meal plan can be huge depending on the college.  I would encourage looking at the food ratings when considering colleges.  Some parents or students consider this to be unimportant compared to academics, but for some students this should definitely be taken into consideration.  Meal plans should be considered as well as some allow for fewer dining hall meals and allow more flexible spending at other eateries on campus or even off campus.  It amazes me that some top colleges go with such poor food service providers.  When the costs are around 60K what does a few hundred more for good food really matter?   I don't put good healthy food in the same category as unnecessary luxuries.

 

 

The food options were a big part of my son's college search. He's a dancer (so a big eater who is always hungry) and a life-long vegan (so not easy to feed just anywhere). He doesn't cope well with life if he's not eating well. So, every time we visited a campus, we made arrangements to eat in the dining hall and explore the additional food options on campus and nearby. 

 

At one campus, when we said the word "vegan," the tour guide had to go get the chef to discuss whether there would be anything at all for us to eat that day. She assured us she could make up something for us if we came back in an hour or so. By that point, though, my son had looked around at what was already on offer and decided it didn't look promising enough to make the effort. He crossed that school off his list that day.

 

One of the reasons -- not the primary one, of course, but one -- that he chose the school he did is that the dining seems workable for him. They have an assortment of dining plans, more than one place on campus that accepts dining dollars, a decent assortment of food in the main dining hall and a good grocery store within walking distance of the campus. We'll be sending him with a mini-fridge and microwave, too. We feel pretty confident he'll stay fed.

[Pawz4me]

One reason we paid a few dollars extra for DS to stay in the private-but-affiliated-with-the-university dorm was due to the reputation of their dining hall food.  We know kids who've stayed in that dorm, and they all rave about how great the food was.  So we're hoping that's still true.  But we still went with the smallest meal plan.  If the food is great, then we can upgrade his meal plan at any time w/o a penalty.  If it turns out he doesn't like the food, then we won't have lost too much.  And there are plenty of other places to eat.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Food was big on our list as well.  My oldest son suffers from hypoglycemia and can go from functional, to completely irrational in no time.  He also has some food allergies.  We crossed a couple of schools off our list because the food options were so bad.  He has been pretty satisfied with the food options at his current school.  He is moving to an college-owned apartment next year, and, since he hates to cook, is planning on getting a 7-meal/week plan to make sure that he does have a decent meal each day.  That may change 2nd semester if he decides he would rather cook.   

 

Our second son is going to a school with excellent meal service.  However, I was disappointed to see that the biggest meal plan only had 14 meals a week - my son eats 3 full meals a day, plus several sizable snacks.  I wonder how he will fare.  I am also perturbed that we are paying almost the same amount as we did for first son' full plan with significantly fewer meals.  I guess he will need care packages, but none of them will be hunks of meat:). 

[unsinkable]

My son's college ranks very well with meals, but the issue was lunch. There was no all-you-can-eat buffet type of option for lunch on the meal plan - everything was an oncampus fast food eatery type of option. The lunch allowance on the meal plan wasn't enough to cover a young man's size lunch. He ended up cooking or assembling sandwiches when he arrived back at the dorm in the p.m. or cooking breakfast and using his breakfast and lunch meal allowance for lunch.

Good points.

 

I think it is something to be aware of...for a variety of reasons, students might need unanticipated money for food.

[LMV]

There is also this (relatively) recent thread: College Incidental Expenses

 

 

[unsinkable]

We helped with dd#1 on expenses for the undergrad, though she was very frugal. We sent care packages to #2 as she had nothing to spend $$ on at Navy. We helped a bit with #3, but she had a good summer job. We won't be able to help ds at all, as dh lost his job of 27 years. Fortunately, ds never spends $$ on anything and has saved and saved over the years. He'll have to buy his own computer, though we bought them for the other kids. Can't be helped. We pay for his dumb phone and his car insurance.

(((Margaret)))

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your DH's job. I hope something else comes along.

