How much allowance money do you send your kid each week/month at college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

LOL she was just sending you your share of the child support check, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Debit card I assume.

For a student living in The Hague in an apartment, who has to come up with his own food and doesn’t have free time to work, $500 per month, on top of money for rent and tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, DCUM. Where it is cheap-ass "1950s tough love hyperbole" to expect your kid to buy their own Starbucks and movie tickets. Never change.

One thing is that a lot of kids enjoy being frugal, and COVID limits what some kids can actually spend money on.

I’m the parent sending $500 per month to a kid in The Hague who has to make all of his meals. He takes great pride in telling us how much he has left over every month. I’d be happy to send him more if he’d use it to go party, and maybe drink an occasional beer, but he’s horrified by the idea of other kids drinking beer. So, you never know. Some kids somehow end up with an Inner School Marm, in spite of our best efforts to promote frivolity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are your children not working part-time while in school like normal kids?

Some programs make it hard to work.

A lot of universities in Europe, for example, take everyone in, then do their best to flunk half of the freshmen out. The devil’s bargain is that overall costs are very low but that the freshmen don’t really have time to work.

I think a lot STEM programs in the United States take that same approach.

[Anonymous]

We are fairly ok moneywise (350K HHI in DMV) so our kid will not get any need based scholarship. We will pay for tuition and all college costs not covered by merit money regardless of if they go to community college, state school or private school.

We will also buy a new car with as many safety features as possible to take to school and we will also pay for maintainence, gas, insurance, repairs. We will pay for room and board. Kid will have access to our Amazon, Paypal, Kohls, Macy's, Target, Uber, Starbucks, Costco accounts to order whatever they want. We will make sure they are properly attired and geared for college. We will pay for any tutoring. coaching, application fees that they require. They will also have access to their own bank account with around 2K in it with a debit card.

My kids are very careful and extremely responsible people. We want them to have a great college experience and if they want to work they can do that too. We know that mostly the money will spend on entertainment, food and possibly some travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to those parents that give their kids some cash. And I've never seen so many smug cheap-ass "no spending money" parents in one forum at one time. How hard is it to throw your kids some dough every month to have some enjoyment beyond studying their ass off? My son knows the value of money, already has had several jobs, but I'm not going to use the 1950's tough-love hyperbole during one of the best times of his life. He can have a couple hundred bucks when he needs it. What do you parents need it for, one more set of D-bag golf clubs or extra bespoke seat heaters for your latest Range Rover Double Supreme?

So does mine. That's why he uses his own money, not mommy's, for beer and concerts.

Expected response. Amusing how you expect your kid to be a hedonist. Reference my "cheap-ass" comment.

you're the one who brought up enjoyment and "the best times of his life."

See previous comment where I said "I don't assume it's for heroin, pot, snuff films, grain alcohol". It's for dinner with friends, movies, clothing, Starbucks, etc. Amazing how you immediately think your kid is gonna splurge your rich-person cash on illegal or immoral gratification. What kind of parent are you?

I'm the 1200/month poster from 2001. I used to go to the J Sisters place to get Brazilians and, obviously, I didn't want to use the credit card for that - my dad would ask. Oh, youth. Also spent some at Filene's Basement in Boston, I'm so sad that store closed. I've never use it for drugs or booze, those are free for girls in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

Thank you. “Middle class” pp here. For those questioning my credentials, my Mom was a teacher in a state not known for paying their teachers well, and my Dad had an office job but didn’t make much more than my Mom. No family money. Bought our tiny house at the peak of 70’s inflation and ended up selling it at a loss when my Dad got transferred. Most on this board would consider us LMC. I was a National Merit Scholar and was on scholarship and took out loans. Back then, you didn’t get loans for spending money. When I was in Law School, and could get clerkships that paid well, I did mostly pay my own way, but struggled to pay for decent food. Trust me, I wasn’t living it up on my parent’s dime.

