<p>Those are included in my total. But I don’t use laundry or dish detergent very fast; I use vinegar or baking soda for the toilet (my husband uses toilet bowl cleaner but he rarely does the chore); I buy toothpaste every few months and usually when it’s on sale; I buy big, cheap packs of toilet paper. I usually buy shampoo at the drug store and so it’s not included in the totals, but again, the operative words are “cheap” and “on sale.” I’m fortunate in that I have a great memory for prices, and so when I look at the ads or am shopping, I tend to know if something is a bargain or not.</p>
<p>We took the cost for on-campus housing and meals and made that available to our son. He had to figure out rent, utilities, cable, internet, food, cleaning supplies, etc. within that figure. It worked for us. He learned to plan and budget, and we were spared negotiations!</p>
<p>The food stamp maximum for one person is $200 a month. I probably spend less on groceries than that a month, but I do go out to eat about once a week and the food I cook is pretty cheap (mostly grains, beans, eggs, produce, dairy). I think if you’re also expecting the money to cover non-food cooking stuff like dish soap, tin foil, etc. but not alcohol or eating out or toiletries, $300 a month is good…maybe $400 if he eats a lot of meat or has a big appetite. I would also suggest giving him a small bonus the first month–there were a lot of things I bought when first moving out on my own (salt, sugar, flour, Pam) that last a long time but all add up in that first shopping trip! You can tell him the money will go a lot further if he teams up with his roommate–even if one cooks for the other once or twice a week and then they switch. It also means fewer leftovers or food waste and more variety!</p>
<p>I would encourage you to find out what the food prices are like locally. Just this weekend I found out that food in the Princeton area - which has a reputation for being expensive - costs only half of what I am paying in my Philadelphia suburb. No surprise that my friends can live on a tighter budget!</p>
<p>Another thing to think about is what your son eats (or what you would like him to eat). Pasta is cheaper than produce.</p>
<p>I live in Boston, and I don’t think I ever spend more than $50 a week on groceries. Do you want eating out to be in the entertainment budget or the grocery budget? I think $100 would give some leeway for a few pizzas or burritos a week.</p>
<p>Editing to add that I am a recent college graduate who is just cooking for myself.</p>
<p>Will have to face this too, she is living in a sublet apt. all summer in college town, then moving to a theme-university house in August, so no meal plan. We thought about giving gift cards from Wegman’s to buy groceries.</p>
<p>SLU-will she be living alone? If not, the gift cards will make it difficult to settle up with room mates.</p>
<p>at least $200 to $300 cause some restrants are expensive.</p>
<p>I am in the camp of providing $100 per daughter per month for everything–food, toiletries, gas, cleaning supplies, school supplies (minus books) and fun. When they are home, or I visit, there is usually a fun trip to the store to get makeup and other personal care items. I don’t mind. I am amazed at home many times I ask if they need anything, and they say no.</p>
<p>Yes. Our son always said he didn’t need anything! </p>
<p>Part of it is an admirable desire to be able to make it work within the agreed upon parameters. The problem, for me, was that I recall my own very limited parameters (based on the the needs of the girl who had lived next door to my parents, who was in a situation where 21 meals a week were include in housing, while my housing contract had 13 meals a week.) Nonetheless, I never said a word to my parents.</p>
<p>^^mafool, I suffer from that same type of thing. I want the kids to have everything I did not have. It is not always good for the kids.</p>
<p>I’m a college girl living on my own this summer. I buy all my own groceries and spend around $35 per week on food. Of course, I live in Ohio and buy very cheaply (it’s my own money) and I can’t imagine you’d eat too well for that in Boston. How close do you live to him? Is there a way that you could get a gift card to a certain grocery store, and refill it or send him new ones? That way you’d be sending him money specifically for groceries and not for beer/pizza.</p>
<p>We calculated rent, utilities, food, etc in DS#2’s montly “allowance” this year when he lived off campus, which worked fine for 1st semester but not for second semester when he brought his car. Gas, and some fast food costs caused him to raid his savings. Bad plan. He has learned to cook but the housemates didnt always plan ahead and the cuboard would run dry. Plus, he had a gf and paid for events out (which was covered, so I thought, in the extra “allowance”). They eat inexpensively usually (pasta, chicken, vegetables, etc) but they eat a lot. This summer he is living in a frat house. He is working out the shopping with his roommate, but the closest supermarket is expensive. He is in town, and came home today to do laundry. First thing he did was raid the fridge. I sent him home with some food, but he tends to be generous and not ask for $$ back when he buys/brings in more than his share. He needs to learn this lesson. He is using a program called “mint” to try to track his spending, but a lot seems to fall into “miscellaneous”. He will need to work on that and track his spending better. It is an important lesson.</p>
<p>When D1 was only 4 hours away from us, H used to say we needed to put one of those store sensors by our front door so we would know when she was taking stuff out of our house. I was the one who was stuffing her bags to make sure she could take as much back with her as possible. My mother would drive over with a month worth of Chinese food for her to take back.</p>
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<p>a $100 a MONTH for food, utilities, everything? Even <em>I</em> think that’s not enough. My son paid $100 a month for heating oil alone in Boston. Did you mean $100 a week, Sunnyflorida?</p>
<p>Oldfort, I hear you. I also put food and other household “things” in every nook and cranny when my kids came home or when I sent a package. And when I visited…I stocked them up.</p>
<p>i don’t know $3 a day is not bad in expenses if that includes gas- my D spend more on gas than food for grad school and she has a small hybrid</p>
<p>oops I meant a week. Don’t know how I missed that.</p>
<p>It was $100 a month when they were in the dorms with a meal plan. Now it is $100 a week for everything that is not rent or books. (They have tuition covered with merit money.)</p>
<p>correction $10 a day- but that also included alot of school expenses</p>
<p>I’m one of the “low spenders”…but we don’t eat much red meat so the bulk of my food costs are spent on fruits and veggies and we eat “in-season”. I buy beef, pork, chicken when it’s on sale and freeze it. Things that go with, like rice, pasts, etc. are relatively inexpensive and staples just need to be replaced when you run out. Most important I plan a week’s worth of dinners before I go to the grocery store and if something looks good to me I’ll switch on the fly in the store, but for the most part I shop with a list. No coupons I don’t have the patience to seek them out or print them out. We don’t buy and packaged cookies or snacks which can really add to a food bill. My husband has a ginger ale addiction but he has to buy that. All the kids friends know if they want junk food they have to bring it to our house. Beer, wine etc. aren’t part of my grocery shop. I don’t buy cleaning supplies or detergents or light bulbs or batteries at the grocery store…all those things are half the price at other places and they run under $50 a month if that. All the boys including H can cook and know how to shop. I do most of the baking except for cookies…each boy including H has his fav that they will make when the mood strikes Teaching the kids to cook and shop was one of the “funner” things we did with the boys as they were growing up.</p>
<p>Actually, so I went grocery shopping today with a planned list (which is a great idea - I try to plan out all meals before I go), and I didn’t even hit $50, it was somewhere in the $40 something range, and I should be set until next Sunday. This was at Trader Joe’s (in Pittsburgh, granted) - I mostly eat fruits, vegetable, seafood, chicken sometimes, and comparatively less grain - e.g. not the cheapest thing in the world. Granted, I am a girl and may not eat as much as some, but just a reference point. In terms of “staples,” I’m sort of buying them as I realize I really need them, since it’s just for summer - for example, I purchased cooking spray today, something I have really found I needed.</p>