Appropriate Allowance for Freshman in College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never gave our kids allowances when they were in college. That’s why they had summer jobs! They graduated debt free thanks to us. We didn’t subsidize them upon graduation either. They got jobs and made their own way and they are doing very well.

So, either your kids made enough money to cover college costs, in which case your example is extremely out of date and not relevant, or you paid for your kids' tuition and board, in which case you certainly can't say they "made their own way."

Either way, your info is dated or irrelevant.

To be clear, we paid tuition, room, board and books which allowed them to graduate debt free. No allowance in college or any subsidy after college which is when they made their own way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never gave our kids allowances when they were in college. That’s why they had summer jobs! They graduated debt free thanks to us. We didn’t subsidize them upon graduation either. They got jobs and made their own way and they are doing very well.

In earlier times, people got married and started their own families in their mid-teens. We don't do that anymore. Civilization progresses because *most* parents provide some higher structural foundation for their kids to start from. There is no glory in having started from zero.

We paid 100% of our kids college costs but with no allowances. If that’s not “providing a higher structural foundation for their kids to start from” I don’t know what is! There is plenty of glory in earning your own spending money and then graduating and making a living without mommy and daddy’s help. At some point they need to get off the family payroll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My oldest graduated from Colombia and I gave him $600/mo. He also had significant merit aid so it really wasn’t an issue. Despite the hysteria on here my son is not dependent on me, I’d in his 20s and had an excellent job in finance making more money that most people posting in here. The investment has paid off well. His company is paying for him to get his MBA at Columbia.

My younger son is currently at Virginia Tech and we give him half that. Not much to buy in Blacksburg compared to NYC.

Both of them did not have jobs in college, though my older had very generous summer internships. Their job was to work hard in school.

Both kids should get equal amounts. That's really crummy when Colombia costs far more than VT.

[Anonymous]

What do your kids do in the summers prior to going to college? My kid easily made $4K last summer as a 16 yr old. He saved around half of that. He will probably make the same this summer and next so by the time he starts college, he will have $6K or more saved. I'm not giving him an allowance. He is not 6 yrs old unable to make his own money. I had to use my summer earnings to pay for my books and as my fun money and he will do the same.

[Anonymous]

How much is he making at his summer job? That can be spending money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is he making at his summer job? That can be spending money.

Me again. I also wouldn't give an allowance to an adult. Adults pay for themselves (including college).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My oldest graduated from Colombia and I gave him $600/mo. He also had significant merit aid so it really wasn’t an issue. Despite the hysteria on here my son is not dependent on me, I’d in his 20s and had an excellent job in finance making more money that most people posting in here. The investment has paid off well. His company is paying for him to get his MBA at Columbia.

My younger son is currently at Virginia Tech and we give him half that. Not much to buy in Blacksburg compared to NYC.

Both of them did not have jobs in college, though my older had very generous summer internships. Their job was to work hard in school.

Both kids should get equal amounts. That's really crummy when Colombia costs far more than VT.

Have you been to NYC and have you been to Blacksburg? It’s not about fair. It’s about expenses.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding? I hope so.

If not, the answer is $0.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do your kids do in the summers prior to going to college? My kid easily made $4K last summer as a 16 yr old. He saved around half of that. He will probably make the same this summer and next so by the time he starts college, he will have $6K or more saved. I'm not giving him an allowance. He is not 6 yrs old unable to make his own money. I had to use my summer earnings to pay for my books and as my fun money and he will do the same.

My kid made 4 K as an NMS finalist/scholar. + generous merit aid which makes his double STEM major practically free. I think that qualifies as more than flipping burger. 👌

[Anonymous]

subjective based on the kid, parents, financial situation, family situation and culture.

[Anonymous]

Those on campus work study jobs usually pay very little and are often required to supplement additional student aid so that’s not really going to cut the mustard for spending money.

Back in the olden times (early 2000s, so college was cheaper but still beyond my reach), I got $0 but my parents did pay for things like my plane tickets home and some clothes and a winter jacket. I had accrued quite a checking account with my summer job and babysitting money so I didn’t need anything else, really (a lot of that money went to tuition but not all of it).

I did work additional on campus jobs for cash (catering, research) but it wasn’t much. And then junior and senior years I had actual off campus jobs and made much more money, but by that point I had real expenses like car insurance and more significant grocery money since I had grown weary of the campus food.

[Anonymous]

My parents gave me $100 a month 25 years ago. In todays dollars that is a little under $200. My kids are a couple years away, so $200 probably sounds about right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do your kids do in the summers prior to going to college? My kid easily made $4K last summer as a 16 yr old. He saved around half of that. He will probably make the same this summer and next so by the time he starts college, he will have $6K or more saved. I'm not giving him an allowance. He is not 6 yrs old unable to make his own money. I had to use my summer earnings to pay for my books and as my fun money and he will do the same.

My kid made 4 K as an NMS finalist/scholar. + generous merit aid which makes his double STEM major practically free. I think that qualifies as more than flipping burger. 👌

Awesome but what did he do for 3 summers prior to college? Was he resting his brain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We never gave our kids allowances when they were in college. That’s why they had summer jobs! They graduated debt free thanks to us. We didn’t subsidize them upon graduation either. They got jobs and made their own way and they are doing very well.

In earlier times, people got married and started their own families in their mid-teens. We don't do that anymore. Civilization progresses because *most* parents provide some higher structural foundation for their kids to start from. There is no glory in having started from zero.

We paid 100% of our kids college costs but with no allowances. If that’s not “providing a higher structural foundation for their kids to start from” I don’t know what is! There is plenty of glory in earning your own spending money and then graduating and making a living without mommy and daddy’s help. At some point they need to get off the family payroll.

PP here. To put this in perspective, even with in-state tuition, we are discussing a difference of maybe 10% for a good in-state university like UVA or UMD. This is not going to be meaningfully different in terms of the level of support provided. The difference between getting $40k from your parents versus $44k is insignificant. Spending $40k instead of $44k is not getting "off the family payroll".

[Anonymous]

Nothing. I saved every dime either of them got for holidays/birthdays/baptism/etc. They added to it with summer jobs. Each one had/has upwards of $25k. If they spend all of it, that’s over $600 a month per school month if they add nothing else to it for 4 years plus they still get $ from various relatives for birthdays and Christmas.

My parents did the same thing and I was told from an early age that it was for everything tuition, room, and board wouldn’t cover…so school books, food out, movies, beer, etc. I left for college with $15k and graduated with $12k. I was able to buy my first car (used) with that which I needed for grad school and put down security and first month’s rent on my apartment.