Yes, I am well above middle class now. Which is why I have no desire to see my kid struggle. I didn’t have much of a social life and ended up driving home many weekends because I couldn’t afford to go out. I did find that it was different in law school. There were more “poor” kids and we were all in the same boat. Those of you who are sending your kids to expensive private colleges need to know that most of the kids will have generous allowances and a kid’s social life can be severely constrained when they have no $$. I just went on a tour at one such school, and the tour guide mentioned that the dining plan at the school provides some credit that can be used at local restaurants, which was a good thing, because it allowed kids with less money to join the groups of kids that were going out. So, that tells me that this is still a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to those parents that give their kids some cash. And I've never seen so many smug cheap-ass "no spending money" parents in one forum at one time. How hard is it to throw your kids some dough every month to have some enjoyment beyond studying their ass off? My son knows the value of money, already has had several jobs, but I'm not going to use the 1950's tough-love hyperbole during one of the best times of his life. He can have a couple hundred bucks when he needs it. What do you parents need it for, one more set of D-bag golf clubs or extra bespoke seat heaters for your latest Range Rover Double Supreme?

So does mine. That's why he uses his own money, not mommy's, for beer and concerts.

Expected response. Amusing how you expect your kid to be a hedonist. Reference my "cheap-ass" comment.

you're the one who brought up enjoyment and "the best times of his life."

See previous comment where I said "I don't assume it's for heroin, pot, snuff films, grain alcohol". It's for dinner with friends, movies, clothing, Starbucks, etc. Amazing how you immediately think your kid is gonna splurge your rich-person cash on illegal or immoral gratification. What kind of parent are you?

I'm the 1200/month poster from 2001. I used to go to the J Sisters place to get Brazilians and, obviously, I didn't want to use the credit card for that - my dad would ask. Oh, youth. Also spent some at Filene's Basement in Boston, I'm so sad that store closed. I've never use it for drugs or booze, those are free for girls in college.

I'm sorry, but this just proves how incredibly spoiled you were. I would never have used my parents' money for personal grooming.

Genuinely curious - do you have a job now or does your husband give you an allowance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

Thank you. “Middle class” pp here. For those questioning my credentials, my Mom was a teacher in a state not known for paying their teachers well, and my Dad had an office job but didn’t make much more than my Mom. No family money. Bought our tiny house at the peak of 70’s inflation and ended up selling it at a loss when my Dad got transferred. Most on this board would consider us LMC. I was a National Merit Scholar and was on scholarship and took out loans. Back then, you didn’t get loans for spending money. When I was in Law School, and could get clerkships that paid well, I did mostly pay my own way, but struggled to pay for decent food. Trust me, I wasn’t living it up on my parent’s dime.

Yes, I am well above middle class now. Which is why I have no desire to see my kid struggle. I didn’t have much of a social life and ended up driving home many weekends because I couldn’t afford to go out. I did find that it was different in law school. There were more “poor” kids and we were all in the same boat. Those of you who are sending your kids to expensive private colleges need to know that most of the kids will have generous allowances and a kid’s social life can be severely constrained when they have no $$. I just went on a tour at one such school, and the tour guide mentioned that the dining plan at the school provides some credit that can be used at local restaurants, which was a good thing, because it allowed kids with less money to join the groups of kids that were going out. So, that tells me that this is still a thing.

The kids that are earning $4000-5000 through their summer jobs should have plenty of spending money if mom and dad are paying for everything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kudos to those parents that give their kids some cash. And I've never seen so many smug cheap-ass "no spending money" parents in one forum at one time. How hard is it to throw your kids some dough every month to have some enjoyment beyond studying their ass off? My son knows the value of money, already has had several jobs, but I'm not going to use the 1950's tough-love hyperbole during one of the best times of his life. He can have a couple hundred bucks when he needs it. What do you parents need it for, one more set of D-bag golf clubs or extra bespoke seat heaters for your latest Range Rover Double Supreme?

So does mine. That's why he uses his own money, not mommy's, for beer and concerts.

Expected response. Amusing how you expect your kid to be a hedonist. Reference my "cheap-ass" comment.

you're the one who brought up enjoyment and "the best times of his life."

