There’s more to pay beyond college tuition and fees?

What do we think when money and college are the conversation?

Tuition and fees. A quick word about “fees”. If you have had no experience with paying fees at college, I assure you there will be some surprises in that category for the freshman year. Fees are different from tuition and can change every year, but right now, I want to bring to your attention to additional, and not so small, expenses that you will face.

I have two tasks for you!

Task one:

For a month, keep a running tab of personal expenses such as eating out, grabbing a coffee shop drink, personal supplies such as makeup and shampoo, gas for a car(if applicable) and anything else you routinely buy. BTW-this list will help you with Taks two also. Keep a list for a month, because we all buy some things only occasionally. Laundry detergent and shaving razors come to mind.

Most freshmen are on a meal and some parents mistakenly think that plan will cover most of the food costs. Well, it IS set up to provide enough food, but that doesn’t mean a person uses it every meal. Caregivers-you need to look at the lifestyle your young adult is currently enjoying because when they arrive at college they want to continue that lifestyle. If Starbucks is a routine activity, why would a student think the Starbucks train will stop?  Everyone involved in the total bill college creates, whether you're the one in college or the one footing some of the bill,  needs to set financial expectations for expenses by having a plan.

Task two:

THE LIST for the dorm room. Caregivers- So many of us imagine setting up our kids in their dorm rooms for the first time, and we imagine this scenario as a happy fun time–which it totally is for many people. But before that day comes, let's do some work to make that day even better. 

Picture that dorm room: a bed with a really hard mattress, maybe some empty drawers and an old desk. You’re pretty lucky if a good chair is provided. To find out what the room does provide, jump on the housing department’s website to check pictures of the rooms. Caution–sometimes they are shown furnished and decorated. Now that you’ve checked out the college website looking at the dorm room pictures and dimensions, begin THE LIST!

Go sit in a bedroom in your house. Look around and list everything you see that one might need in a dorm room. Now, go look in the bathroom and continue the list. Finally, sit in the kitchen and take note particularly of cleaning supplies and small kitchen items a person need/want for a  dorm space. The list can be done by one person, but it’s pretty awesome to have at least two people create lists and then compare.

Now that you’ve got a list for the dorm room, you can begin to build a budget for dorm room shopping. You might be surprised at how much outfitting a dorm room can cost. Many college students would like their dorm room to be as nice as their house, but living like one does at home could cost a lot of money. How many throw pillows does one bed really need? Outfitting a dorm room can run several thousand dollars. and all parties involved should be aware of that cost.

The dorm room is a mini-extra household and recurring expenses like laundry detergent need to be discussed or they will catch you by surprise. These surprises sometimes add angst to the freshman year that everyone has been anxiously awaiting. 

The amount of stress between caregivers and students can escalate quickly just because conversations didn't occur before college began. Find a time before college starts to talk about these expenses. Most families need several discussions in order to get on the same page. Once your student is at school, the conversation is not only more difficult to have, and the conversation is probably taking place because unexpected large bills have arrived. 

I want students and caregivers to have some adult conversations about what is coming up. My hope is that the conversations begin the process of the student understanding more about money and eventually becoming financially independent! 

By the way, not to cause your head to hit the table in exasperation, but every time a student changes her housing, many expenses start over. Remember those extra long twin sheets and that great memory foam mattress pad. Well, the new dorm room has a full size bed…

Juli @ JNConsulting

P.S. DO spend money for a quality memory foam mattress topper. Sleep is important!