<p>How much do they need if we pay for the cell phone (ten bucks on family plan, enough minutes he will never use them all (quiet type)) and he has a meal card? We figure no cars on campus for any of the kids. We have four more kids at home and our son currently drives the 12 year old mini van which we plan to pass thru the teenagers at home until it dies. I’m thinking I budgeted $20 a week many years ago. I don’t think that included gas, but I went to school and worked in a rural area. </p>
<p>He’s been accepted at Columbia and Cornell. I’m sure he could spend big bucks in New York City, but not on my dime lol. They’ve offered around $2500 work\study. I figure on making that his spending\books (most of them I hope)\supplies money. I’ve read students who work actually have higher grades and I sure worked my tailbone off in college except for the last year when I lived off my car insurance proceeds (I’d totalled it during the summer).</p>
<p>Now…if he can’t make the grades and work, then I’d give him some money. We are definitely not rich, but are making a good education for our children a priority. </p>
<p>So, how about it-how much in pure blow money if a kid has a phone, a meal card, the clothes on his back and medical provided? Enough for a pizza a week, but not much beer, haha?</p>
<p>Then again, if he ends up going in NYC, it’s going to cost more to take advantage of all the opportunities.</p>
<p>I posted the same question last year. be prepared for a wide range of answers! We ended up giving our son (now a freshman) $200/month apart from his meal plan and his college card (which he uses for books and other campus expenses). He has his own money in an account that he can draw from if he goes over $200 but we discourage him as much as possible from doing that. Of course, sometimes its just necessary (like he needs to pay $300 for his fraternity formal which comes out of his bank–we also had him pay for 1/2 of his frat dues). Hope this helps.</p>
<p>I am asking my son to work this summer to pay for his books and spending money. If he does not earn enough to cover this, we will pay for what he needs. He is far from spend thrift, and knows how to handle a dollar. If he calls to tell me that he needs the money, I will know that he really needs it. He worked part time last summer, and still has his first dollar. It is not very much, b/c he did not work full time, but it is a start and it is at least enough to pay for 3/4 of the cost of his books. I asked him to save last summer. College was too remote, and he felt frustrated saving, without understanding why he was saving his nickels. Now that college is around the corner, he understands why he was saving his money.</p>