How much money?

USNA 19 DAD said:
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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I think you are saying pretty much the same approach as most here. Don’t think you are an outlier. First year away from home is an adjustment all around. “Practicing adulting” as we call it at home.

Whatever works for your family is what works for your family. Additionally, it doesn’t have to be decided now. See how it goes once they get there.
 
We have been amazed, impressed, mildly horrified, and occasionally shocked, by the varying degrees of money savvy, budgeting skills and cash management practices of the mids whom we have seen in our sponsor family over the years. Some are woefully unprepared at graduation to start managing a monthly budget, apartment rental, auto and property insurance, recurring bills, investment in TSP (military 401k) and IRA, because they haven’t been asked to budget their Navy pay or deal with housing, dry cleaning, laundry, food shopping/meal prep or other stuff they were automatically billed for or received free.

Some are completely on top of it, using an app such as Mint to track spending, plan ahead and understand the difference between wants and needs. One memorable mid who had been given a credit card by her parents for “incidentals” not covered by Navy pay, bought a pair of Louboutin shoes for $900. Her parents were not wealthy, but she was clueless about her finances, and hadn’t been brought up with any knowledge of the basics. To her credit, she returned the shoes after about 72 hours, realizing she was unable to tell her parents about it so therefore not a wise choice. She had no clue they probably saw it on the statement.

Given so much is handled for them at USNA and it just magically comes out of their pay, any experience they get in being responsible for making decisions and living on what they receive, with the occasional supplement, will only help them when they are trying to figure things out at their first duty station. The briefings they get on financial management are non-testable, of course, and usually a great opportunity for day-dreaming or checking social media. Whatever lessons they can learn from parents about self-sufficiency during these 4 years will only help them.
 
justdoit19 said:
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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My 2023 is keeping his scholarship money in his personal account while 3 are sent directly to USMA. Even if you send more money now, they won't receive it in their pay.
 
Like others have stated, parenting styles will vary along with dollar amounts. In our case for the most part it was $30 or $40 on his Yard Card here and there, and taking care of his school supplies that are not covered (yes, there are some). Of course when we visited there was usually a $100 bill handed off when we left. Nothing major, but it made us feel good even if he didn't need it.
 
justdoit19 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
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Unless things have changed on this, everyone gets the same paycheck for the first three years and any differences happen first class year. Actually, when I was a mid, you and your classmates got the same amount all four years and the differences in the midshipman accounts were paid out after graduation when USNA disbursed the remainder of the Midshipman Account.

You can (of course) do what you wish with your money but I saw no benefit to parking their money in the USNA controlled midshipman account. Same with the "Yard Card" that new families will see. A regular debit card from USAA or wherever seems to be just as good for the mid and might offer discounts/points/etc as is the case with the USAA credit card.
 
Every family is different in how or when they "launch" their kids. During my son's graduation week, we were at several events with his teammates
and others with companymates. In both groups, we heard parents describe how they were going to go to their new Ensign's first duty station location
to set up their new apartment/living arrangement. I was flabbergasted by this notion as I could not remember wanting my parents to be involved at
that level when I was a newly commissioned Ensign. After hearing this in a few places, I pulled my son aside and asked if he wanted us to help get him
going at the first duty station and he looked at me like I had two heads and said No.
 
By the way, FWIW, for anyone wondering, I only have one head
 
I'm in the OldRetSwo camp ...of course, I got married a week after graduation, and after that never looked at my parents for anything.

Even as a Midshipman, financial support was limited. I guess they paid for my flights to and from home once or twice a year. (I was dating my now wife at the time, and I went there a whole lot more than I came home). My mom actually gave me a credit card my first class year, with open ended instructions to go out and buy a civilian wardrobe, and I didn't spend a dime. (I never was much of a shopper !)
 
As DD is our fourth child, we had not given allowance to our other kids, but we did pay tuition, and they all had a small part time job She has $ in her college plan which will be taxed and have a deduction if not depleted by the time she is 30. My husband and I were discussing whether to use some of that money for her "uniform" (not sure proper term) loan, or dead horse as my husband remembers. I am unsure of what they get per month and also can't imagine what she would spend it on!
 
Mids spend money on all kinds of things... coffee shop, drinks and food at Mid Store (do you know how many Red Bull’s a Mid can drink), personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, school supplies, a bad night of food in King Hall = a pizza order for the room, weekend movies, weekend meals out on liberty, other weekend adventures, Lyft/Uber rides. As you can see none of it is huge in price but it adds up. A lot of typical college costs, but none of it required. It’s about learning adulting. They will have costs for certain ECAs or club teams. Again, all voluntary items and learning to balance a budget and wants vs needs. Some summer training like NOLS costs money, again voluntary and something a Mid knows up front. Summer training they usually have more liberty and freedom to do stuff. When cars get in the mix obviously throw in those costs for a 2/C and above Mid. A Mid over 21 can also drink... as all of us know... drinking isn’t cheap. So learning to balance that all too.

