The author (left) says her daughter doesn't need money while at college. Courtesy of Jenna Brooks I realized my college-age daughter never asked me to send her money. When I asked her why, she told me she budgets and lives off $100 a week. She told me she likes the independence of paying for herself. My daughter was four months into her freshman year of college when I realized she had never asked me for any money. I'd paid for Sarina's housing, meal plan, and books, and put $100 on her account