How much does your child spend a smester at college?

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

Just wondering what your child spends a semester at college? This is our first year of having a child in college and not really knowing what to expect with some of the extras. DS is on a meal plan.

 

[SC Minnie]

Depends. Does your son have a car on campus? If not, is the campus close to the city where there are a lot of things to do? DD had a meal plan last year too but still probably manged to blow a good $500-$700/semester on just stuff-gas (she does have a car on campus), random trips to Wal Mart, even with the meal plan they do want to eat out a couple of times a week, movies, bowling, etc, etc, etc.

 

[tvguy]

Depends on whether they live in a dorm with a meal plan, or an apartment and cook their won meals.
DD and DS spent $50 a month when they lived in the dorm and had a meal plan.
DS spent $150 to $200 a month when in an apartment, his effort to try Food Network Recipes tended to push it to the higher number some months.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Just wondering what your child spends a semester at college? This is our first year of having a child in college and not really knowing what to expect with some of the extras. DS is on a meal plan.

I think it could vary widely and if you are footing the bill, you have every right to set limits. $50 a month seems really low. When I was in college many many years ago, we would go out to eat, go to movies, buy a new outfit from time to time. I know I spent more than $12 in a weekend.

 

[Marionnette]

Just wondering what your child spends a semester at college? This is our first year of having a child in college and not really knowing what to expect with some of the extras. DS is on a meal plan.

I cringe to think of what they cost me!

The kids live off campus. One has a furnished apartment with all utilities included plus expanded cable TV and internet. I pay his rent and give him $200/week for spending money, which includes his food (no meal plan), entertainment, laundry and personal supplies.

The other one lives in an apartment where they prorate the heat and hot water based on the size of the unit and the number of people in it. Electric, cable and internet are all extra. They also charge for his parking space. I pay the rent and I give that son $250/week to cover the same expenses as the first son plus the parking and his share of the electric, cable/internet.

However, I admit that my kids have a lot more spending money than their classmates, so our allowances for the kids is not a good barometer for many parents.

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

DS is living on campus as a freshmen in a suite. He is on the dining plan and can eat as much and as often as he wants. They also get 300.00 that they can use at any of the food joints on campus and a few off campus. Since we are new to this, we really aren't sure what to expect. DS has always been really good about his money....sure wish DD followed suite in this. Do most of you send a monthly amount, or do you give money as needed? Thanks for your responses.

 

[RitaE]

My son has a meal plan that gets him into the cafeteria style dining places on campus for unlimited food. It also gives him $75 a semester that they call "Plus Bucks" or something he can access with his student ID that is accepted in vending machines, the snack bars, and quite a few restaurants that are near campus.

I put $200 into his campus account last year to use for laundry and other miscellaneous purchases and he came back in May with $18 left on that. I kind of try not to think of the obvious fact that not a lot of laundry was happening. I send him with soap, laundry detergent, razor blades etc and he restocks what he needs in that type of stuff when he comes home from my cabinets.

Anything above those amounts (let's face it, beer money) he pays for with the money in his checking account that he's earned from working or collects from birthday, Christmas, graduation gifts. He actually has a pretty good balance in his checking account. Our family nickname for him is Scrooge because he is really tight with his money.

 

[leahjade]

Wow I must be the cheap mom! We pay our kids' tuition and food plan and they must pay for their own entertainment expenses. They both have on-campus jobs, and we feel it does them good to learn to budget and prioritize what they want to use their money for. Plus they also have summer jobs which they save for when they go back to school.

 

[MrsPete]

I don't know. We pay for tuition, dorm and meal plan (books are included in tuition). Beyond that, it's her responsibility. She's doing great, and she has never once asked for money.

 

[Marionnette]

Wow I must be the cheap mom! We pay our kids' tuition and food plan and they must pay for their own entertainment expenses. They both have on-campus jobs, and we feel it does them good to learn to budget and prioritize what they want to use their money for. Plus they also have summer jobs which they save for when they go back to school.

My kids don't have a meal plan. They live off campus and would not take full advantage of one. If they did live on campus, the unlimited plan would cost me close to $190/week, all of which is payable upfront. Instead, I make weekly deposits to their checking accounts and expect them to budget for their needs. They don't blow it all on beer and video games if they want to eat, have heat in their apartments and don't want to go outside to find that their car has been towed for illegal parking.