[Susan in TN]

Good grief! There is a thread over on CC asking about giving a DD $1,200 per MONTH!

If she saves $1000 each month while she is in college, she'll have a nice bucketful when she's ready to retire!

[momofkhm]

Read through enough to see we're not the only ones.

 

We pay tuition, room, board, books.  Her cell is on our plan.  She does not have a car on campus.  She is expected to pay for everything else.  She has had summer jobs since before senior year.  This coming school year she has a job on campus.  Not many hours, not much pay.

 

She will probably be spending spring semester in Germany.  Things may change for that.  I don't think there is a meal plan but I do think they offer housing.  Of course paying for her to see Europe?  I can't see paying for all of it.  We may help where possible.

 

 

 

 

[Wildcat]

.

[Hoggirl]

We are considering (haven't decided yet) between $200 - $300 per month. As I said upthread, we will likely start low but will increase if ds can demonstrate an increase is justified. We have asked ds his opinion, but it's clear we are playing a bit of a game ;) He doesn't want to lowball us, and we don't want to highball him! He's pretty frugal as are his high school friends. They go out some, but also sometimes picnic together (everyone brings something) or go and shop together and cook together at each others' homes.

 

He received a lot of cash and gift cards for graduation which he will use to buy his dorm stuff. I doubt he will spend it all, so that will give him some "cushion" as well.

[Jenny in Florida]

Is anyone comfortable sharing a dollar amount? 

 

We started out giving our daughter $50 a week, because she had to buy a lot of her own food. (See my comments above about the uselessness for a vegan of the dining hall at her small school.) As time went on, we realized she rarely spent all of that. And for some things, it was easier for us to buy things locally and send them to her. 

 

So, in her case, $200 a month was more than enough, but she is naturally frugal and was in a place where she had few opportunities to spend. And because she was young, some of the typical college student stuff (going to bars, drinking, etc.) was not an option for her. She also did not have a car. 

 

Because my son will have an unlimited plan with access to a dining hall where he can actually eat, we plan to start him off with less per week. We'll be open to negotiating up, assuming we can afford it, but I'm thinking $25 or $30 a week is what we'll go with at the beginning of the year.

 

Edit: I meant to say that my son does hope to work part-time while he's in school. My low weekly allowance plan is cleverly designed to keep him from being penniless without discouraging him from working.

[Annie G]

When we toured dd's school, the food they served us was pretty good. Based on that, we bought her a meal plan for the first term. Within a week, she was in tears over the food. It was just awful. She decided to just cook her own food, which ended up costing us less than 25% of the price of a meal plan.  We thought she was just being overly dramatic but we noticed her friends posting on Facebook when the transfer days or visit days were happening because (as they put it) It's Good Food Day!

 

I tried out the school's brand new highly touted food court one day when I picked dd up for a weekend home. It was truly awful. I am so disappointed that the food is so bad. 

 

As far as discretionary spending, dd spent less than $20 a week on average. (Not including groceries but including coffee, eating out, etc.) 

[Pawz4me]

When we toured dd's school, the food they served us was pretty good. Based on that, we bought her a meal plan for the first term. Within a week, she was in tears over the food. It was just awful. She decided to just cook her own food, which ended up costing us less than 25% of the price of a meal plan.  We thought she was just being overly dramatic but we noticed her friends posting on Facebook when the transfer days or visit days were happening because (as they put it) It's Good Food Day!

 

I tried out the school's brand new highly touted food court one day when I picked dd up for a weekend home. It was truly awful. I am so disappointed that the food is so bad. 

 

As far as discretionary spending, dd spent less than $20 a week on average. (Not including groceries but including coffee, eating out, etc.) 

 

My niece swears that the quality of the food at her dining hall is much better on days they're expecting large numbers of parents or other visitors.

[Laura Corin]

This thread that I started might help - I was given some good ideas that I'd forgotten:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/506103-spending-money-at-university/?hl=budget+university&do=findComment&comment=5505262

 

L