College Kid Monthly Spending Amount

[sameyeyam]

Our daughter is a freshman in college. We paid her tuition, she paid for books. We hired her at minumum wage to work in our office this summer (filing, light data entry, running errands, etc.). She worked full time to save money for books and to put into savings. Now that she's in school full time (16 credits) she's down to 12-15 hours per week at work. She can work full time during school breaks & summers. Bur for now she saves & buys clothes, snacks, etc. off her $100 or so a week that she earns part time.

She did save us money by living at home and commuting, so there are no dorm or meal expenses. In return for her living at home (which saved us a bundle!) we agree to pay for her gas each week (about $25). She also has to help with housework & housesit for free when we are gone.

I say do whatever works for your family, there is no right or wrong answer. But I don't think it's unreasonable to make them work at least part time for spending money.

 

[Purseval]

I put $25/wk in my son's ATM account and if he needs something special he can always call me. That's the nice thing about giving him a card, I can transfer money in as needed and he can't overdraw it or run up a bill like you could with a credit card.

 

[MrsPete]

Same here. When our daughter left for her freshman year last August, we sat down with her and her total bank account. We helped her work out a budget that accounted for her books and supplies FIRST (most important, and part of her responsibility). She set a 'cushion' amount that she wanted to make sure she'd have at the end of the year.

Once those important expenses were accounted for, what was left was divided by the number of weeks she'd be at school so she knew how much 'spending' money she had. It worked out to about $35/week.

The important thing is she knew it was HER money, and that no more was coming from us. If she shopped smart with her supplies, she'd have more to work with. If she spent only $20 one week, she'd have $15 extra to spend another week.

Along the way, she became very smart about her money since she knew the Bank of Mom and Dad wasn't available.

That's just what I have in mind doing for my daughter when she's a freshman -- helping her figure out how much she can afford per week, and asking her occasionally if she's still on target. IF she gets into trouble, I won't bail her out (I'm assuming she'll live in a dorm and have a meal plan, so she won't have to go without -- except maye clean clothes if she can't afford laundry). IF she does fine with that, I won't offer more than a question here and there in the later years -- she will've proven herself.

I say do whatever works for your family, there is no right or wrong answer. But I don't think it's unreasonable to make them work at least part time for spending money.

I do think there's one wrong answer: To act like an ATM machine, handing out money whenever the college-aged child requests it, sometimes being gracious and other times complaining that he doesn'tknow the value of a dollar or thinks that money grows on trees.

Doing that simply prolongs the child's financial dependance on his parents, and it robs him of the chance to learn to budget his limited resources. If he's allowed to grow up without learning to plan his expenses, he's going to have a hard time in the adult world.

Instead, whether the college student is receiving an allowance or is working for his spending money, he should have to -- real emergencies aside -- stick to a budget, plan, and figure out how to stretch a dollar.


Our plan for our daughters: We've saved for their educations and are able to pay tuition & fees, dorm & meal plan -- you know, the big basics. We will expect them to work full-time in the summer and save that money for books. We will expect them to work part-time during the school year to pay for gas, meals/outings out with friends, laundry, haircuts, and other little expenses. And, of course, this assumes that they're progressing towards a degree; if they aren't doing well academically, everything changes! But I know my children and am not really concerned about that possibility.

 

[allison443]

OP I am like others whose kids are responsible for their own spending money, but I know that isn't helpful.

I think it can vary so much. I would sit down and figure out what your kid will spend in a typical week. This depends on your kid as well as the campus s/he attends, and the group that they hang around with.

Are there free/cheap activities on campus? Will they be ordering pizza or going out to places like Chili's or Applebees? Do they have free movies on campus or is there a movie theater the kids will be going to? My dd knows girls that get their nails done weekly. Will your child have a car and need money for gas/parking etc.? How about a sorority/fraternity? My dd was in a sorority and aside from dues she bought an occasional tshirt for an event, ticket to a formal, craft supplies, little sister gifts, etc.

From what I have seen kids at schools that are in big cities like NY might tend to spend a little more. Often that is part of choosing that school, to "experience" the city, so that is something to consider.

You could always start the account with $100 and after a while re-evaluate how it's going.

Good luck!

 

[curlz2tite]

That was the budget when I was a college student. My Mom would send me $20 once in while, but for the most part, the only cash I had to spend during the school year was whatever I made during my summer job.

