Anonymous wrote:I'm not a fascist cheap-ass parent like these other posters - I give my kid some dough for non-essentials, going out money and some travel/gas. He has saved up money from the summer but my message is that I support his school efforts and want him to focus on that instead of a part time gig. He's not out there spending it on hookers and blow, just a normal social life.

You mean you provide an entitled life style.

Your kid can't manage working PT and taking classes in college?

Anonymous wrote:I get flamed every time this is asked. DC is in a high COL city. $1000/month no meal plan.

why would you get flamed? No meal plan in a hcol = expensive food.

But, do they have a job?

$500 in September to get started plus she had summer earnings. We gave her $1000 for her birthday in November. She has the meal plan. She’s in Boston.

BigFuture on College Board's website has a very helpful breakdown for Other: Books and Supplies, Transportation, Personal Expenses.

Nothing. My DS makes money at a summer job every summer.

Anonymous wrote:$200 per month, bringing them UP to $200 each month.

This is a totally reasonable amount. They get to go out, socialize, enjoy themselves. You're a good parent.

$200 per month, bringing them UP to $200 each month.

We give our college students $500 per semester after food costs. It’s more than enough. They do both work small part time jobs.

I'm not a fascist cheap-ass parent like these other posters - I give my kid some dough for non-essentials, going out money and some travel/gas. He has saved up money from the summer but my message is that I support his school efforts and want him to focus on that instead of a part time gig. He's not out there spending it on hookers and blow, just a normal social life.

Depends on the age/year of the student. On the meal plan, living in a dorm was lower. Off-campus/no meal plan higher costs. The budget was also largely dependent on what the student earned/saved. They have access to a credit card for emergencies/travel budgets. Pizza on a Friday night? that's from their savings. Pizza on their trip home for the holidays? That's from our funds. Generally, our student factored in about $100 per month for the years they were in the dorm. So far our students have been good about sticking to their budgets. Things pop up but if they need something outside of the budget then we discuss how they are going to pay for it.

I get flamed every time this is asked. DC is in a high COL city. $1000/month no meal plan.

We don’t pay for anything beyond direct costs to the college and travel to/from home for breaks. DC has a full time summer job at home and works 17 hours/week on campus during school to cover all other expenses.

None. He has a job, and he travels out of state to visit his GF regularly. We have been upfront since MS/HS about our kids getting jobs starting 16/17 for spending money.

Up till then, we gave them an allowance and taught them how to save and budget.

They have a meal plan that includes getting grubhub orders, and buying anything they need at the student store. If they need other extra toiletries not found in the student store, they can use my amazon account.

Those are necessities. Extras are on them.

$0 beyond food.
My oldest lives in an off campus house and we let him use our credit card for grocery shopping. We don't put any limits, but he's always been very reasonable (roughly $75/week.)
My younger college kid lives in a dorm and has a meal plan that provides him with 3 meals/day plus about $200 extra "bucks" per semester. He's never asked for anything beyond that.

Aside from the meal plans (any kind-- student caf, school "bucks" or whatever your kid's school option is), how much money do you give your college student to spend per month? I know the COL is different in different places, but I'm curious about the average. Trying to figure out how much to plan on budgeting and what a reasonable amount to give DD will be.

Thanks.