Uniform loan is called the ACE loan and has details in the PTR. It’s a nice to have paid, but not required. Your choice to make as a family.
 
justdoit19 said:
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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Love4monsters said:
My 2023 is keeping his scholarship money in his personal account while 3 are sent directly to USMA. Even if you send more money now, they won't receive it in their pay.
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OldRetSWO said:
Unless things have changed on this, everyone gets the same paycheck for the first three years and any differences happen first class year. Actually, when I was a mid, you and your classmates got the same amount all four years and the differences in the midshipman accounts were paid out after graduation when USNA disbursed the remainder of the Midshipman Account.
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And right here is the reason why I joined SAF. Thanks for clarifying!
 
According to what Capt MJ posted, plebes see $125/month. We saw $30/month. Even after inflation adjustment to today's value of $85, that's a lot more than we ever saw. It really comes down to needs vs. wants. Learning the difference and how to plan for the wants while taking care of the needs is something many folks never learn. And someone above was correct that USNA isn't a huge help in that regard b/c so much is taken out of your pay before you receive it.
 
OldRetSWO said:
Every family is different in how or when they "launch" their kids. During my son's graduation week, we were at several events with his teammates
and others with companymates. In both groups, we heard parents describe how they were going to go to their new Ensign's first duty station location
to set up their new apartment/living arrangement. I was flabbergasted by this notion as I could not remember wanting my parents to be involved at
that level when I was a newly commissioned Ensign. After hearing this in a few places, I pulled my son aside and asked if he wanted us to help get him
going at the first duty station and he looked at me like I had two heads and said No.
Click to expand...
As I read your comment, there was a small part of me that thought “no, that can’t be true”. Unfortunately, based on my experience with friends of ours who have kids in college I realize that you were not exaggerating. I don’t think there is anything wrong with loving and supporting your children, but your military officer child needs to grow up now and figure out how to live their life. I have told my kids that we will be there to help them with advice and counsel, but I expect them to do their part. I would have been horrified if my parents had wanted to help me find an apartment after I was commissioned.
 
There are mids whose parents bankroll them for everything, and there are mids who get nothing from their parents. It's completely up to your family's means and how much you want to give your mid.

Pay increases each year, but your mid will never spend as little money as they do plebe year. It's pretty common that mids save the most money during their plebe year. Why? Because as you move up classes you get more liberty and have more opportunities to spend your money. Mids will go out more, and they WILL get tired of eating King Hall food. Turning 21 and getting civvies also increases the amount of money they will spend. If they decide to buy a car that adds on insurance and gas money. It sounds crazy, but it's the truth.
 
Let me add that my DD’s Foundation opportunity this soon-to-be-over school year (away from home) also lent itself to having to learn how to handle expenses on her own. The maturity level now compared to this time last year is stratospheric.

The Foundation opportunity has been the gift that keeps on giving!
 
usna1985 said:
, plebes see $125/month. We saw $30/month. Even after inflation adjustment to today's value of $85, that's a lot more than we ever saw
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I thought we got $60 /month in 81-82, but after coming from NAPS where we were getting about $400 every two weeks,, I had plenty banked (even in Newport, it was hard to spend $800 month). If I remember correctly, the biggest expenses were cleaning supplies, Storm Brothers ice cream, and beer and pizza at Timmy's (just outside Gate 3 --$5 for a pitcher of beer and cardboard pizza).
 
Old Navy BGO said:
usna1985 said:
, plebes see $125/month. We saw $30/month. Even after inflation adjustment to today's value of $85, that's a lot more than we ever saw
Click to expand...
.
I thought we got $60 /month in 81-82, but after coming from NAPS where we were getting about $400 every two weeks,, I had plenty banked (even in Newport, it was hard to spend $800 month). If I remember correctly, the biggest expenses were cleaning supplies, Storm Brothers ice cream, and beer and pizza at Timmy's (just outside Gate 3 --$5 for a pitcher of beer and cardboard pizza).
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I was going to question that number as we got $40/per month in 74-75 with a giant raise to $50/month as Youngsters.
 
I can attest, that any meal they have delivered is almost $20. Do that once a weekend and it’s about gone. Add in an Uber here and there and it IS gone. Food, even a chipotle, is expensive around there.
 
We got $50/month as a Plebe and I graduated a few handful of years later than some of the other BGOs who posted. I think the most I ever made was $125 as a 1/C. A few years after I graduated they adjusted Mid pay and are pocketing more. Other than our 2/C loan none of us made enough money to really invest just from our regular pay unless someone was a monk and never left the yard and ate nearly every meal in King Hall.
 
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