Giving teens some spending money for the trip?

[PDXmouse]

We are going to be in Orlando for 16 nights, and will be doing Universal, Kennedy Space Station, and WDW.

My kids are 14 & 16. (The older child has special needs so doesn’t have a job but does get paid for chores at our house.) Both have money saved in a local CU they can bring on the trip if they want.

I’m thinking about giving them both a lump sum of money at the start of the trip, and tell them it’s for snacks, sodas, and tchotchkes.

We will do a grocery delivery for the hotel room so there will be snacks they can eat without paying. We will also pay for all meals, but ask them to order water or milk (unless they want to pay for a soda).

Their money would be for snacks/sodas in the park or places like city walk or Disney Springs. Or for a t-shirt, toy, etc.

I’m hoping this will deter arguments, since they have the ability to buy almost anything they want… just not EVERYthing they want. I also hope it will help them think about budgeting.

Good idea? Bad idea?

If you think it’s a good idea, how much would you give them each for a 17 day trip?

 

[Jangles]

Given the cost of everything in the parks, I would say give each child $50 a day, and treat them to one thing, drink, snack, ice cream etc., a day.

 

[sdk1231]

Standard fountain drink at WDW is $4. Mickey pretzel is $8 and box of popcorn is $5 (roughly). 2 fountain drinks and a pretzel would be $16. Assuming they have refillable water bottles, I'd probably give my kids at least $20/day for park soda/snacks. I'd give them a separate limit for souvenirs. Whatever your personal budget says is right for you. I probably wouldn't give them the 17 day total cash up front, for fear of them losing it, misusing it, or having it stolen. I'd probably just hand them a 20 at the start of each day. I've never done this, but it's an interesting question.

 

[disney-inspired]

Just an FYI - a milk may cost you the same amount as a soda at sit down meal. I understand you may not want them to have too much soda but thought I'd share that.

 

[LoveToDisney]

We have given our older teens who wanted to be on their own a per diem so they had a set amount each day. They could choose to spend it or save it up. It was roughly what they needed to buy quick service and snacks (which is what they would probably have gotten from us if we were altogether). We had also purchased frozen pizza and other easy to fix items in our villa so they could choose to come back and fix their own meal (we were onsite). They surprised us and many times came back to the villa to eat and saved some of the money.
I personally would not give them all of it at once but spread it out to help them budget.

 

[flav]

I would say 25$ a day or 400$ for the trip is a good start. It could easily be more, up to doubling it, if it has to cover a souvenir sweat shirt, for example. I would not give it all at once to carry but, if they encounter something they like at the beginning of the trip, I would charge to my credit card, letting them know it uses their budget.

 

[sheilafri]

I think allowing them a per diem is a great idea. They are old enough to understand the concepts of money, budgeting and delayed gratification. I think the $20+ depending on your situation and their access to additional funds is probably about right.

 

[shosh1530]

I've not taken such a long trip, but this is similar to what I do with my tween for at least souvenirs. Typically I do $25 per day on a Disney gift card so that he can get something small each day or use it all for a bigger purchase. It has helped him be much more judicious about what he wants and also stopped *most* of the begging for things.

I do however still subsidize his snacks and treats to an extent (as is one sugary treat (e.g churro/dole whip) and one non-sugary snack (e.g. popcorn or pretzel) each day. He knows that if wants soda or sugary drink it usually takes the place of a treat.

We aren't very good about actually eating snacks that we pack in/get at the hotel, so I just stopped pretending we would ever do that (but I know it works well for many other families!).

 

[Dcgc28]

I do this with my 6 year old and she loves it. She’s got 30 a day and whatever she doesn’t spend rolls over to the next day. So she could have 30 or she could have 35 for instance if she spends 25.

But no borrowing tho that leads to problems

 

[Lilsia]

Nothing worse than drinking milk on a hot day and having all that dairy sit in your stomach. We put a limit on our kid's spending but just kept a running tab and we charged everything back to our room. Carrying cash around a them park is not ideal. Nobody wants change in their pockets while going on rides.

 

[MrMouse1]

Setting a reasonable overall limit is a good idea but I wouldnt give them it all at once. What if it got lost etc.

A overall limit, given daily, with encouragement to save for a bigger purchase that they may want would probably work best.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

We are going to be in Orlando for 16 nights, and will be doing Universal, Kennedy Space Station, and WDW.

My kids are 14 & 16. (The older child has special needs so doesn’t have a job but does get paid for chores at our house.) Both have money saved in a local CU they can bring on the trip if they want.

I’m thinking about giving them both a lump sum of money at the start of the trip, and tell them it’s for snacks, sodas, and tchotchkes.

We will do a grocery delivery for the hotel room so there will be snacks they can eat without paying. We will also pay for all meals, but ask them to order water or milk (unless they want to pay for a soda).

Their money would be for snacks/sodas in the park or places like city walk or Disney Springs. Or for a t-shirt, toy, etc.

I’m hoping this will deter arguments, since they have the ability to buy almost anything they want… just not EVERYthing they want. I also hope it will help them think about budgeting.

Good idea? Bad idea?

If you think it’s a good idea, how much would you give them each for a 17 day trip?

Considering you're already paying for groceries and paying for all family meals, AND that they both already have spending money they've saved, I feel like maybe $350 per kid should suffice. That amounts to about $20/day which should be enough to cover some extra snacks (assuming they're eating all of their actual meals with you). And then I might buy them each something special at the end of the trip, at my discretion. But basically I'd fund their snacks and tell them to each that their souvenir shopping is (mostly) on them.

 

[WEDcryoHEAD]

Great Idea. Teaches the value of the money they are allotted plus shows them that money is not unlimited and they need to make choices how to spend their money. Also let them know that they have their own money from chores work etc. they have saved that they can use if they want something outside of the money you are willing to provide per day.

 

[Karin1984]

Always in favour for teaching kids how to deal with money. I would give an x amount per day, to avoid them using all their money on the first day on a lightsaber.

With money per day they will learn more about making decisions on long term and short term goals.

I wouldn't make the amount too high, specifically because souvenirs at Disney are expensive.

And I would tell them about the plan in advance, so in the weeks leading up to the trip, when you go shopping together you can already teach them: A t-shirt at a store back home costs $20, at Disney it costs $35.

 

[tinkerjo]

I personally like using the $25 gift cards. I hand them one each day (unless they were with us all day) and that covers snacks and a quick service meal. My kids were never big on souvenirs after about age 8 (lucky me) so we never factor that in, but would buy them one if they really wanted it.

 

[tinkerjo]

Deleted, did t realize this thread is pretty old