The biggest freshman class ever is headed to college in a few weeks. But there's one big issue that many parents have yet to resolve: How much should they give their kids for spending money?

It can be mind-boggling to think that the kid will require even more dough after you've paid thousands of dollars in tuition, room and board, purchased a new computer, and budgeted for books and transportation. How much can a teenager really need, other than necessities like toothpaste and shampoo?

A fair bit, it turns out. Toiletries, printer cartridges, dorm decor and school supplies can take a chunk, for starters. And while many campuses are teeming with dining options (including food courts) and cheap entertainment, students want to go out occasionally to see a movie, shop, go on a road trip or just take a break from the monotony of institutional food. 'You don't want to be the kid who sits in the dorm room and does nothing,' says Kim Richards, who will be a sophomore at Emerson College in Boston this fall.

Even if your student has a generous financial-aid package, these costs most likely will be borne by one of you, since most packages require some combination of parent contributions, loans and student jobs. For parents, the challenge can be finding the right balance between being too frugal and too frivolous -- providing, perhaps, enough money for your child to eat, but not quite enough to drink.

Because college is a great time to learn budgeting and other financial skills along with serious academic stuff, this is a good time to outline expectations and agree on limits. Here are some suggestions:

Start talking before money becomes an issue. If your child will be expected to earn some of her spending money, make clear how much is expected upfront, and consider a backup plan in case illness or exams require missing a week of work. Some schools discourage freshmen from working during their first semester so they can adjust to the workload.

In addition, you'll want to discuss what the allowance is supposed to cover. Will you pay extra so your Southerner can buy winter clothes? Who pays for the shuttle to and from the airport or the gas for a trip home?

You'll also need to decide whether to put a semester's allowance in the checking account upfront, deposit money monthly, or add funds only as needed so your student can budget accordingly.

Estimate a budget. To start the 'how much' conversation, look for the 'cost to attend' chart on the school's Web site, often found in the financial-aid or admissions pages. There, you'll find the amount factored in for 'personal expenses' in financial-aid packages. (These amounts are in addition to books, which most schools budget at roughly $500 per term.)

Depending on the school, those amounts may be generous or tight-fisted. Middlebury College, in Middlebury, Vt., budgets $1,000 for personal expenses, but calls that 'a conservative estimate, which will require careful budgeting on your part.' Surprisingly, New York University budgets only about $1,000 a year for expenses, despite its pricey New York City location. An NYU spokesman says the amount needed 'is not less than that, and may be more.'

By contrast, the University of Kansas, in the hopping town of Lawrence, estimates personal expenses at $2,272 a year. The University of California-Davis surveyed its students to come up with its estimate of $1,308.
Whether your student's budget falls within the typical estimate of $1,000 to $2,000 will depend on his eating habits and extracurricular activities -- and your willingness to fund them.

At $200 or so a month, however, your child still won't be living large. Ms. Richards, the Emerson student, receives $100 a month from her parents and earns an additional $120 from a campus job, and watches her dollars carefully. When a group of her friends went to Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the end of last fall's semester, the bill came to $30 a person -- a week's paycheck. 'We were all in shock,' she says.

Paper or plastic? Your student will need a checking account for basic needs and should have a credit card for emergencies. If you share your card, agree in advance what it can be used for and how you'll be alerted.

Sooner or later, your student should get a credit card in his name to establish a credit record, and getting a card may be easier as a student than later on. Students should be responsible for their own accounts, paying their own bills and learning the ins and outs of credit limits, minimum payments and due dates.

They may need some time to get the hang of it. Emily Roth, who will be a sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta, had trouble remembering the due date at first -- until she got hit with a late fee. 'I set up an email alert after that,' she says.

Email alerts also can be set up to warn when the charges are near the card's credit limit and to let students know when their checking account balance is low. The student can also set up an automatic monthly payment from a checking account so that at least a minimum amount is paid each month, which helps to avoid late fees.

幾周后，美國有史以來人數(shù)最多的一批大學(xué)新生將涌入校園。但是，許多父母必須解決的一大問題是：他們應(yīng)該給自己的孩子多少零花錢？

作為父母，你們可能會想：在支付了數(shù)千美元的學(xué)費、住宿費和伙食費，購買了全新的電腦，考慮了書本和交通預(yù)算之后，我們還得為孩子準備更多的花銷，這簡直難以令人置信。除了象牙膏和洗發(fā)水這樣的生活必需品之外，一個18歲的孩子到底需要多少零花錢？

可以這么說，反正少不了。對于大學(xué)新生來說，衛(wèi)生用品、打印墨盒、宿舍裝飾以及學(xué)習(xí)用品要占到很大一部分。雖然很多學(xué)校不乏就餐的選擇（包括匯集各種食物的美食廣場）和便宜的娛樂項目，但是學(xué)生們還是會偶爾出去看電影、購物或者旅行，或暫時擺脫一下單調(diào)的校園食品。克姆•理查茲(Kim Richards)今年秋天即將升入波士頓埃默森大學(xué)二年級，他說，“你肯定不想一天到晚坐在宿舍里，什么也不干。”

