<p>@poetgrl </p>
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<p>LOL…since I am a girl, i know that. </p>
<p>yes, girls want shopping money just like boys would like a supply of money to fund food/drinks at sports bars. that doesnt mean parents have to the First Bank of Mom and Dad for that. That is a luxury and therefore should be earned…from working during summers and part-time during school year.</p>
<p>Just to be clear, oldest worked part time all through college at a job she obtained through her first internship, and youngest, who wants to go to culinary school, is cooking two nights a week at a zagat rated place, while a student. So, I think we each just need to make our own choices. 
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<p>We always focused more on work ethic, whether it was work for pay or academic work. We also tried to model sensible spending, and it seems to have been adopted (perhaps more by one than by the other–still not entirely clear).</p>
<p>I think $150 to $200 a month is about the “right” amount for DS. I guess he eats out with his friends like 3 times a month. Going to a restaurant there seems to cost more money than doing the same in the area he grew up (the coast vs the heartland.)</p>
<p>DS tends to give us heads up when any single expense is over about $50 - $60. (That is the reason why we know WHEN he started to date - he thinks he needs to let us know whenever he spent more than usual. LOL.)</p>
<p>We actually do not have a fixed budget for him. But he is relatively frugal. But recently he had a “mild” complaint that he still does not have a car; it has been almost 10 years after he got his driver’s license. We are working on it.</p>
<p>Maybe it depends on the purpose of the allowance. Some families give allowance as a method of teaching kids to budget, while others just want to provide their children with a nice lifestyle. If OP is still planning to pay for her rent and recreational shopping when she graduates then it really makes no difference. Just ask her. Otherwise it’s a ridiculous number when food and rent are already covered.</p>
<p>“We always focused more on work ethic, whether it was work for pay or academic work. We also tried to model sensible spending, and it seems to have been adopted (perhaps more by one than by the other–still not entirely clear).”</p>
<p>I agree. And because both of my kids show a good work ethic in what they do (whether it’s academics, EC’s or paid work), I’m inclined to be generous. Just this week, S said he’d like to go visit his sister, who is doing an internship in NYC. H and I discussed it and said - these are good kids, why the heck not, so I bought S a plane ticket and told the two of them go have a nice weekend in NYC, our treat. Both of my kids are extremely grateful, or so they have told me via text, which is good enough for me. </p>
<p>PG, that’s not allowance. That’s a gift, imho. Unless you include the cost of flying off on weekend jaunts in a monthly spending plan along with spas, tanning salons, Nordstroms excursions, concerts, and martinis. If so, why have a budget at all? Just give her a credit card.</p>
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<p>My reaction, exactly! :)</p>
<p>Wasn’t there another kiddo recently who needed over $1000 a month so he could fly home to see the orthodontist once a month? </p>
<p>Our kids are much like Pizzagirl’s kids. They are very responsible with their money…actually thrifty. They both work, and did so in college as well. They seldom asked us for extras, and still don’t. We also are generous with them. When DD was in college, her brother was doing his senior recital across the country. She wanted to surprise him by coming…,so of course we flew her to the event. Ditto a cousin’s wedding. She asked for the plane ticket as a Christmas present. </p>
<p>Every family has its price point when it comes to spending money. But I still say $1200 every month is on the very high side…no car, no rent, no utilities, no daily food. And really, would the daughter need a new Chanel suit per month? Not likely.</p>
<p>A chanel suit costs about 8,000 dollars. </p>
<p>Our oldest son lived in Duren at UT two years ago. We started him at $650 each month, having no experience. We told him we would revisit it along the way.</p>
<p>The result was that he ended up with money accumulating in his account but, then he rarely bought clothing. Also, he had more money than any of his friends, information he kept to himself.</p>
<p>He used closer to $400 but, he had many late night meals off his meal plan. I only heard of him declining to go to an event once over the money involved. </p>
<p>A Chanel suit is $8000? Let’s you know where I don’t shop 
guess the OPs daughter would only be able to get one per school year…if she used the money for almost nothing else.</p>
