How much should a parent fund bank account?

madbean
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:24:39 +0000

There are lots of activities available for free on campus, but in L.A. movie tickets cost about $11, lunch out at a nice place with salads and sandwiches might cost $15 with drink and tip, dinner at Outback or similiar might be $25 on the high side. Perhaps these are weekend costs since the food service should cover most of the school week. You might allow a certain amount for extra fun–like Disneyland (allow at least $100 for one day there to include food and extras), but how often will a kid go there? Perhaps as you budget your s’s year, you could have a category for sightseeing and travel to allow for short trips (to San Diego, Santa Barbara, or the Bay area, as well as the theme parks–we have Magic Mountain, the two Disney parks, and Knott’s Berry Farm) if this is permissable in your family budget. There are a lot of great (and expensive) things to do around Southern California. But if you want a more realistic budget, $200/month should be fine for a basic good time for most kids.