I certainly hope that you make your kid work during college for at least his spending money. Too few upper middle class kids work in HS or College and that doesn’t help.
So if you are paying his beer money..I suggest you cut it off and tell him that you are giving it to someone who needs it more than he does in the interest of fairness.
Actually, I would probably cut off all financial support..in a socialist state he would need to beg the govt for college money.
My daughter’s eyes were opened VERY wide when after she received her masters degree and gained employment, she studied her paycheck stub...She exclaimed, “What is all this stuff they are deducting from my pay???”
I said, “Welcome to the real world, sweetie....”
Fortunately, I'm past that stage. My daughter had two jobs in college and still managed a 3.6 GPA. My son played sports, so didn't have a job but used the money he earned during the summer's for his spending money. Because I was a college prof, I didn't have to pay tuition. Even so, neither child ever once asked me for money while they were in college. We did have lots of debates on liberalism and, fortunately, they are both very conservative thinkers and vote Republican most of the time. I was lucky...
Excellent advice! My daughters were told at a young age that they would have to pay half. (This was a stake in the ground; if they worked and could not afford their half, I was prepared to kick in more.) Most monetary gifts went to their portion as they were growing up. In high school they had to think about what they wanted and how to afford it. It caused them to set priorities and fend for themselves somewhat.
In my mind, the key is to set the ground rules early.