Budget 101, Money Talks

The Budget Your Money Talk

Some of the most common and often asked questions from new parents are “How much money should I give my student?” “Should I give them money weekly or monthly?” “How do I teach them to budget?” “Should my student get a job?” These questions are very personal to each family and their financial circumstances. However, all students should be taught or given some guidelines on how to budget their money. Once given their budget the key is having them stick to it.  Having three kids budgeting is very different for each one.

With my first college student, there was no real budget. I thought we would give him money as needed, however that soon turned in to a free for all because he never had enough. Let’s just say his first-semester cost a ridiculous amount of money and I quickly learned that Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, and Einstein’s were needed every day. After his first semester, we sat down and discussed exactly how much money he would need from his summer job and we made a spreadsheet of his expenses for the following year. I believe that since he knew he was predominantly on his own, he learned very quickly just how valuable a dollar was. This isn’t to say that we still didn’t give him a specific allotted reasonable amount of money; we learned just as much as he did his first year about budgeting. My son has since graduated, has a job, and successfully budgets, and saves his money.

Student son number two was a finance major and was only given money for rent for his apartment by his dad. He had a job at school, worked over summer break, and received financial aid. This system worked fairly well in the fact that my son was careful with his money and truly lived like a college student. Because of his budgeting and money-saving skills, he has gone on several trips that he has paid for 100% by himself!

So, now I come to my third student – my girl. Let’s just say it is not easy teaching her to budget when she had to realize that so many “extras” like manicures, new makeup, frozen yogurt, that really cute new pair of shoes at the DSW right near UNF’s campus, cannot be part of her weekly budget. Granted once and awhile is ok, but not every night! So, now I have my chance to make a difference for my last college student. She gets her weekly money on Fridays and, although some Thursday nights she checks her bank balance and it is pretty close to zero, she is figuring it out. She does occasionally call and ask me for a few extra dollars but the money is never for something that she doesn’t truly need.

I felt very strongly about my children working while he was at school. Their freshman year should be spent getting acclimated to courses, being away from home, and being on their own. So all three of my kids got a part-time job on campus during their second year of school. Another great lesson in budgeting is to consider having your students get their own credit cards. It is a great way for them to start learning how to budget themselves while building their credit for when they are out on their own. View some of our credit card recommendations.

Going back to the questions in the first paragraph, how much money should your child get? While this is your choice, I recommend anywhere from $50-$100 per week. Should you give it to them weekly or monthly? Recommend weekly to start and see how it goes. Should they get a job? That really depends on the course load and if they can manage both. Should I teach them to budget? Absolutely!

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