College Aged Child Overspends

[Anonymous]

Mine does this too but I am letting it go for now because his 'overspending' is social activities. I can afford it and I don't want him missing out just to teach him financial lessons, which he basically knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine does this too but I am letting it go for now because his 'overspending' is social activities. I can afford it and I don't want him missing out just to teach him financial lessons, which he basically knows.

He doesn’t know financial lessons if he’s overspending. You’re just teaching him he needs money to keep up with his friends.

[Anonymous]

The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine does this too but I am letting it go for now because his 'overspending' is social activities. I can afford it and I don't want him missing out just to teach him financial lessons, which he basically knows.

He doesn’t know financial lessons if he’s overspending. You’re just teaching him he needs money to keep up with his friends.

Well, that is a hard truth about life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

He has limits, just not hard and fast numbers.

[Anonymous]

My 14 year old has a job and never asks for money when going out with friends for a bite or movie. Even on school related events when I say he can use the cc (he has one attached to ours), he’ll use it for a meal and drink but will use his own money for treats.

I will get him meal plan his first year of college but he already knows we’re only covering tuition and board afterwards. Food, socializing, clothes, cellphone, etc. will all be his responsibility.

That’s crazy that ppl send their kids to college with no sense of financial responsibility or ownership of their college experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mine does this too but I am letting it go for now because his 'overspending' is social activities. I can afford it and I don't want him missing out just to teach him financial lessons, which he basically knows.

He doesn’t know financial lessons if he’s overspending. You’re just teaching him he needs money to keep up with his friends.

Well, that is a hard truth about life.

Sure, but mom and dad don’t have to be footing the bill for that. He can decide how hard he wants to work to keep up.

[Anonymous]

Get them a debit card, cancel the credit card, and turn their finances over to them. Also recommend a budgeting app or teach them how to make a spreadsheet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

He has limits, just not hard and fast numbers.

Jesus, you are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

He has limits, just not hard and fast numbers.

What does that mean exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine does this too but I am letting it go for now because his 'overspending' is social activities. I can afford it and I don't want him missing out just to teach him financial lessons, which he basically knows.

Wow. We are a relatively wealthy family and would never ever do this. To each their own I guess

[Anonymous]

If you don’t want to just cancel the card (I’d be hesitant to have my kid have no access at all to a credit card for emergencies), most cards will let you set a spending limit for auxiliary cards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

He has limits, just not hard and fast numbers.

Jesus, you are ridiculous.

DP. I wouldn’t give a kid an unlimited budget, but I think the parents who refuse to give their kids any spending money at all are equally ridiculous. It’s not hard to learn not to spend $$ when you have none to spend. It’s harder to learn not to spend when the $$ is available.

My kid has learned to make a budget and moves an agreed upon lump sum of money to his checking account every semester. He pays his tuition and rent, and then what’s left over is his to spend. So far, he has ended up with thousands in his account at the end of every semester. He works during the summer, and he had a prestigious internship this last summer that only paid a small stipend. I wouldn’t want him to turn that down because he needed to work waiting tables to pay his expenses during school.

[Anonymous]

You could forgo the credit card/any credit card. They have a checking account with only: money they made this summer + the same amount you deposit every month. They have a debit card for this account. Make it so you can transfer additional money into the account if an emergency happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The educational way to do the above is to give him a budget for social activities. Talk with him and find out how much he needs/wants. Then let him manage it. This will be a more valuable experience than just paying every bill with no limits.

He has limits, just not hard and fast numbers.

Jesus, you are ridiculous.

DP. I wouldn’t give a kid an unlimited budget, but I think the parents who refuse to give their kids any spending money at all are equally ridiculous. It’s not hard to learn not to spend $$ when you have none to spend. It’s harder to learn not to spend when the $$ is available.

My kid has learned to make a budget and moves an agreed upon lump sum of money to his checking account every semester. He pays his tuition and rent, and then what’s left over is his to spend. So far, he has ended up with thousands in his account at the end of every semester. He works during the summer, and he had a prestigious internship this last summer that only paid a small stipend. I wouldn’t want him to turn that down because he needed to work waiting tables to pay his expenses during school.

Mine has plenty of money. It's HIS money that he earned at his job. I honestly do not have money after paying $30k per year for college. My kid has more money in his checking/savings accounts than I do after paying the bills.