<p>“Miami…I thought your daughter had a full ride in undergrad”
-I never mentioned any full ride, she was on full tuition Merit. And now we are paying a full tuition at Med. School.<br>
I also never said that we give her additional $25k / year. I said that her TOTAL average yearly expense estimated over 7 years by my H. were about $25k / year.<br>
I am not sure why some people are trying to translate what I am saying, I know that I am bad at posts, but I did not think that I am stating something that is very far from the facts of our lives. Sorry for that. Thank you, thumper1, for pointing it out.<br>
Again, $25k is to live in a very cheap region, at very cheap locality. I cannot imagine living in NYC or anywhere in LA. $25K would definitely not be enough. </p>
<p>Miami…I’m still confused. Did you GIVE your daughter $25,000 a year during undergrad? I thought NO. Would you have done so? I was under the impression that you were very pleased with her free whatever it was for UG…and yes, I thought it was a free ride. </p>
<p>It is wonderful that you are able to support her medical school expenses…those are so high, and that is a nice thing to be able to do,to help her.</p>
<p>But THIS poster is asking about discretionary spending money in the amount of $1200 a month…not tuition, room, board, fees books, or anything else related to academics. $1200 spending money.</p>
<p>I don’t think you did that…did you?</p>
<p>Reasonable monthly allowance for a college student = $0
Summer job plus working 10 or so hours a week during the school year should provide enough $$ to fund reasonable personal expenses.</p>
<p>Here’s another way of looking at it: since I’m paying for my kid’s education, in a sense he’s working for me. I want him to work hard at his primary job, which is to do very well in college. Therefore, I might (and did) make the reasonable decision that I don’t want him to work during the school year so he can concentrate on his studies, and on extracurriculars that I value. If I make that decision, it’s reasonable for me to provide him with some spending money as well.</p>
<p>Also, I might decide that there’s more long-term value to having him attend a summer program for which I have to pay. In that situation, he has no earnings from a summer job, either. Obviously, these decisions can only be made if you have the financial wherewithal to make them, but they’re not unreasonable.</p>
<p>“Miami…I’m still confused. Did you GIVE your daughter $25,000 a year during undergrad?”
-Nope, we did not give her $25K, we just cover all her expenses, and the average yearly expense was estimated by my H. to be about $25k. OK, it is third round, I am not sure what is I am saying wrong. OK, specifically, ALL D’s bills were coming to our house and we paid them. Is this clear?
" was under the impression that you were very pleased with her free whatever it was for UG…and yes, I thought it was a free ride." - OK, 3rd time, she had full tuition Merit, we did not pay her tuition, she had about 10 scholarships that covered the whole cost of her tuition. It was not “free whatever”, it was TUITION. I believe that we are discussing the LIVING expences and NOT tuition. I also start believing that it is not my problem stating the facts, but somebody else interpreting them when there is no interpretation needed.</p>
<p>We gave S2 $125/month when he was a freshman and lived in the dorm w/ meal plan. When he moved off campus we gave him $500/month which paid for his food, gas for his truck and other incidentals. </p>
<p>Miami…the OP is NOT asking about providing money for living expenses. He is asking about discretionary spending.</p>
<p>I understand YOUR info…now. Your daughter had free tuition at her undergrad, and you paid the remaining costs for her to attend…that would be about $10,000 a year for room/board/books…and then additional spending money. Right?</p>
<p>But this OP is NOT asking about living expenses at all. He is asking about clothing, phone, transportation, entertainment. Very different than living expenses.</p>
<p>I think many of us would support living expenses. But that is not the question here.</p>
<p>The OP’s daughter only has 200 meals on her meal plan so part of the money is going to regular meals. Also, it includes her phone which most us are paying outside of discretionary spending. While my approach is to cover all essential expenses and have my D earn her spending money for extras, to each his own. </p>
<p>I have seen some pretty over- the-top spending at UT. Knew a group of girls who took Daddy’s leer jet to get away for a weekend of high end shopping. Most of us don’t live in that world, but if OP’s D is a trust fund baby and money is no object, $1200 may not be excessive. </p>