Do you set a budget for you kids???

[ljchris1990]

Our teens and our 7 year old get $50 for the entire cruise. My teens rarely spend it all and 7 yr old only want something from the gift shop. So, we get off pretty lightly most of the time except this time my teens earned an extra 30 for doing extra chores (pulling tiles, roofing) so it will be $80 this time.

[tampabrat22]

I must be in the minority here but my kids have to save their own money (allowance, birthday $ etc) for vacation extras.

 

I do pay for some stuff, we take our own sodas, I buy them a few virgin frou-frou drinks at dinner and will buy them souveneirs that I want to get for them. But any extra toys/souveneirs/arcade/fake tattoos that they want, they use their own money. They each usually save about $100-$150 to bring along...and they spend every penny!!

[WAcruisers]

yes we put $100 on each of their cards for things they may have wanted ie arcade - specialty coffee. Neither of them spent more than $50 each.

I tried to budget my son with $5.00 a day for the arcade:D well when I got my S & S bill it was $75 per day:( He had alot of "FRIENDS" while he was in there.

He also spent about $175.00 in the gift shops. He was 15 when he did this. His response was "whoops"

[jbroons]

When on the ship do you give your kiddos a set amount to spend per day? Does Carnival let you put a limit per day on their ss accounts? My DH and I were on our first cruise in April. Our SS bill was $490, excluding excursions. How much more should we budget for the girls who are both 9? I can't imagine them costing us too much more.

 

Hi....We met right before parasailing in Key West. Hope that you had a great honeymoon.......and that it's not over;).

 

My girls don't drink soda and I told them anything they want has to go by me first! Good thing...even with my approval they spent like $150.00 each in the gift shop on Freedom:eek:.

[dkb363]

My son's first cruise he was about 10 - addicted to skittles. He hit the shop everyday and bought a bag of skittles. That was about it. He's not big on the arcade, and we give him some money for that at the beginning so he uses cash, not S & S card. I use cash at the casino and not the S & S card, so same thing. But my DS is very responsible and is now 17. He would not overspend - but on this next cruise we are going to tell him only 1 milkshake per day. He has so much fun doing all the free things on board - games, pool, clubs, etc. he doesn't go out and look for ways to spend money. (And now when we go, he's still addicted to skittles but we take our own - a few big bags - and that gets him through.)

[Shipshape7]

This is an interesting thread. I must say that reading it brought back memories. Our five kids love to cruise and the older ones are paying their own way these days. All I can add is that, just like we adults, each kid is different in their spending habits and I think you have to be sensitive to what is important to them too. One of my boys would drop every nickel he had in the arcade while one of the girls just loved getting the virgin fou fou drinks. We each like to get the little things that make us feel like we're on "special vacation time" and kids are no different. They are individuals too.

 

Of course you are footing the bill and therefore have to set limits in keeping with the family budget for the common good -- (if we go broke there will be no next year's cruise:eek::eek::eek:) But I also think that, once you give them their fair share, its best to let them spend it however they most enjoy it. Of course, I've been known to give advice as to what I consider a waste of money but I also try to consider that they are not me and what they enjoy may be different from what I enjoy.

[cwiggy]

Our kids are 8 and 9, and they have ZERO budget on the ship - they can eat all the food they want and drink water and lemonade for free, so I don't see the need to let them spend money on the ship. Hell, I don't usually spend more than $100 the entire cruise (not counting gratuities) myself. In port they get $5 per port for souvenirs, and they can choose to bring their own money if they want to buy something more substantial. There's just not that much for kids to spend money on, other than sodas and the arcade, and there's no way I'm letting my kids spend money on either of those when so many free food and entertainment options exist.

 

Ahhhh ... a family after my own heart!! Ours are 15 and 11. Let me tell ya', braces are a beautiful thing, so soda is out. They will drink whatever is offered at no charge. Are water bottles available? Same with the arcade - we'd rather be sunning, swimming, touring and socializing than plugging quarters into a machine. Nothing will go on their S&S cards. We will check out their souvenir choices before purchasing - no need for useless dust collectors. We'd rather spend our cash on excursions for memories that last a lifetime!

[amcjeep4life]

We are taking three kids on a cruise in April of 2010. It will be their first. They are not our kids, so I don't feel that it's really my responsibility to tell them what they can or can't spend their money on. The agreement is that we pay for the cruise and the excursions, but anything else is their responsibility to pay for. If they want soda cards, they have to buy them, or they can drink the free stuff. Totally up to them. But this is what they got for Christmas from us:

 

 

They each have plenty of time to save money up for the trip. We are planning on making them put the cash deposit on the S&S card, and then they can spend whatever they like! They are working hard to make the money, so I say let them spend it how they will. Our neices are 12 and 14, and our nephew is 5. I know the 5 year old won't get it, but he's actually saving money too, and is very adamant about it. When he comes over, he wants to help with stuff so he can earn "my money for the cwooze!" When we took the girls to Disney in '07, they also saved money for the trip, and were actually pretty responsible with their money. They bought gifts for virtually everyone they knew, and just little things for themsleves. I know for a fact that each girl went home with left over money. I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this cruise with the kids. And so are they. All three kids are coming over tonight to help cook and set up for a big cookout tomorrow, with the understanding that they each earn some money based on what they do. Since I don't have the kids full time, I get to spoil them rotten. The funny thing is, there are more rules at my house than with anyone else in the family, but they still love hanging out with us!

[poobears]

This is an interesting thread. I must say that reading it brought back memories. Our five kids love to cruise and the older ones are paying their own way these days. All I can add is that, just like we adults, each kid is different in their spending habits and I think you have to be sensitive to what is important to them too. One of my boys would drop every nickel he had in the arcade while one of the girls just loved getting the virgin fou fou drinks. We each like to get the little things that make us feel like we're on "special vacation time" and kids are no different. They are individuals too.

 

Of course you are footing the bill and therefore have to set limits in keeping with the family budget for the common good -- (if we go broke there will be no next year's cruise:eek::eek::eek:) But I also think that, once you give them their fair share, its best to let them spend it however they most enjoy it. Of course, I've been known to give advice as to what I consider a waste of money but I also try to consider that they are not me and what they enjoy may be different from what I enjoy.

 

 

I completely agree, I don't care how mine spend their $$, once I give it to them, it's theirs to spend, not mine to dictate. I will give some guidance but that's it. If one wants to spend it all in the arcade, who cares it's his $$ and he's having fun. Might not seem like fun to another kid but to him it is.

 

If another wants to buy cheap bracelets or something that's fine too. They are on vacation, so let em have some fun and spend their $$ their way.

[tef43]

My kids are older now, but when I first started cruising I would put their spending money and lunch money in labeled envelopes and hand it to the babysitter before I left.

Best.Idea.Ever!

[kjunea]

Last summer, my DH and I set up his two older kids with $10 a day (they were 15 and 18) on their S&S card. We actually put $100 on each, so it would cover their tips too. DSS (15) bought candy and arcade games. DSD (18) bought jewelry at the $10 store. I had told them if they wanted anything else, to just let me know, but they were happy with the free drinks, etc. We bought them tshirts, excursions, etc. This worked well. We didn't even activate our DS's(5) card! We paid his tips and I bought him whatever he needed, which was nothing!

[babyher]

Sorry wrong thread :(