See previous comment where I said "I don't assume it's for heroin, pot, snuff films, grain alcohol". It's for dinner with friends, movies, clothing, Starbucks, etc. Amazing how you immediately think your kid is gonna splurge your rich-person cash on illegal or immoral gratification. What kind of parent are you?

I'm the 1200/month poster from 2001. I used to go to the J Sisters place to get Brazilians and, obviously, I didn't want to use the credit card for that - my dad would ask. Oh, youth. Also spent some at Filene's Basement in Boston, I'm so sad that store closed. I've never use it for drugs or booze, those are free for girls in college.

I'm sorry, but this just proves how incredibly spoiled you were. I would never have used my parents' money for personal grooming.

Genuinely curious - do you have a job now or does your husband give you an allowance?

Yes, I work for one of those financial regulatory agencies as a gs15 equivalent and I'm an expert in my field. And I have a trust. No, but I like that idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

Thank you. “Middle class” pp here. For those questioning my credentials, my Mom was a teacher in a state not known for paying their teachers well, and my Dad had an office job but didn’t make much more than my Mom. No family money. Bought our tiny house at the peak of 70’s inflation and ended up selling it at a loss when my Dad got transferred. Most on this board would consider us LMC. I was a National Merit Scholar and was on scholarship and took out loans. Back then, you didn’t get loans for spending money. When I was in Law School, and could get clerkships that paid well, I did mostly pay my own way, but struggled to pay for decent food. Trust me, I wasn’t living it up on my parent’s dime.

Yes, I am well above middle class now. Which is why I have no desire to see my kid struggle. I didn’t have much of a social life and ended up driving home many weekends because I couldn’t afford to go out. I did find that it was different in law school. There were more “poor” kids and we were all in the same boat. Those of you who are sending your kids to expensive private colleges need to know that most of the kids will have generous allowances and a kid’s social life can be severely constrained when they have no $$. I just went on a tour at one such school, and the tour guide mentioned that the dining plan at the school provides some credit that can be used at local restaurants, which was a good thing, because it allowed kids with less money to join the groups of kids that were going out. So, that tells me that this is still a thing.

if they are working during the summer (as every college student should be IMO) why would they have no money? we don't give spending money, it is not a "struggle" for my kid to socialize using her money she used from working over the summer...LMFAO. she just worked a very very "basic" summer job (waitressing, lifeguarding) and saved something like $5000. if my kid--on a meal plan, housing and tuition covered--is "struggling" and lonely and "severely constrained" on that...well, I'd feel like I failed to instill basic budgeting in my children. what could she possibly be spending the money on?

[Anonymous]

I was sent zero. I will probably send zero to 100 and student can spend their summer earnings.

[Anonymous]

I don't send money regularly. We'll make a Costco run during break, I'm sure, and she's free to stock up on whatever she needs/wants to bring back to school, and we made sure she was stocked up when we moved her into the dorms...but between that, her housing and food being paid for (and tuition), and savings from summer jobs, birthday/holiday money from grandparents/aunts/uncles...seems like she's got more than enough?! If there's a big purchase on the horizon we are happy to help her out (for example, she needed some business professional attire for an interview a few weeks ago, and we were happy to pitch in since she didn't own a suit) but otherwise not sure what she'd need money at regular intervals for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

Thank you. “Middle class” pp here. For those questioning my credentials, my Mom was a teacher in a state not known for paying their teachers well, and my Dad had an office job but didn’t make much more than my Mom. No family money. Bought our tiny house at the peak of 70’s inflation and ended up selling it at a loss when my Dad got transferred. Most on this board would consider us LMC. I was a National Merit Scholar and was on scholarship and took out loans. Back then, you didn’t get loans for spending money. When I was in Law School, and could get clerkships that paid well, I did mostly pay my own way, but struggled to pay for decent food. Trust me, I wasn’t living it up on my parent’s dime.

