Average Monthly College Allowance

[m_c]

My parents are giving me about 400/month I believe. It makes a difference if your kid is going far away (as in, across the country or overseas). I think my parents just want to make sure I'm not going to be lacking money for emergencies because it takes time to wire money over, etc. I know how generous they're being (I'm not expected to contribute to any of the costs until maybe sophomore year, but they're iffy on that) but my parents see it as part of their job to provide for me at least until college is over. I offered to take a job, but they said they'd rather I study and enjoy my college years. Maybe it's a cultural thing.. most of my Asian friends' parents are doing the same.

It's hard to say what the "right thing" is -- provide for your kids totally, expect them to take charge of their lives by caring for themselves, or some degree in between. I hardly think I'm spoiled (who knows, maybe others would disagree), but I do think I'm very very lucky.

[thumper1]

>>What is considered a reasonable monthly allowance for a college student? My roommate gets 300/mo, and my bf gets 500/mo.>>

$0. We don't give our kids a nickel allowance in college. Their "allowance" is something they earn during summer jobs. After freshman year, DS also worked about 10 hours a week.

IF (and I mean IF) your parents are giving you $2000 per year, that sounds generous to me. If you want to have it more parceled out, YOU should be doing that yourself. Set yourself a budget whereby you would spend a certain amount per month. Then stick to it. Freshman year, DS spent about $25 on average in a major city. Some weeks he spent $100 and other weeks he spent nothing. You're really only at college 8 months. The rest of the time is vacations where you can work. That is what our kids do.

[momof3sons]

modestmouse,
We provide tuition, room and board for our S, and pay for his books and travel expenses home (assuming we've requested his presence at home!) Extras of all "entertainment" varieties are his responsibility, and he has been earning and saving money at summer jobs since after his junior year in high school. $2K would sound quite generous to our S, and would work out to close to $250+ a month, assuming that you are really only at school for 8 months a year. Just take the $2K, allot $250 a month, stick to a budget, and say "Thanks, Mom & Dad!"

[jmmom]

Nice post, Faline2 (#12). I found lots of wisdom there.

[bzzzt]

I work for my own money, but my parents have helped me out here and there. Sophmore year they wanted us to spend Spring Break together because I had an internship that took up most of my summer. Thus, they paid for my cabin on the cruise we took, I covered airfare. They do cover my car insurance costs, but I cover maintenance. I go to a fairly rural college, so I do need my car on the weekends to head to the store, go to the movies, whatever. Oh, and they paid for my phonebill when they were living overseas because that was expensive!

[lindz0722]

I mentioned to my parents that a few of my sorority sisters get an 'allowance', and maybe they could do something similar. They laughed and brought out my most recent tuition bill, my lease for the house I'll be living in with 5 friends next year, and my book list.

I got the picture.

[simba]

Deposit 2 K in a savings account (like ING) and set up an automatic $ transfer to your checking account every month or twice a month.

[deekajane]

both 300 and 500 per month sound like a lot of money to me...however, you haven't specified if that amount includes gas money, or if a lot of money should be allocated for transportation.
I'm in my 4th year of college and my parents have not given me an allowance. I was expected to work at home (household chores) for the money to cover soap, toothpaste, haircuts, etc. as well as any thing i wanted to do with my friends that cost money. I live on a very small campus that doesn't have a lot of free activities to do. I decided to get a job in my second semester but I was unable to keep up my studies and the stress was just too much for me. After that plan failed, I pretty much have been trying to work for my mom when I can but mostly have to be the one person in my group of friends that can never go out b.c i don't have any money. I know my parents can afford to give me things like soap or money for a meal when the cafeteria is closed, they just choose not to. I can tell you I haven't learned anything from this experience except what it's like to be broke, boring and hungry. It feels like my parents are purposely trying to add stress to my life, not help me succeed in getting my college diploma.
It has recently been put to me that if my parents are willing to pay for my college education, then the expectations I need to live up to are to be a good student and to form healthy relationships with my peers. I've lived up to my end of the bargain: I'm a good student, and I surround myself with good people (i.e. not doing drugs, not sleeping around, don't have a boyfriend who hits me, don't mug old ladies). Parents should live up to their end of the bargain and financially support their child's other needs (social growth).

[digmedia]

These posts go back to quite long ago and I know some of these posters well. I agree with the $0 for allowance, which is what we did. We paid for tuition (after scholarship)/R&B/travel, but beyond that (books, entertainment, etc) was all on him. When he took his car to school, we continued paying the insurance, but he was responsible for everything else. He made enough money working various gigs (making films - events and commercials, computer programming, and other school jobs).

[markbright2]

$100/week for food (off campus apt.) and spending. Probably 75/25 split. S is not doing enough home cooking, but we expected this. He's slowly learning that fast food/convenience food is expensive and that he has to plan or get stuck eating oatmeal for two days. Dining hall was much more expensive.

[PackMom]

We send S2 $85 a week. He lives off campus so the money goes for gas, food, incidentials. Much of it is spent at the grocery store. He cooks almost all of his meals at his house. He's a big guy (ex defensive lineman) so Lean Cuisines don't cut it for him

His truck is an old gas guzzler hand-me-down from DH, no cheap fill-ups. He lives in an old wreck of a house with three roommates. Rent, utitlities,cable/internet total cost us less than $400/month
He is at a university that is really cheap compared to most I read about on CC.
With his total yearly tuition and fees less than $4500, we don't mind sending him food, gas, toothpaste money. If he were at a school costing 20,30,40K a yr. it would be a diff. story.

[BCEagle91]

Son works 7.5 hours a week tutoring and that pays his expenses. He made $5K this past summer that's in the bank. He also has full access (checks + debit card) to our checking account but has never touched it.

I visit Boston College from time to time and the amount of money spent on clothes, laptops, vehicles, etc. surprised me. There are students that receive a lot of money from their parents while attending college. A long time ago when I had my car serviced at Foreign Motors of Boston, I saw the high-end cars that were parked overnight on the street. Many of these cars had dings here and there which you'd expect from parking cars in places where the owners don't care.

[LongPrime]

digmedia, so you still around haunting the keyboard.

The Secrets Inside Your Dog's Mind - TIME
assistant Duke college prof studies dogs when all he had to do is study college students on an allowance.

[ncmentor]

We transfer $35.00 a week to my S debit card (special card that does not allow overdraft, or OD fees). If he wants something more he can save up. If it's something school related he can call and we try and figure it out together. He's very active in school and so a PT Job would be counterproductive right now but it may be an option in the future and then we will adjust accordingly. Were just trying to make it work as a family.

[BCEagle91]

The part-time job helps when looking for a full-time job in the senior year.