A different financial question

<p>We have a joint account with our son. The money in it is a combination of his earnings and a very small allowance. ($25 a month.) He’s in charge of spending money, we remimburse him for things we’ve agreed to pay for (primarily text books.) I also fill up a Tufts account that he uses for laundry and making photocopies.</p>

<p>While she was still in HS I set my daughter up with a free student checking account with an ATM card (joint with me so I can add money if needed). It has a connected Money Market Account. My daughter has in these accounts the money she has been gifted through the years by generous grandparents, aunt, etc. She does not have overdraft and keeps only $1,000 in the checking account (although she can transfer funds from the money market at an ATM). It turns out that the bank we had already chosen had ATMs on campus (check that out when you choose the bank) in addition to having ATMs here at home. </p>

<p>My daughter is not much of a spender - her meal plan comes with money for fast food etc. which disappears at the end of the term and she uses this for her snacks (the school grocery store is also included so she can get stuff like batteries, some toiletries, etc.). I then put money on her school account each semester (which she uses her ID card to spend from - this money never goes away) and she uses this money for book store purchases (these are the most expensive), toiletries (at the local CVS), and laundry.</p>

<p>She only uses her debit card when she can’t use her school account and has really only spent maybe $50 the whole year so far on this card (mostly because so many places nearby take the school card).</p>

<p>Lastly, I give her a hundred or so in cash when I see her (a couple of times a semester) and she uses this for things like subway fare, school activities where they only accept cash, etc.</p>

<p>Thanks all for these ideas. I like the credit card so he can start building credit and will look into what banks have a presence on campus. I like the sound of that Wells Fargo college account.</p>

<p>Stevema-he won’t be able to get a summer job anyway-he is doing the summer session and will have a grand total of 3 weeks between graduation and move-in and part of that will be spent doing all the doctor/dentist appointments and a short family trip. We make our kids “work” for us though so I see lots of household projects and yardwork in his and his brother’s future!</p>

<p>TD Bank has free checking with a $100 balance. My daughter has her own checking account just uses her debit card for everything. If I want to give her money to cover something (like a doctor’s visit co- pay last week) I just deposit money into her account.
We don’t need a joint account because I won’t be taking money out, only putting money in.</p>

<p>We put our son on a credit card to be used for emergencies and any bills that we told him we’d pay. Any incidental expenses were to be covered by his summer and work study earnings. He did occasionally use the card for incidental expenses, but reimbursed us for them.</p>

<p>There are a LOT of threads about discretionary spending money. It is really each family’s own decision. There is no right or wrong way.</p>

<p>Here is the Thumper Family Plan. We parents paid for tuition, room, board, fees, cell phone, and transportation home. Our kids were responsible for getting jobs and earning their own discretionary spending money…and we asked them to also pay for books. They each had a job for about 10 hours a week. We have no idea what they earned or what they spent…it was THEIR money to earn and budget. We felt this was a better plan than having them spend OUR money on these things. I will say, if they had been spending OUR money, we would have looked at each expenditure every month with a very watchful eye.</p>

<p>Our two sons have ATM cards and checking accounts, with their own money from working and presents in it (they mostly get cash from presents and birthdays, have saved for years). They also have a credit card. We do different things with the kids, though, but we think it’s fair.</p>

<p>Kid#1 is absolutely not a spender, we have begged him to spend more money on food, go to restaurants, movies, take a friend…on our dime. He occasionally does. We were thrilled that he actually went and bought tennis shoes for himself, hallelujah! He has made quite a bit of money working during the summer. He is not on a meal plan, so he uses the family credit card to buy food, books, anything that he knows we’d regularly pay for. No limit, no monthly allowance, he doesn’t need it. Electronic things, games, he puts on his own ATM card.</p>

<p>Kid #2 is a bit of a spender. Works every summer, but since he’s been a camp counselor, he is poorly paid. He’s on a meal plan. We put $100 into his checking account every month, and he just pays for all extra food or whatever, from his own account. If he spends more than $100 it’s on his dime, if he spends less, he keeps it. School related items, he puts on the credit card. There’s a banking app that he has on his phone, so he’s always keeping track of what’s in his account. Our older kid has so much money in his account, he never looks (and we’re always borrowing it from him)!</p>

<p>We figure this way, they have freedom, responsibility, and flexibility. If we didn’t trust them, we wouldn’t do it this way. We don’t really have to track or nag them doing it like this.</p>

<p>We set up a checking account and a credit card for my son. He is supposed to use his Credit card for school related expenses like books, and I pay that bill. He uses his debit card for incidentals, and that comes out of his checking account. He has not done such a good job of using the cards “correctly,” but he’s had so few expenses I have paid for all so far, except maybe a video game or two. Even his books have been cheaper than I expected. He had about 250 cash when he left in August, and by Christmas he still had much of it. He got money as presents, and probably went back with about the same amount. I have been pleasantly surprised by him in this area. He usually even “asks” if he can buy hints before he does. I’ve never said no, because the grand total has been less than a few hundred bucks all year. But this is a kid who sees no reason to own more than one pair of shoes at a time, for example… My younger one will be different.</p>

<p>1214mom, I think you have my children!</p>

<p>

That depends on the person. S is a sophomore, not even an engineering major, and he quit his part-time job early this semester because it was too much with his coursework. You cannot always get hours at the part-time job which fit in well with the rest of the schedule. We would rather he keep his scholarship than struggle to make a few bucks a week spending money.</p>

<p>Before freshman year, S got his own checking and savings accounts at a bank with a campus ATM. He runs his own minor expenses from his part-time job money. If OP’s son isn’t getting a part-time job, I would suggest putting in some lump sum, say around $500. for the semester, and letting S manage it on his own.</p>

<p>As far as things like tuition, room and board, etc. we have online access to his student account and take care of that ourselves. S also has a card on one of our credit lines (American Eagle lets you add teens) for books or emergencies.</p>

<p>McDonald’s seems to be hiring if there’s one nearby. I just got a job for the summer and for breaks, so they’re not discriminating against the high school senior! Not a glamorous job by any means, but it’s a job.</p>

<p>When our kids went to accepted students orientation, we had them sign up for accounts at the campus credit union. I remained “silent” co-checking account holder with them. We all had debit cards. I also got an emergency credit card in the name of all three of us. They are to notify me if they make ANY charges or I will dispute. Bill comes to and is paid by me. It’s for emergencies and travel home. It’s very rarely used by any of us. </p>

<p>I’ve given each kiddo the amount if the least expensive full meal plan as well as lodging and parking. The kids would use the money for food and whatever else they chose. That has worked well. Each kiddo spends gifts and savings for extras. S was EE and chose not to work until JR with our blessing. D worked for first 3 semesters until her position ended so she could contribute. </p>

<p>If kiddos needed any extra funding they were supposed to present a budget. They never asked for more.</p>