College and Allowance

"First, not only does it look like I’m going to have to actually study at college, I’m going to act like a financial analyst."

By Lauryn Silverman

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I don’t get an official “allowance.” My parents give me money for food and train fare, but I’d rather use my own small paycheck for extras like earrings and hair dye. But I know there’s an allowance in my future when I head to college in a couple of years.

My brother goes to Duke University, and I’m watching him make the transition from self-supporting high school student to broke college student calling the folks for money. And now I’m getting ready for the same thing, pumping my Dad for information about my future budget. I’m also attending every college party I can. I know it’s hard to believe, but I really am scoping out the college allowance scene at these parties. The free food and cute boys are just a bonus.

Matt Renner, a friends’ older brother, lives in a house with tons of roommates. I got hella free food over there one night. Here’s what I found out from these guys while chowing down. First, not only does it look like I’m going to have to actually study at college, I’m going to act like a financial analyst. Matt has got it down. To get his allowance, he itemizes everything from internet charges to gas.

MATT (on tape)
I just make a spreadsheet. It gets complicated otherwise.

LAURYN
A spreadsheet for your Dad?

MATT (on tape)
I actually bring him receipts for stuff - books and everything. So that we get it all on the books. Legitimately.

LAURYN
Keeping track of receipts. This sounds scary already. Matt’s roommate Alexandra Ayoub goes through a negotiation process with her parents.

ALEXANDRA (on tape)
And if I’m spending a hundred dollars a month on like cell phones - he’s like, “No I’ll give you 50” and then I’ll have to come up with the other 50, or change my plan or not talk as much or something.

LAURYN
Most of these roommates say their allowance covers the basics - rent, utilities, and food. Spending money is trickier. Concerts and clothes don’t seem to be bankrolled by their parents.

Even with an allowance, everyone says they are still pinching pennies...especially when it comes to what’s in the fridge. Nathaniel Loman is another roomie.

NATHANIEL (on tape)
We have a royal rumble way of working things out. My roommates have taken to counting slices of bread and marking milk jugs. Just the other day, Matt definitely put a threat up on the board for anybody who was taking sips out of his milk carton. The line had been crossed.

LAURYN
The college allowance tension goes beyond the kitchen. No one wants to admit the extent this happens, but there are stories...from people being left out of concerts and dinner plans because their allowance is small or non-existent, to the people who get a fat check and get teased about “daddy’s money.”

This is what I have to look forward to. And I’m already getting a taste of it now. When I attend college parties I have to abide by rules, like paying for every slice of pizza I eat so no one’s wallet is hit.

You can’t really look to your parents to feel sorry for you. All the roommates tell me their parents supported themselves completely in college. And Nathaniel’s mom went even further...

NATHANIEL (on tape)
She often took out additional student loans, because they were subsidized, to loan money to her parents. So through my mother, my grandparents were able to borrow money from the university at a reduced rate.

LAURYN
Somehow a lot of us have been able to convince our parents that paying for college AND an allowance is a reasonable investment - even with a 40 thousand dollar price tag. If I take a year off, I won’t be getting ANY allowance. But as long as I’m enrolled in college, I’ll be on the family bankroll just like my brother - sending most bills home for Mom and Dad to pay.