How much spending money - 9th grader dorming?

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> Parenting our children -> Teenagers and Older children

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Coke Slurpee

Thu, Nov 19 2015, 8:33 pm

How much spending money do you give your child who is dorming for high school? My son is dorming in yeshiva for 9th grade and it seems like he is constantly asking for money. I was just wondering what's normal. How much do you give your child- for miscellaneous spending, recreation, laundry, food etc.
Tia

Last edited by Coke Slurpee on Thu, Nov 19 2015, 8:59 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blush

Thu, Nov 19 2015, 8:36 pm

I dormed for high school and got 100$ a month for cosmetics and random things I wanted like ice cream and pizza, and then shopping was a separate chesbon that my parents basically gave me whatever I wanted for clothes.

oliveoil

Thu, Nov 19 2015, 11:47 pm

It depends very much where he's living (cost of living varies tremendously) and what is and is not covered by the dorm.

Coke Slurpee

Fri, Nov 20 2015, 3:13 pm

Thanx Blush amother, hes a boy, so hes not spending on clothing. Did the hundred dollars include laundry, dry cleaning etc or only extras?

Oliveoil, I know its differs, but im looking for approximate ideas, to figure out what is reasonable.

amother

Blush

Fri, Nov 20 2015, 3:49 pm

My dorm covered laundry and food. The food was not amazing, so a lot of people bought snacks and ready made food for their rooms, but we didn't have ovens so there was no major cooking going on. The 100 dollars were mostly for cosmetics and snacks. That was when I was in 9th grade. For the rest of high school I boarded by a family [and they bought whatever food I wanted] and still got 100$ and it went mainly towards social expenses--like lattes, slurpees, pizza, occasional manicures...and also cosmetics. But the number wasn't that set in stone, if I wanted something specific that was over my parents usually got it. I also babysat and that money went towards these little expenses. In general though, having money to do these little things went a long way in the comfort of a teen away from home.

My sister also boarded a few years after me, and my parents did not give an allowance at all because she is much more of a spendthrift than me. They had her call for every expense and decided if it was reasonable or not.

amother

Aqua

Sat, Nov 21 2015, 10:33 pm

At least $10,000 a month. Wink

Last edited by amother on Wed, Dec 30 2015, 7:52 am; edited 2 times in total

oliveoil

Sat, Nov 21 2015, 10:37 pm

Coke Slurpee wrote:

Oliveoil, I know its differs, but im looking for approximate ideas, to figure out what is reasonable.

My point was that if you give a little more info, you will get more helpful answers.

ie. Does his dorm give 3 meals a day or does he have to fend for himself or some/all of them. Does he need to use public transport to get around? Does he have to pay for laundry or is it free? Does he go to families for Shabbos that he needs to bring gifts to, or does he stay in the dorm? Is he in school 7am-8pm 6 days a week, or does he have recreational time to fill? etc.

FASMA

Sat, Nov 21 2015, 11:22 pm

I also dormed for high school and also received about $100 a month. It wasnt exactly that sum but around that
My dorm included food but no laundry (which shouldnt be expensive, around $.75 a load) I used to buy snacks, salads, cosmetics and stuff like that

Coke Slurpee

Sun, Nov 22 2015, 8:53 pm

Here's the deal. His dorm includes meals, but he doesn't like the food. We bought him a mini fridge and a small George Foreman grill. Part of the problem is his yeshiva is in a small oot community, where there is one kosher takeout, but its far and not cheap. Otherwise there is a cvs and a small supermarket nearby, that has some kosher products.

He is spending on things like deodorant, shampoo, detergent, etc.

They have coin operated machines for laundry, and he needs to do dry cleaning about twice a month.

They do have free time, but don't usually go far, they usually walk to seven eleven, or somewhere similar. They don't use public transportation much.

The yeshiva usually takes them on trips Sunday afternoon, so I guess he might need some spending money for that.

He is definitely spending more than $100 a month.

oliveoil

Sun, Nov 22 2015, 11:37 pm

That does sound like more of a $200 a month situation. Or even more if he is really making all his own food.

Think of it this way $200/month is $50/week, which is less than $10/day. Ie. not that much.

Coke Slurpee

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 5:42 pm

Thank you

avital613

Mon, Nov 30 2015, 12:29 pm

I would suggest sitting down with him and building a monthly budget, this way he can learn a bit about responsible spend habits and you can figure out how much he needs

Page 1 of 1