East Coast Trip - Money and our next student lunch meeting

Parents of students going on the East Coast trip often ask, “How much money does my child need to bring with them on the trip?”  The short answer, technically, is “none.”  Your child won’t like me telling you that, but all necessities are covered on the trip.  All meals are paid for, drinking fountains are fairly common in most of the places we’re going, all admissions to all museums, events, and attractions are included, so your child doesn’t need to bring any money.  Technically.

OK, seriously now.  Your child is probably going to want a bottle of water here and there, perhaps an ice cream cone, or a bag of sweets.  So he or she may want a little extra spending money for snacks and beverages beyond mealtimes (about $3-$5 per day).  Then there are souvenirs.  I’ve seen kids buy a couple small tchotchkes for family, and spend little more than $15 on souvenirs for the whole trip.  For other kids, if shopping were an Olympic sport, they could medal several times over.  You know your child and his/her shopping habits best.   Clothing is usually the most expensive item kids buy on this trip, and one sweatshirt in one “I LOVE NY” gift shop can go for $40-50, easy.  Overall, average souvenir purchases are about $10-$20 per day.

As many of you may remember from the parent information meeting a few months ago, I do respectfully request a little tip money ($15 total) in advance from each student:  $5 for our coach driver, $5 for our tour guide, and $1 per night ($5 total) for housekeeping.  Naturally, tipping is optional, but in our country it is customary and a nice courtesy, especially for a job well done.  All other tips are included in the cost of the tour.  I will collect the coach driver and tour guide tip money ($10) at the Pre-Departure Meeting on March 22.  The hotel tip money should be gathered up by the room leader and left in the room at the conclusion of our stay in each hotel.  We’ll assign room leaders at one of our upcoming student meetings.

On a related note, parents also ask:  “Debit/prepaid card or cash?”  There are advantages to both.  Depending on the type of card and the issuing bank, parents can control the amount of spending per day and/or add value to the card if needed; this is a good security feature if the card is lost, and is also helpful in limiting teen spending.  Talk to your bank now about your options.  Cash is accepted everywhere, but once lost is almost certainly gone for good.  As for VISA, MasterCard, or American Express gift cards, most of them don’t have a name on them, don’t require ID, and their value could be gone if they’re lost, so be careful with this option.  Talk to your child and find out what you think will work best.  Finally, don’t bother with travelers’ checks.  They might be good for overseas travel, but not many places here in the United States even know what to do with them.

Our next student meeting is this Tuesday, March 1, at lunch in my classroom.  I had originally scheduled it for Monday, but I had forgotten about the Student of the Month luncheon tomorrow.  For the Tuesday meeting, I will provide PIZZA.  We need to finalize roommates and discuss which chaperone you will be with on the trip, so it’s important that you arrive as soon as possible.

Once again, if you are a student, I look forward to seeing you Tuesday at lunch.  If you are a parent, I look forward to seeing you on March 22, at 7:00 p.m. for our pre-departure meeting.  Our East Coast adventure is only 33 days away.  As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at rippolito@gmail.com or text me at (661) 347-4990.

Cheers,

Mr. Ippolito