This is exactly what we did with our DD.Her
Junior year she got a job on campus.There are alot of activities on campus that are free.

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

My parents gave me about 300 a month Freshman year because I was on dining. Soph-Senior 550 and a CC for incidentals. About 200 of that went to going out.

My parents thought it selfish to have me work during school. THEY were VERY against it actually. I worked a bit in the summer but even then it was part-time.

 

[MrsPete]

One more thought: Before your student heads off to campus life, be sure to have a talk with him about the dangers of credit card debt. It's so easy to get a credit card (even if you don't have a job!), and -- hey! -- they'll even give you a free tee-shirt or pizza! What could be wrong with that? He can easily do it without your knowledge or permission.

Seriously, though, be sure that your student understands the "cost" of supplementing a tight budget with credit.

 

[snowy76]

Allowance for college kids? No way! Now I feel cheated.

Seriously though, I can't imagine keeping up an allowance while kids are in college. Yup, hanging out with friend or going out to eat is fun, but if room and board is paid for, then all that is luxury. If they want luxuries, they can get a job. Colleges have jobs available all the time, fitting all schedules.

I can imagine it, because I did have one. Since high school and up til about junior year of college, my parents looked at my classes as my job (and they were paying more than 25K per year for those college classes, room, board etc.). They wanted me to excel at that, and not divide my attention between classes and PT job. Basically my job was to make sure they got their money's worth

 

[lila]

When I was in college I worked during the summers (not the school year). My parents made me a deal that every penny I saved and handed to him he would MATCH at a high % and then give back to me in monthly installments. I don't think they were expecting me to save 90% of my salary based on that kind of deal. LOL! It so generous but I learned a lot andl, I think it set me up well for life. I have always been a saver because of that.

 

[parith1114]

Now bear in mind we are talking ten years ago...I received $100 every two weeks from my parents for spending money. I'm sure you'll figure it out the right amount once he/she has been there for a few weeks.

 

[Purseval]

I can imagine it, because I did have one. Since high school and up til about junior year of college, my parents looked at my classes as my job (and they were paying more than 25K per year for those college classes, room, board etc.). They wanted me to excel at that, and not divide my attention between classes and PT job. Basically my job was to make sure they got their money's worth

That's how I look at it also. My son is on Scholarship and his job is to do well. They are paying him about $30k/yr now with the expectation of earning much more once he graduates. If he doesn't and he gets fired from that job there is no Plan B. So for now he does his job and I take care of what he needs during the year. He obviously got the message because he only has 1 semester left.

 

[kelleyrn2000]

LOL it's a good thing when I was in college, I didn't realize some kids got monthly allowances! I worked 30hrs and took a full class load, paid for tuition and books myself, and all my other bills. My parents never gave me spending money as a teenager either, so I've been working since I was 12 (babysitting, etc). But then again I never went away to school (got to live at home until I bought my own place with fiance when I was finishing college)... I never knew what I was missing!! Sometimes I wish I had gone away though.

OP-you sound very generous and hopefully ds/dd appreciates all you are doing to help them.

 

[linnylu]

I am a parent of a hs senior who will be going to college next fall. I don't want him working freshman year at all and will gladly give him a reasonable amount of spending money per month/semester. He has to do very well his first 2 years to advance in his major and I look at that as his job. I do expect him to find a summer job and hopefully one over winter break. I also have a junior in hs and will do the same thing for her.

 

[Ava]

When I went away to college, I lived in a dorm & had a meal plan; my parents also paid for my books & for the phone in my dorm room (in the olden days before cell phones). They'd send me care packages occasionally with some goodies & usually a little money, but other than that all my spending money came from my work study (I think I got about $100/month from that) & whatever savings I had from gifts, etc. Sophomore year I decided I wanted more money, so I got a part-time job ushering at a theater. It only paid minimum wage, but the hours were all evenings & weekends so it didn't interfere with school and I'd get to watch the shows for free (they got all the touring Broadway shows).

I can understand not wanting a child to work during their freshman year - it's a lot to get adjusted to - but I can also say that I did the most partying during my freshman year, especially 2nd semester after I was more settled in to the routine of school. Not that partying/clubbing is necessarily a bad thing, or that all kids are into that in college, but I know for me personally if I'd had a job I wouldn't have had nearly as much free time.

 

[ICF]

It's still 8 years or so away, but I cant see us supply $$$'s for the kids to have fun / spending money while in school.

That's what they need to get jobs for.