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，美國有史以來人數最多的一批大學新生將涌入校園。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：在支付了數千美元的學費、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。對于大學新生來說，衛生用品、打印墨盒、宿舍裝飾以及學習用品要占到很大一部分。雖然很多學校不乏就餐的選擇（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金，你們可能還是要承擔此類額外開銷，因為大多數助學金方案都要求以父母資助、銀行貸款以及學生兼職工作的收入作補充。對于父母來說，他們面臨的挑戰是如何在過于節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，但是又不夠經常去酒吧。

除了汲取知識以外，大學時代還是學習制定預算以及其它財務技巧的大好時光，因此，父母要幫孩子列出消費預期，并且就預算限制達成一致。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。一些學校不鼓勵大學新生在第一個學期就開始打工，這是為了讓他們能夠盡快適應學習壓力。

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放，以便你們的孩子可以相應制定預算。

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

此類開銷可多可少，取決于具體的學校。位于佛蒙特州米德爾伯里的米德爾伯里學院(Middlebury College)估計個人開銷在1,000美元，但稱“這只是一個保守的預測，需要家長仔細制定預算。”出人意料的是，紐約大學(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。紐約大學的一位發言人表示，學生所需的個人開銷“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(University of Kansas)預計個人開銷為每年2,272美元。加州大學戴維斯分校(University of California-Davis)通過對學生的調查，估計個人開銷需要1,308美元。

你們孩子的零花錢預算是否在1,000至2,000美元的一般水平之內，取決于孩子的飲食習慣和課外活動──以及你們為其提供資助的意愿。

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。埃默森大學的大二學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慶祝學期結束，結果發現每人得付30美元──整整一周的收入。她說，“我們都驚呆了。”

現金還是信用卡？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，你們的孩子都應當申請一張自己的信用卡以便建立信用記錄。在還是學生的時候申請信用卡可能會比以后容易一些。孩子應當為自己的賬戶負責，支付自己的帳單，學習信貸限額、最低還款和到期日的細節。

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(Emory University)的大二學生埃米麗•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，我就設置了電子郵件提醒功能。”

通過設置電子郵件提醒功能，學生還可以獲得有關信用卡額度的警告，這樣他們就知道支票賬戶的余額處于較低水平。學生還可以設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