spending money
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Anonymous
| My child has never had a real job besides the odd babysitting gig, but other than that has been extremely responsible with school, extracurriculars, etc and we're totally happy with paying for her college (with some scholarship money.) In this situation, would you give your child any college spending money? If so, how much? Should we expect her to get a job any time soon? She's had a small allowance for years, but only used it for lunch money or Christmas presents. |
Anonymous
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I send allowance once a month. Keep in mind the need for food, toiletries (tampons, deodorant, gum, sunscreen) and school supplies (post-its, tabs, special pens) and random things that come up - new charger, college t-shirt, seeing a movie, bday gifts for new friends, etc.
Think about what kind of food plan your kid will have. The bigger the food plan, the less the money we send. I did not want my kids getting a job their freshman year. Adjust to college, make new friends, get used to running all your own errands, doing all your own laundry, etc. I did not want my kids to get stuck for cash. I started out sending $80 per month, and after two months asked my son how that was working out. When he told me that it was okay but he was being very careful the last week and a half to make sure it lasted, I upped it to $120 a month. That works better for him (he gets his hair cut once a month). When my DD started college, I started her at $120 a month and she never said a word about money being tight. |
Anonymous
| there is no right or wrong answer. I was expected to have summer jobs in high school and college and to use what I earned as spending money throughout the year - I was very responsible, rather conservative with my money. But they did not want me to balance a job with schoolwork so I never worked during the school year, and my parents provided me extra spending money as necessary. Nothing wrong with that approach, but I had many friends in college who balanced their studies and social life with a part time job. Nothing wrong with that approach either. You have to consider what is important to you and to be teaching to her, and make your decision. I would suggest that if she has never had a job before, that you at least give her some spending money for first semester so that she can adjust to her first semester at college without also trying to adjust to her first job. |
Anonymous
| We do $1000/semester but also expect summer employment of some sort, although if it were an unpaid internship we would probably subsidize. Older DC is working on campus now, younger DC is planning to get a campus job sophomore year. Money is not an issue for us so it's more about making sure our kids are reasonable with money, work to earn some of their own money, but also focus on the job of being a student. So far it's working. |
Anonymous
I always earned my spending money the summer before. What is your daughter doing in the summer? |
Anonymous
| My parents paid my room and board fees at the dorm (this is first year) and I got 20$ a week spending money outside of that. Once I moved out of the dorm 2nd year they paid my rent and utilities and I got a waitressing job to cover all other. (This is all on top of tuition which they covered.) |
Anonymous
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I can't remember if I received $50 or $75 every two weeks in the late 70s or early 80s. It was never enough in a major city.
I send my daughter $400 a month. She is in a major city. Her summer jobs are for fall clothes and visits to see friends in nearby college towns. My nephew is in a small college town and receives $200 every four to five weeks. |
Anonymous
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I worked every semester of college for my spending money. It helped me manage my time better and it helped me
Land my first job out of college (as I had interned at the office my senior year). Working is not a bad thing! |
Anonymous
No, but in this world it's HARD. College can be ridiculously taxing and the job market is a bitch, especially in college towns. Getting an on-campus job is the best option for most kids. |
Anonymous
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It will depend on where your DD is going to go to school. If she is in the middle of nowhere where all of the activities are on-campus and free and she is on a meal plan then she will need very little cash. However, if she is in a big city where she will be exploring the city and doing other things then she will need more. However, if she's on a meal plan then she will not need an excessive amount. My DD is in school in a big city and on a meal plan. We give her a monthly allowance and am fine with doing that. She also has a credit card to buy things she wants and needs, but she has to pay the bill each month. She had a debit account from middle school through high school in order to learn how to manage her money (once it's gone, it's gone until the 1st of the month….). She also saved money from a few jobs she had during high school, but not too much. All of this has helped her to learn to be very cautious with her money and her credit card bill is rarely more than $50/month. But she has the card in case of an emergency.
This is her 1st year and we didn't want her to get a job during school for now, but she knows she will be expected to work this summer and save her money for the school year. We will still pay for books and other necessities, but she will use the money she earns in the summer for her spending money. |
Anonymous
| DD's college is a few miles from an expensive city. I asked several moms I knew of older girls at the same college. We decided on $400/month. |
Anonymous
seems pretty steep! what is that expected to cover? clothes, haircuts, toiletries, midnight pizza? Beer et al? |
Anonymous
If you are waiting for college for these things, you are too late. My 8 yr old does his own laundry. |
Anonymous
Yes, but he can leave his clothes somewhere without worrying they'll be stolen. My middle school DD does her own laundry but I often help her fold - it's a great time for us to talk. Keep in mind that your "house" in college is your dorm room which you share with another person. You can't leave a basket of unfolded underwear out when people are coming over. There's another aspect of time management added to the equation when you go to college. |
Anonymous
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This is a foreign world to me because I received financial aid. Working during the summers to help pay for college and books was a given. All of my friends had some sort of job on-campus working no more than 10 hours a week. I don't think that having a job working 8-10 hours would derail someone that was planning on focusing on school. The challenge if you wanted your daughter to work during the school year is the lack of non work study jobs on campus. I talked to my DH and he said that it was tough to find ones his freshman/sophomore year and he had jobs like front desk in the dorms. He had to work odd hours but in the later years he could find jobs in his department that were normal hours. He also worked summers.
Personally, I would want my child to work during the summers for spending money. Having my child make decisions about how to spend disposable income that she earned (sometimes it is a different choice if money is given) is an important life lesson. Also, being in a work environment with a boss and co-workers, and employee responsibilities is an important transition. It is a different dynamic with parent/child or even with student/teacher/peers than boss/co-worker/employee. IMHO the best time to learn these real world lessons is while in college when you have classes,room and board covered versus post college when theoretically you are own your own to pay for everything. |