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 TOTAL for the whole trip. For other kids, if shopping were an Olympic sport, they could medal several times over. I had one kid spend over $400 in less than a week.
You know your child and his/her shopping habits best. Clothing is usually the most expensive item kids buy on this trip, and one nice sweatshirt in one “I ♥ 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) 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 13. The hotel tip money will be gathered up and left in the room when we check out of each hotel (we’ll talk more about this once we’re on the trip).
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 easiest, but once lost is almost certainly gone for good. Talk with your child and find out what you think will work best. Several airlines are now cashless, meaning you can only purchase food on the plane with a debit/credit card. I don’t know if this is true for Virgin America (the scheduled carrier for our trip), but it is becoming an industry standard.
As for VISA, MasterCard, or American Express gift or pre-paid cards, most of them don’t have a name on them, they don’t require ID, and they’re usually as good as cash if lost, so be careful with this option. Finally, don’t even bother with traveler checks; their time has passed. USA Student Travel still recommends them in their “Travel Tips” sheet, but the truth is the 19-year-old behind the counter at the souvenir shop will have no idea what to do with your traveler check.
In each of the past two years, I sent out an online survey to students and parents after the trip was over. This is the advice parents gave with regard to money:
“A mixture of cash and debit cards worked great for our daughter.” - 2010 trip parent
“My child took $200 and that was more than enough,she came back with money leftover,and she is quite the shopper!” - 2010 trip parent
“We got our daughter a debit card for the trip, (which she hardly used, just on the plane), but it made us feel better. AND, it's proven to be a useful budgeting tool for our daughter going forward. Rather than $5 here, $20 there, she uses the card and we review it to see where the money is going.” - Parent of a student on the 2011 trip
“I gave my daughter cash and put it in envelopes by day. I gave her more for NY and then gave less for each day as I saw fit. I also told her that she could keep whatever money she did not spend on the trip. I gave her $300. She was really careful about making good choices and she came home with $291. ( She bought one sweatshirt, but, made money back on the food court allowance). It worked out well and now she is going to buy a cat with her leftovers as well as an Ipod touch. :-)” - Another 2011 trip parent
“I would say slightly more than $20/day.” - Another 2011 parent
Hope all that advice will help your family make a more informed decision about money. Our next student meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 21, at 2:15pm in Room D-6. Our East Coast adventure is now only 40 days away! As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
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 TOTAL for the whole trip. For other kids, if shopping were an Olympic sport, they could medal several times over. I had one kid spend over $400 in less than a week.
You know your child and his/her shopping habits best. Clothing is usually the most expensive item kids buy on this trip, and one nice sweatshirt in one “I ♥ 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) 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 13. The hotel tip money will be gathered up and left in the room when we check out of each hotel (we’ll talk more about this once we’re on the trip).
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 easiest, but once lost is almost certainly gone for good. Talk with your child and find out what you think will work best. Several airlines are now cashless, meaning you can only purchase food on the plane with a debit/credit card. I don’t know if this is true for Virgin America (the scheduled carrier for our trip), but it is becoming an industry standard.
As for VISA, MasterCard, or American Express gift or pre-paid cards, most of them don’t have a name on them, they don’t require ID, and they’re usually as good as cash if lost, so be careful with this option. Finally, don’t even bother with traveler checks; their time has passed. USA Student Travel still recommends them in their “Travel Tips” sheet, but the truth is the 19-year-old behind the counter at the souvenir shop will have no idea what to do with your traveler check.
In each of the past two years, I sent out an online survey to students and parents after the trip was over. This is the advice parents gave with regard to money:
“A mixture of cash and debit cards worked great for our daughter.” - 2010 trip parent
“My child took $200 and that was more than enough,she came back with money leftover,and she is quite the shopper!” - 2010 trip parent
“We got our daughter a debit card for the trip, (which she hardly used, just on the plane), but it made us feel better. AND, it's proven to be a useful budgeting tool for our daughter going forward. Rather than $5 here, $20 there, she uses the card and we review it to see where the money is going.” - Parent of a student on the 2011 trip
“I gave my daughter cash and put it in envelopes by day. I gave her more for NY and then gave less for each day as I saw fit. I also told her that she could keep whatever money she did not spend on the trip. I gave her $300. She was really careful about making good choices and she came home with $291. ( She bought one sweatshirt, but, made money back on the food court allowance). It worked out well and now she is going to buy a cat with her leftovers as well as an Ipod touch. :-)” - Another 2011 trip parent
“I would say slightly more than $20/day.” - Another 2011 parent
Hope all that advice will help your family make a more informed decision about money. Our next student meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 21, at 2:15pm in Room D-6. Our East Coast adventure is now only 40 days away! As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
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