 

[2TxAgs]

Two kids started this year. Both on 15 meals/week plan, both have tuition and room and board paid. We stocked them up with supplies before they left. Son has $1700 left from summer job - I told him at $200/month, it should last the 8 months of school. Will it? We'll see. To us that seemed a reasonable amount for spending since neither has cars, so no gas. Also, since it's their summer earnings, they may be a bit more cautious in spending than if it was straight from our wallets.

 

[Riverhill]

Our DD is on a meal plan. She has spent about $30 so far with 1 month to go in her first semester. She has gone out to dinner a few times with a sorority and paid for kickboxing class at a local gym. This was her money. I will not pay for social stuff.

 

[findmewdw]

Interesting thread. My DD is a freshman who lives in a dorm and she has a meal plan. Tuition and books are paid. We put three hundred on her debit card. She does have a car on campus and is about three hours from our home. We are wondering how fast she will go through the money too. She has been to Walmart a few times already for school supplies. She has saved summer job money and she may need to begin withdrawing from those funds. She is much more responsible with her own money that with ours! It will be interesting to see how this plays out. She is coming home this weekend and I can't wait to see her. I miss her so much!

 

[SC Minnie]

DS is living on campus as a freshmen in a suite. He is on the dining plan and can eat as much and as often as he wants. They also get 300.00 that they can use at any of the food joints on campus and a few off campus. Since we are new to this, we really aren't sure what to expect. DS has always been really good about his money....sure wish DD followed suite in this. Do most of you send a monthly amount, or do you give money as needed? Thanks for your responses.

For us, DD worked during HS and the summer before college as well as the this past summer- she just started her 2nd year. I have $20 from my paycheck transfered into her account to give her a cushion and every once in a while I'll transfer more. The rest of her spending money comes from her saving from the summer. She lives on campus but in an apt style setting. I do buy all her toiletries and make sure she is stocked up on staple foods she wants beyond the meal plan. Her 'fun' money is what she earned.This year she got a job on campus working for one of her professors 10-20 hr/week so that should help her too.

We paid for her tuition and what her scholarships didn't cover for her housing/mean plan.

 

[Southernmiss]

DH and I didn't contribute to our DSs personal expenses last year at college and won't this year. We helped with getting basic dorm supplies and his computer last year, but this year, he really didn't need much. I did pull things from the house to send with him--snacks, paper towels, clorox wipes, etc.

He has a full scholarship for housing, tuition, books and meal plan. Last year, he had a car on campus, this year he does not--he totaled it. DFIL gave ds $300 a semester in a checking account, just to help him with expenses. DS has worked every summer since his junior year of high school and referreed soccer before that and has pretty much always covered his own "going out" money. He also covers his own fraternity fees.

He seems to be managing his money fine and has a few thousand in the bank. Since he doesn't currently have a car, and wants to save a bit more of $$ towards one, he's been looking for campus jobs this year and looks like he'll referee sports through the intramural association. He'll be responsible again for his own spending $$.

I did buy DS a sport coat before school started. I will still buy a few clothing items occassionally and send snacks, but that will be about it.

 

[tajz90]

Oops. I think I'm giving too much. Son has full scholarship towards school. He works as an RA for housing and meal plan. We give him $100 a month for allowance, but pay for gas (about two tanks a month) and car ins.

 

[ssawka]

It really depends on what activities he gets involved in. Is he interested in pledging a fraternity or getting involved with other activities? If so, he will need money for that. He may not even know that until he gets there. Also, even though he is on the meal plan he may need money for the late night munchies, unless the school had food available 24/7.

 

[lurkernj]

Our DS just started his freshman year. We paid tuition/room/board, dorm supplies, new computer, first semester's books, pretty much everything to get him started.

He had a summer job and has about $900 left from that, and he will get an on campus job. We told him he will be responsible for his books after this semester, and any "fun" things like concerts/hockey games/movies/dinners out.

We also will pay any expenses for him to come home when he wants, as he's 4.5 hrs away (train, plane, bus).

 

[patsal]

DD just started, so no real reference point yet. We pay half the tuition and she pays the other half not covered by scholarships. SHe has a meal plan for $1300 per semester. She is a budgeter and very good with her money. She does not have the car with her this semester as she chose to go from Buffalo NY to South Florida. She is getting a campus job which should help her out. I know she eats breakfast in her room and then does a lunch and dinner in the dining food court. I don't think $12 per day is realistic when each meal is coming up about $9 for her so I do have money set aside to add to her card. I remember not having any money to do anything and that kind of stunk so I want her to have some balance.

 

[dtnrhi]

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