Yes, I am well above middle class now. Which is why I have no desire to see my kid struggle. I didn’t have much of a social life and ended up driving home many weekends because I couldn’t afford to go out. I did find that it was different in law school. There were more “poor” kids and we were all in the same boat. Those of you who are sending your kids to expensive private colleges need to know that most of the kids will have generous allowances and a kid’s social life can be severely constrained when they have no $$. I just went on a tour at one such school, and the tour guide mentioned that the dining plan at the school provides some credit that can be used at local restaurants, which was a good thing, because it allowed kids with less money to join the groups of kids that were going out. So, that tells me that this is still a thing.

if they are working during the summer (as every college student should be IMO) why would they have no money? we don't give spending money, it is not a "struggle" for my kid to socialize using her money she used from working over the summer...LMFAO. she just worked a very very "basic" summer job (waitressing, lifeguarding) and saved something like $5000. if my kid--on a meal plan, housing and tuition covered--is "struggling" and lonely and "severely constrained" on that...well, I'd feel like I failed to instill basic budgeting in my children. what could she possibly be spending the money on?

Why, bottle service, of course! Doesn't every college student get bottle service when they go out to the clubs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the replies here are a self-selecting group. Everyone I know gives their kids spending $$, both when I was in college and now. And I grew up middle class (real middle class, not DCUM middle class). We had summer jobs, but it was not intended to cover all of our spending money at school.

It is amusing to see all of the “I’ll pay $80k a year for school, but I’m not going to give my kid $100 a month for pizza” types on here.

You and your friends and most of DCUM (including me) are significantly wealthier than the average family.

My mom was a single mom making ~35,000 a year. I went to college on 100% financial aid but she still gave me 100/month spending money back in 2000 (and everyone else in my peer group got significantly more than that). I definitely think the posters here are a bunch of self righteous cheap skates.

Thank you. “Middle class” pp here. For those questioning my credentials, my Mom was a teacher in a state not known for paying their teachers well, and my Dad had an office job but didn’t make much more than my Mom. No family money. Bought our tiny house at the peak of 70’s inflation and ended up selling it at a loss when my Dad got transferred. Most on this board would consider us LMC. I was a National Merit Scholar and was on scholarship and took out loans. Back then, you didn’t get loans for spending money. When I was in Law School, and could get clerkships that paid well, I did mostly pay my own way, but struggled to pay for decent food. Trust me, I wasn’t living it up on my parent’s dime.

Yes, I am well above middle class now. Which is why I have no desire to see my kid struggle. I didn’t have much of a social life and ended up driving home many weekends because I couldn’t afford to go out. I did find that it was different in law school. There were more “poor” kids and we were all in the same boat. Those of you who are sending your kids to expensive private colleges need to know that most of the kids will have generous allowances and a kid’s social life can be severely constrained when they have no $$. I just went on a tour at one such school, and the tour guide mentioned that the dining plan at the school provides some credit that can be used at local restaurants, which was a good thing, because it allowed kids with less money to join the groups of kids that were going out. So, that tells me that this is still a thing.

if they are working during the summer (as every college student should be IMO) why would they have no money? we don't give spending money, it is not a "struggle" for my kid to socialize using her money she used from working over the summer...LMFAO. she just worked a very very "basic" summer job (waitressing, lifeguarding) and saved something like $5000. if my kid--on a meal plan, housing and tuition covered--is "struggling" and lonely and "severely constrained" on that...well, I'd feel like I failed to instill basic budgeting in my children. what could she possibly be spending the money on?

DP. We think it is our responsibility to pay for all of a kid's expenses while the kid is our dependent. Whatever money they earn at a job or that they receive as gifts, we ask that the kid put the money into the bank and save it.

From middle school onwards each kid has had a debit card and an AmEx for their use without having to ask permission. It has all worked out. We'll cover for whatever they need now, pretty much no questions asked. Our kids are reasonable and no one has ever used their cards or cash for anything extreme.

Because our kids have saved their money, they are graduating college with pretty significant nest eggs. Because it is their money they know the value of it.

That, to us, is more important than this quibbling about how you'll pay for shampoo but you won't pay for a haircut, and you'll allow a pizza a month but G forbid the kid try to buy a beer with your money. How ridiculous.

We're in this for the long haul, and we're not looking for our kids to give us a financial break from our responsibilities.