Sending teen to college-a few questions

[Anonymous]

I give my college DD $350 a month Which goes into her own debit card. I added her to my Credit Card years ago and she uses that for books and other approved expenses.

[Anonymous]

They're going to have expenses - toiletries, personal care, miscellaneous school supplies, etc., plus the occasional pizza night or movie, that sort of thing. We provide $100/month to our college kids during the school year for this kind of thing.

Any larger expenses like nonessential clothing, leisure travel or a concert or something that won't fit in their $100/month budget, they have to pay for that out of their summer job savings.

As for banking, our kids carry two credit cards - one is our account that they use for textbooks or anything else that is cleared in advance such as a plane ticket home or essential clothing that we decide to pay for. Then they apply for and get a student credit card from the on-campus bank or credit union that they use for their own expenses to build credit (they use that $100/month to pay that off). I watch it to make sure it is paid in full each month.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

I think $250/month is an ample spending budget (for clothes, toiletries, dorm room needs, snacks, entertainment, club fees and trips).

Whether that comes from mom and dad of from the student's earnings is up to you.

[Anonymous]

I think you are right to have her keep savings in savings (provided this is affordable for your family). Good to learn about the concept of savings and put it in action - too many people never learn about savings - just know how to spend.

I would give her a monthly budget (start with $150 ish) that you can tailor depending on her major (may need art/science supplies etc). Make it an ongoing discussion - touch base every couple of months. That’ll you can adjust as needed and teaches her to think about budgets and review budget/spending vs. Autopilot.

This monthly allowance will be replaced by a paycheck once she graduates and gets a full-time job.

[Anonymous]

Allowance? I pay tuition, room, food, books, fees. The rest is on my kids. That’s what summer jobs are for. You need to wean them off the payroll

[Anonymous]

We give our DS $150/month. It breaks down like this per month:

~$15 for haircut... Haircut every 6 weeks ($20 per 6 weeks or $40 per three months/3 = $14/month average)
~$25 for laundry machines... 2 loads a week, wash and dry
~$80 for 1 meal out a week with friends @ $20 per
~$30 for small incidentals (bottles of water, snacks for his room)

I have no doubt some portion goes to party cover charges and such, but I don't think I'm giving him a ton of flex for that with this amount. My DS says some friends parents give a lot more, some give less. I found with DD (older) that if we gave it to her in a lump sum she never made it through the semester, so DS is getting monthly deposits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We give our DS $150/month. It breaks down like this per month:

~$15 for haircut... Haircut every 6 weeks ($20 per 6 weeks or $40 per three months/3 = $14/month average)
~$25 for laundry machines... 2 loads a week, wash and dry
~$80 for 1 meal out a week with friends @ $20 per
~$30 for small incidentals (bottles of water, snacks for his room)

I have no doubt some portion goes to party cover charges and such, but I don't think I'm giving him a ton of flex for that with this amount. My DS says some friends parents give a lot more, some give less. I found with DD (older) that if we gave it to her in a lump sum she never made it through the semester, so DS is getting monthly deposits.

^Forgot to point out that his Summer job at the golf course paid for anything more, although DW would give him a little extra cash (like $200) when we visited which was generally 1x per semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I give my college DD $350 a month Which goes into her own debit card. I added her to my Credit Card years ago and she uses that for books and other approved expenses.

Granted it was 12 yrs ago, but I would have lived HIGH on the hog with this money allowance. And I do mean HIGH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We pay for room, board, and books. They are on their own for spending money.

ditto

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op, we put about $150/mo into our son’s bank account. Some weeks he uses more, some less, but it has worked out. He’s in Virginia private in a rural area/low COL.

I think this is what my parents did. I had a job the entire time I was in college, maybe 10 hours a week. My parents also gave us kids a credit card but we could only use it for trips home or to visit our grandma. For everything else they would send us a bill. When I was 23 my brother abused the card one time too many and they cut it off. I always think of that day as the day I became an adult.

[Anonymous]

I know SO many people who racked up $$$ debt on a credit card in college - I think I left college with about $3,000 on mine. So when my teens get there (soon) I told them I will set them up with debit cards... And in return they will agree to run a credit report once a year to ensure they aren't opening other accounts. I know its intrusive but I don't want to see them make this mistake which is so easy to do.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding? An allowance is for little kids. She uses the $3000 in savings for personal expenses and earns more in the summer or school year jobs to replace it. What’s the point in spending judiciously if mom and dad just send more every month. FWIW, I lived with a group of girls in college and only the richest and least responsible had an allowance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Allowance? I pay tuition, room, food, books, fees. The rest is on my kids. That’s what summer jobs are for. You need to wean them off the payroll

That's easy to say, but even in those categories, how from a practical standpoint does your student pay for the workbook that they have to buy mid-semester (which would fall into the "textbook" category that you cover)?You really don't give your child any money to buy a stick of deodorant or a tube of toothpaste?

[Anonymous]

" $0.00. She works during the summer for spending/entertainment money.

Yes, get your daughter a credit card.

Op again. Was hoping to hear from folks who have calculated/established a spending money budget for their kid(s). Thanks."

What budget did you give her in HS?

[Anonymous]

Spire on student ID connect to her debit card