By Neale S. Godfrey
Special to the Daily Press

Off to college go the kids. For them, it’s the thrill of independence. For parents, it’s the thrill of victory — and also the “cha-ching, cha-ching” of money, gobs of it, out the door.

There’s the inevitable tuition and room and board, of course — expenses typically paid up-front, before the semester starts. But for another category of costs, everything from cell phone bills to laptop purchases to good old-fashioned pocket money, the students may need to be in the driver’s seat. Which raises some important questions: How much should you give your college kids as spending money? How much is too much? And how do you know they’ll spend it the way you want them to?

Zogby International, a leading polling firm, asked parents whether they suspected their children were spending the money they sent for college expenses on other things. Surprisingly, 79 percent said “No.” This is a touching show of faith. But as trustworthy as your kids may be, a little schooling from you in the financial basics will protect them — and you — from trouble down the line.

Let’s start at the beginning, which is always a budget.

Simply, a budget is a description of “money in” and “money out.” As a parent, you have some control over the “money in,” especially if you’re supplying it. But in some cases, your child will control the “money out.” That’s why it’s important to sit down with your college-bound child and figure out a budget together.

The budget should include such things as books, cell phone costs, Internet access, snacks beyond the meal plan, entertainment, transportation, travel and personal items. Make sure to divide the expenses into one-time costs (such as books, often bought once a semester) and regular expenses, for which you’ll need a weekly or monthly estimate.

Figuring out how much you’ll need for each category will be a negotiation process. Your new student may feel that designer coffees and shakes are a staple at $10 a day, which adds up to $70 a week and more than $1,000 a semester. You may disagree; show them the savings they can reap from a coffee maker and a can of ground beans.

The budgeting process also is a chance to teach your child valuable lessons in bargain-hunting. With book expenses in particular, a little research can make a big difference. A 2005 study by State Public Interest Research Groups estimated that students spend an average of $900 per year for books. But many colleges offer used books, and there are also online sites, including www.bigwords.com and www.campusbookswap.com, where your kids can search for textbook bargains. When buying used textbooks, make sure your child has the exact title, author, ISBN number and edition of the text the professor requires. An old edition may not meet the requirements. Students also can recoup some textbook costs by selling their used texts at year’s end.

A couple of “don’ts” for the budgeting process: First, don’t hand your child credit cards. Unless you prearrange with the credit provider, your child will have access to your credit limit, and for many students, the card is nothing more than magic plastic, no strings attached. Second, don’t give your student the entire amount for the semester in a lump sum, or even put it all in a checking account up front. Consider this the “training wheels” part of the budget: Until you’re sure your child has the hang of the budgeting process, put just one month’s sum in the checking account at a time. Or, better yet, get him or her a cash card, which you “pre-load” and “re-load” at your discretion.

As a college student, the adjustment from a world of entitlement to the real world of finite resources can be very shocking. Your overall goal is to make money management a life skill. If you haven’t started money lessons yet, it’s never too late to begin.

(Financial expert Neale S. Godfrey has written 14 books, including “Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees,” and “Money Still Doesn’t Grow On Trees: A Parent’s Guide To Raising Financially Responsible Teens and Young Adults.” Her show, “Your Money, Your Children, Your Life,” has aired on public television stations.)