How much money?

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NavyorArmy2023

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I realize that as a USNA Midshipman, you can technically get by without any financial support from the family. However, since the majority of his stipend will be used to pay back the ACE loan for the first few years, what is a reasonable monthly allowance for a Plebe?
 
My son (current Youngster) does not get an allowance from me. If there's something he needs we have an Amazon Prime account and big ticket extras I can't get on Amazon, I send to him. He figured out pretty quickly that Ubers add up and he reigned that in. I'm not sure if he's the norm or just low maintenance but this has worked for us for the last two years. I did give him extra money and an emergency credit card when he went OCONUS last summer for one of his blocks so he could have a little fun if time allowed. Like I said, this has worked well for us.
 
Remember that your kid gets paid. Won’t see a lot in first couple of years as it goes toward uniforms, etc. But it’s certainly enough to have some fun on the WEs.

Children need allowances. Adults who earn money need to learn how to manage it, even if it’s not a huge amount.

I suggest you start letting your DS/DD managing what they earn. If there is something they really need and can’t afford, let them come to you. Otherwise, send care packages, take them out if/when you’re in town but otherwise treat them like the adult they are.
 
Plus one to the above. Initially, DS needed a few things (markers for poster boards, etc) and we helped him just as we have his poor-college student siblings. 2nd semester, haven’t had a request. We do send care packages. And Christmas gifting was pretty practical. DS doesn’t ask if he doesn’t really need it. He knows we spend a lot on travel getting him home whenever possible (as we know this will also end....he will want to go on trips with friends...so we take all we can get first year!).
 
My apologies. I did use the incorrect verbiage. Kids get allowances while adults earn and budget their own finances. I just wanted to get an idea of how much “mommy and daddy bank” subsidized his first year’s expenditures.
 
NavyorArmy2023 said:
My apologies. I did use the incorrect verbiage. Kids get allowances while adults earn and budget their own finances. I just wanted to get an idea of how much “mommy and daddy bank” subsidized his first year’s expenditures.
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Nothing is normal from us. Same with his roomies. And my other Mid mom friends. But there are occasional requests we take individually. They also have their graduation monies. DS has done a great job budgeting. Has also invested some. I personally think they have pride in really being on their own.
 
DS had a job for 2 years in HS and has a bank account, a debit card and a credit card through his current bank. Any reason he wouldn’t be able to use debit or credit at USNA?
 
NavyorArmy2023 said:
My apologies. I did use the incorrect verbiage. Kids get allowances while adults earn and budget their own finances. I just wanted to get an idea of how much “mommy and daddy bank” subsidized his first year’s expenditures.
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Pretty much zero when my son was a mid which is the same as when I was a mid. He may have hit me up for a few bucks here and there but it certainly wasn't much/often.
 
We pay for all trips home. We also send a small monthly stipend — “walking-around money,” we call it — which we’ll ratchet down each year as her take-home pay increases. We’ve also paid for a couple big-ticket items needed for her club sport.

I too agree that adults should learn to budget their earnings, and to live within their means. The stipend, however, is a small nod to the fact that mids don’t make much and we’re not paying tuition, room and board.

Funny, DD was rather excited when she filed her tax return and saw she was getting about $400 back. That’s a lot for an 18-year-old. I advised her to not spend it all in one place.
 
My 2021 USMA cadet never asks for anything and has invested his money well. We sometimes split plane tickets but he is independent by choice. My 2023 to be has a nice chunk in the bank from his life guarding job and I anticipate the same independence. Their 529's are still available but budgeting and living within your means when your basic needs are met is important at any age.
 
At least this year, they received an official briefing re filing their taxes. Don’t know who delivered it or how helpful it was, but my DD proactively did her own filing via TurboTax. Main thing we had to figure out was whether we could still claim her as a dependent.
 
We have our kids put in any HS graduation gift money towards tuition. Well, at least a good chunk of it. We plan on having our son put gift money and any scholarships that he may receive directly to USNA. Then we'll see what impact that makes on his monthly pay.
 