即便你們的孩子獲得了豐厚的助學(xué)金，你們可能還是要承擔(dān)此類額外開銷，因為大多數(shù)助學(xué)金方案都要求以父母資助、銀行貸款以及學(xué)生兼職工作的收入作補充。對于父母來說，他們面臨的挑戰(zhàn)是如何在過于節(jié)儉和過度鋪張之間找到合適的平衡點，或者說，保證孩子的錢足夠吃飯，但是又不夠經(jīng)常去酒吧。

除了汲取知識以外，大學(xué)時代還是學(xué)習(xí)制定預(yù)算以及其它財務(wù)技巧的大好時光，因此，父母要幫孩子列出消費預(yù)期，并且就預(yù)算限制達成一致。以下是我們提出的一些建議。

在錢的問題出現(xiàn)之前就跟孩子做好溝通。如果你們的孩子將要自己打工掙取零花錢，那么務(wù)必說明你們前期的一次性資助會有多少，同時還要制訂一個后備計劃，在萬一孩子生病或者考試期限無暇打工的情況下給予適當資助。一些學(xué)校不鼓勵大學(xué)新生在第一個學(xué)期就開始打工，這是為了讓他們能夠盡快適應(yīng)學(xué)習(xí)壓力。

另外，你們得和孩子討論零花錢的用處。如果你們是南方人，你們會支付購買冬衣的額外花銷嗎？誰負責(zé)支付來往機場的車票或者回家的油錢？

你們還需要決定是將一學(xué)期的零花錢一次性存入孩子的支票賬戶，還是每個月存一次，抑或是只在孩子需要的時候發(fā)放，以便你們的孩子可以相應(yīng)制定預(yù)算。

估計預(yù)算。在跟孩子討論多少零花錢的問題之前，不妨瀏覽學(xué)校網(wǎng)站上的費用明細表，有關(guān)內(nèi)容通常列在助學(xué)金或者入學(xué)的頁面上。這樣，你們就可以知道哪些費用已經(jīng)被納入助學(xué)金方案的“個人開銷”項目。（這些開銷是除去書籍之外的開銷，大多數(shù)學(xué)校的估計是每個學(xué)期500美元左右。）

此類開銷可多可少，取決于具體的學(xué)校。位于佛蒙特州米德爾伯里的米德爾伯里學(xué)院(Middlebury College)估計個人開銷在1,000美元，但稱“這只是一個保守的預(yù)測，需要家長仔細制定預(yù)算。”出人意料的是，紐約大學(xué)(New York University)估算的個人開銷僅為每年大約1,000美元，盡管該校位于物價昂貴的紐約。紐約大學(xué)的一位發(fā)言人表示，學(xué)生所需的個人開銷“不會低于這個水平，而且可能更高。”

相比之下，位于繁忙的勞倫斯的堪薩斯大學(xué)(University of Kansas)預(yù)計個人開銷為每年2,272美元。加州大學(xué)戴維斯分校(University of California-Davis)通過對學(xué)生的調(diào)查，估計個人開銷需要1,308美元。

你們孩子的零花錢預(yù)算是否在1,000至2,000美元的一般水平之內(nèi)，取決于孩子的飲食習(xí)慣和課外活動──以及你們?yōu)槠涮峁┵Y助的意愿。

不過，每個月200美元的零花錢，你們的孩子還不至于過得很鋪張。埃默森大學(xué)的大二學(xué)生理查茲每個月從父母那里收到100美元的零花錢，自己靠校園打工有120美元的收入，她花錢一直精打細算。去年秋天，她和一幫朋友前往Cheesecake Factory慶祝學(xué)期結(jié)束，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)每人得付30美元──整整一周的收入。她說，“我們都驚呆了。”

現(xiàn)金還是信用卡？你們的孩子可能需要申請支票賬戶以備基本需要，還應(yīng)當有一張信用卡以備緊急之用。如果你們準備讓孩子共用自己的信用卡，務(wù)必提前溝通什么時候可以用信用卡，以及怎樣讓你們知道。

遲早，你們的孩子都應(yīng)當申請一張自己的信用卡以便建立信用記錄。在還是學(xué)生的時候申請信用卡可能會比以后容易一些。孩子應(yīng)當為自己的賬戶負責(zé)，支付自己的帳單，學(xué)習(xí)信貸限額、最低還款和到期日的細節(jié)。

他們可能需要一些時間才能熟悉信用卡的用法。亞特蘭大埃默里大學(xué)(Emory University)的大二學(xué)生埃米麗•羅斯(Emily Roth)在開始的時候就不大能記得住信用卡的到期日，直到她收到了滯納金的帳單。她說，“自那以后，我就設(shè)置了電子郵件提醒功能。”

通過設(shè)置電子郵件提醒功能，學(xué)生還可以獲得有關(guān)信用卡額度的警告，這樣他們就知道支票賬戶的余額處于較低水平。學(xué)生還可以設(shè)置從支票賬戶自動還款的功能，這樣至少每個月會按時還清信用卡的最低還款額，就不至于招致滯納金了