<p>I am wondering how other parents have handled the issue of spending money in college. </p>
<p>Do you give your child spending money for the year? Or do they have to earn it in the summer?</p>
<p>I know this is personal, but if I could get a range of amounts that you give your child that would be really helpful. </p>
<p>What do you do if your child spends all that you give them, or they earn, and now need more? </p>
<p>How have you tried to teach your child good money management skills?</p>
<p>S1 is like a miser. Other than books at the beginning of each semester his expenses have been minimal. Being on an umlimited meal plan has been a huge help-- he gets every penny’s worth out of it. We know of one family who needed to needed to “re-load” their son’s meal plan $ by Thanksgiving! Some kids may regularly skip breakfast or lunch, but for the three-meal-a-day types, it’s worth it. </p>
<p>The Bank of America student debit card seems to be pretty widely used. It’s been fine for us - he just replenishes the account with his summer savings when necessary.</p>
<p>Our kids were/are responsible for their own spending money. We paid the school bill and they bought their books and had spending money from their summer jobs. Work out well for us. I would also add that they tended to spend more money as they got older and the boys spend less than the girls–at least in my experience…Some can handle getting the entire amount, some can’t. Perhaps a monthly auto deposit would alleviate your concerns??
I must add that I do occasionally add a $20 bill into the goodie box, just to be nice!</p>
<p>Part-time on-campus job takes care of spending $$ for our son.</p>
<p>My kids earn(ed) money with summer jobs as well as part time college jobs. Both are frugal so it really hasn’t been an issue.</p>
<p>There have been a number of threads on this topic in the time I’ve been on CC – just under 2 years. (You could do a search.) Answers range across the spectrum. Some parents give their student a very generous monthly allowance/stipend; others give their student $0 and expect him/her to earn their own $$. </p>
<p>IMO, the time to teach kids good money management skills is before they get to college! If more money shows up from mom & dad whenever a student runs out, how is that helping him/her prepare for the real world?</p>
<p>I agree with CBBBlinker, get those money management skill in place BEFORE college.</p>
<p>I pay their tuition/room&board and they pay for their books & fun stuff. I do give my older son who isn’t on the food plan $200 a month and they each get $30 a month for an allowance (I know that is hardly anything). They haven’t needed the $30 so I save it for them & then they use it for plane tickets to visit their cousins once in a while.</p>
<p>My parents are also in the position to give them a little each month (~$50-$100). If they weren’t able to get summer jobs they would still be able to budget their money accordingly.</p>
<p>I also share a credit card with them in case of emergencies which they have never had to use although my son will use it to buy food/supplies for parties (not his personal parties but for school group) & then when he gets reimbursed from the club he pays me back.</p>