I have to agree with all the above, we had no dorm to decorate expenses, he saved all his grad money and his 1 scholarship check into a Navy Federal account and at Christmas transferred his local account into the Naval federal.Christmas was light and practical. He bought himself a game system -lol. We flew up 3 times( I day, PPW and in February) and will be back for Herndon. We flew him home 3 times, he is spending zero block with his buddies( trip cost at his expense) since we will be there a week later. they do get tired of eating at King Hall - my plebe hates their meatloaf- just not like mamma's - so the only option on the yard is at their expense -so we slip him a few bucks for meals when he is home. I hope he comes home as often as we are willing to pay for it :)
 
I guess I will be the outsider here. Yes, it's a military academy. Yes, our kids were "probably" more squared away than most in high school. That said, our son was still an 18 year-old KID out of the house for the first time when he got there. He played sports 12 months a year most of his life and got straight A's (like yours did too I'm sure). His mother and I actually preferred that he not work so that the very little down time he did have he could squeeze in his community service stuff or just relax. His job was school, and as long as he did well we really did not worry about the little stuff.

He had some money in the bank from B-days, holidays, and graduation. When he went to Europe Plebe spring break, we paid for his plane ticket. We put a few bucks a month on his Yard Card for laundry, snacks, etc.. If I remember right, they get about $100 per month Plebe Year after loan payment. They really don't get enough liberty that first year to go anywhere, so DTA gets their money. DTA is not cheap. So yes, we sent money and paid for incidentals that first year. He was on the hook for anything out of the norm, but he was a freshman in college just like any other. We got very lucky when we dodged his tuition (although his sister is costing us double ;) ), so we were okay helping him out. He asked for less and less as he went, and I don't remember giving him any money at all since first semester of his 2nd class year. He graduates next month and turned out just fine even with our "help". We are all very proud that our kids are at a MA, but don't forget they are children when they first get there. It's okay to help them for a bit.
 
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Here's something to think about. There are kids at USNA who already have (or have access to) more money than most of us will make in our lifetimes and also those who are dirt poor. There are more than a few mids (quite more than a few) who not only get zero money from home, but they scrimp and save and send their money home to their families. The fact is that any mid can not only survive but thrive at USNA with the money he/she earns. And sponsors help by providing a get-away (meals, a different place to sleep, entertainment) that is free of charge.

Obviously, if the kid wants to do something like NOLS, which is very $$$, or a sport/ECA trip that USNA isn't underwriting, the parents are likely going to have to help out. Some parents help their kids buy nicer class rings or help them buy a nice(r) car. Most send care packages and most pay for flights home. And so on. The above is totally understandable and great for those parents who can do it.

The above said, I personally (and this is only my opinion) find it somewhere between shocking and horrifying to think that parents are giving their mids a monthly stipend. It's not a question of whether they've earned it or deserved it. It's the difference between a mid (or cadet) being a paid member of the Armed Forces and being a normal college student, where the kid/parents have to take out huge loans, etc. These 18-year-old members of the military are not children. Continuing to treat them as such won't help them become adults. IMHO, giving a monthly allowance/stipend to a mid/cadet is simply a means of trying to maintain control at a time when there really should be no more parental control.

[As an aside, every parent/family has the absolute right to do whatever they want. And I've no doubt that there are many mids who get a monthly allowance from mommy and/or daddy for 4 years and go on to greatness. But, based on experience, I think this is a great time to let your child work things out for him/herself and yet be there (if you're financially able) to help out at those times when things don't go as planned or to give you child an experience at USNA that he/she couldn't o/w afford. Just my $0.02.]
 
brewmeist said:
We have our kids put in any HS graduation gift money towards tuition. Well, at least a good chunk of it. We plan on having our son put gift money and any scholarships that he may receive directly to USNA. Then we'll see what impact that makes on his monthly pay.
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It won’t make any impact initially. They have all awarded (or 529’s if u send those over. We are waiting until he signs his 2 for 7) monies in a ‘held pay’ account. Plebe year they all get the same amount ‘released’. When held pay is released is when he will see it.

So our DS put his grad money in a separate investment account and has access to that. But not through USNA.
 
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