Teenagers and spending money dilema

[kristykish]

Hi

We're planning on taking my daughter who will be 17 at the time and her two friends of the same age to Orlando next October for two weeks. Does anyone know how much spending money they would need for gifts, souvenirs and shopping as I need to advise their parents on how much to give them. This wouldn't be for food or necessities as we will be providing that.

Thanks

Kristy

 

[2Tiggies]

There are so many variables. It depends if your teens are spenders or not, whether you are going out to the mall, and what they tend to buy.

I think if you discuss a budget with the friends' parents and come to an agreement, then they all know from the outset what the budget is and will work with it.

 

[kristykish]

great thanks. I think when my kids were little they used to take about £200 for the two weeks but that was when they had to have every soft toy in wdw

 

[godders]

I'm a shopper so I may not be the best example for them but I took £250-£500 when I visited between the ages of 15 and 20.

I didn't spend all the money (I don't think) but I was certainly careful about what I spent as I didn't want to have run out of money and then find something I really wanted. My personal weakness are the pins but I think on my last trip I managed to get clothes, a new pair of converse, pins, some Harry Potter merchandise, a cuddly toy, shot glasses plus buy myself some snacks and things while I was there. Pretty sure there might have been some other stuff too. Also used it to pay for tips and things when my parents didn't have change

I think with Disney the less you take then the more you actually want the things you buy and you really think about your purchases. It may take a bit of the joy out of it but I think the girls would really love what they bought and would treasure it for longer that way

 

[wayneg]

We returned at the weekend.
DS age 19 spent:
A piece of Disney art £83.85 (After 10% Annual pass discount)
2 Polo shirts £18.61
Pair of Nike Trainers £34.15

Total £136.61

Next trip (6 weeks today) could be a lot more if the new iPhone is released, that will probably be about £400.

 

[scoobydooby]

My 12 year old spent £250 last trip. She had been saving up. And that was without going near a shopping mall. If you're doing that too add another £300! She bought several T shirts, PJs, Vinylmations, a massive plush Mickey Mouse, some smelliest from Basin, a track suit and some tat.

Last time I took my then 14 year old son to a mall I came out nearly £500 lighter.

 

[MrRomance]

We set a daily spending limit for our daughter. She knows she has a set amount each day and if she doesn't spend it she carries it over to the next day. It really depends if you're on the dining plan or not, if you plan to go to the mall or not etc.

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

When I was 18 I took £500 with me, mind this at that glorious time when it was $2 to the £!
With that, I also had to pay for all my food and some other things, such as cinema and the odd taxi.
I'm fairly certain most of my money went into Victoria's Secret's tills when I found out about their beauty range!

 

[NatalieMT]

I think it does very much depend on where you intend to shop and what you intend to buy! Last time I went with teens of a similar age (they were 16 ish) they didn't spend a lot at all, just a little bit on a few small souvenirs but we didn't visit FL mall or anything like that. Next year we will and I know what they're like, I imagine spends to be around £500+ per person. All our food is covered under the free dining plan, so that will literally just be covering extra drinks/snacks and then all other non necessary items.

I guess it does depend on how much they can afford to budget for spending money though, you don't need to go and spend loads at a mall to still have an enjoyable trip in that respect!

 

[disneyholic family]

it really depends on the kid - their parents need to come to an agreement with them....
some kids buy and buy and buy, others don't...
neither of my kids are money wasters....they'll more likely refuse something i offer them than buy it..
but they have friends who will buy everything off the rack plus the rack itself..

so i think, as another poster already said, you need to have this discussion with their parents. And the parents need to set the rules for the kids.

 

[kristykish]

i think my own daughter would spend double that of the other two girls we are taking as she is an absolute Disneyaholic. if we cant make wdw one year i take her to dlp. she collects pins and vinylmations. although if her friends are with her she might not want to do that as much. well i'll still be queueing to meet winnie the pooh even if theyre not!

i think they are better taking more money than less and if the parents want to give it to us we'll give them back whats left at the end. we'll have a good chat about it.

thanks guys

 

[disneyholic family]

i think my own daughter would spend double that of the other two girls we are taking as she is an absolute Disneyaholic. if we cant make wdw one year i take her to dlp. she collects pins and vinylmations. although if her friends are with her she might not want to do that as much. well i'll still be queueing to meet winnie the pooh even if theyre not!

i think they are better taking more money than less and if the parents want to give it to us we'll give them back whats left at the end. we'll have a good chat about it.

thanks guys

that sounds like a good plan...
i'm trying to remember what we recommended to our daughter when she went backpacking in southeast asia (vietnam, thailand, etc)
she took a lot of money with her of course, since she was traveling alone, so she needed a lot 'just in case'...but she came back with most of it...

though of course, she was older than your daughter - she was 21 at the time..