<p>I would love some advice from parents about what they set up for spending money for D/S for BS. Local bank account with ATM or debit accounts at school--and what is experience on estimated monthly spending? Do D/S have emergency debit or prepaid credit cards? I am sure there are all kinds of "lessons learned" here that might be helpful.</p>
<p>What worked best for us is that I set up a checking account with his name and mine at my bank. The Visa ATM card had both our names and so he was able to use it without issue. I gave him online access so that he could see how he was spending the money, which proved to be an invaluable self-taught object lesson on how quickly small purchases can add up. Because it was at my bank, I could transfer funds into his account in an instant if I had to, including from my phone. That came in handy on several occasions. </p>
<p>As far as the allowance itself, I probably put about $100 a month into his account for discretionary spending. Some kids got a ton more, but most got around that amount or less. My general feeling was that he should begin to understand trade-offs. Expensive and wonderful boarding school opportunity = less cash in the pocket to burn.</p>
<p>I am planning on doing what ThacherParent did next year - i.e. get an account at my own bank so that I can make electronic transfers. What I did this year was open an account at the recommended credit union - big mistake. I couldn’t transfer any money into the account other than by check which was lame. I asked them why would I send you a check when I can just send her one. I ended up just sending cash in the mail after that. She doesn’t have a set allowance, I send money when she needs it or when I can afford it which isn’t often. I send her toiletries through the mail using the flat rate priority boxes that have no weight limit. It’s more expensive then if she went out and got it herself but she rarely has time. With Saturday classes, sports, church on Sunday mornings and math club all Sunday afternoon I think she has been off campus for shopping once in the past year. </p>
<p>You will find what works best for you, but I recommend opening an account that you can make electronic transfers to even if it means that there is an ATM fee when he/she withdraws money. They can always ask for cash back at a store such as Walmart or a grocery store with no extra charge - or pay the $3 fee. Sending cash through the mail has worked too. I don’t send much at a time so it wouldn’t be a big loss if the envelope didn’t turn up. </p>
<p>Most schools also allow the students to charge things to their school account using their i.d. and then the parents get the bill. She has done that a few times as well, although she doesn’t have an open permission to do so - she has to call us and ask first.</p>
<p>My daughter has a debit account at her school. She is allowed to withdraw up to $30.00 for movies, mall trip, etc. each week. She rarely takes out the full $30.00 a week (she has been averaging about $50.00 a month). Her transportation costs, lab fees, books, art supplies are taken from her debit account. If she should need extra money, she can have the school call and ask us to approve more $$ (she hasn’t requested additional money). We send our daughter toiletries through the mail or she stocks up when she comes home or when we visit. Her school has lots of weekend activities that I don’t believe cost additional money (other than the activity fee paid at the beginning of the year).</p>
<p>I highly recommend what we have set up. My daughter has a prepaid debit card through USAA - I’m sure you can get them elsewhere if not a USAA member. In the case of USAA, there are no costs or fees associaetd with it. </p>
<p>She can use it as a credit card or at an ATM. I add money monthly and she has to budget that. In an emergency type situation, I can add funds to her card online and she has instant access to that money. I can also view her spending habits online.</p>
<p>Here’s some info:
<a href=“Enable Cookies | USAA | USAA”>Enable Cookies | USAA | USAA;
<p>She has permission to charge things at the school store, however, i deduct the $ she spends on candy, drinks, etc. from the amount I add the next month. That has helped her keep down her spending on junk and understand the tradeoffs.</p>
<p>School provides an on-campus debit card to which I deposit $150 per term for discretionary spending, cash can be drawn at the cashiers office.</p>
<p>Bank of Am has an ATM on campus.</p>
<p>D and I have joint credit card, mostly for emergencies or to facilitate other spending that would be tricky otherwise.</p>
<p>Son earned $1000 over summer. Used $700 towards trip abroad with humanities class and was able to have $300 for spending. He also uses his school’s on-campus debit card to access this money. He might go to a movie once a month and rarely buys a drink or snack at the snack bar. Not much discretionary money necessary; it’s all what you let them become accustomed to. We also have a joint checking/debit card which I opened when he went abroad.</p>
<p>Keylyme brings a good point to light. Students who earn money over summer are paid in checks made out to their names. Savings account are joke and checking accounts expensive. Of late, banks are charging fees of up to $8. to cash checks - even Walmart is charging $3. If a kid is only making 8$ per hour - that fee to cash the paycheck adds up. The student could endorse it over to the parent, but that gets a bit weird and does not teach money management or savings ethic.</p>
<p>Most prep schools have discretionary account where kids can deposit their paychecks. I have also heard of parents storing particularly large amounts of cash in student accounts. The schools don’t care - it is a cash flow cushion for them. They are not a bank and not FDIC insured, but with discretion all things are possible.</p>
<p>I took creative1’s advice and ordered the visa bank card from my bank yesterday. I can transfer allowance directly into the account which can be used for off-campus activities and online purchases. Between this and the school’s debit card, I think he should be covered.</p>
<p>Last summer, my son was going to be away for several weeks so I got him a Visa Buxx card which can be set up through several participating banks. He can make withdrawals from ATMs and use it as you would any other Debit card but it has some limits and must be funded from another credit card. I believe that others can also add to it if they want to give a gift. Money that is added is immediately credited and you can set it up for systematic automatic funding. </p>
<p>It has some parental control aspects to it, with our favorite being that we get an e-mail whenever he uses it. I don’t want to monitor his every move but I did have to laugh when my husband called to tell me that my son must have arrived at the airport because he just bought a pretzel there. :)</p>
<p>I imagine we will keep using this when he is at bs.</p>
<p>Thanks Kaileigh! That IS an appealing aspect of the card- the parental control aspects. Great tip!</p>
<p>Our school had a “bank” where they could get cash from.</p>
<p>USAA has prepaid credit cards which work great. You get report of where they spend money and you can immediately add if they need more or put $ on as allowance.</p>
<p>But, if they end up going overseas or somewhere with the school, they probably need an American Express or regular card for emergency usage only.</p>
<p>I use a [prepaid</a> Visa credit card](<a href=“http://www.rooket.com/so/acn/rd/]prepaid”>http://www.rooket.com/so/acn/rd/) for my son. This allows me to add money to the account and he will never be able to overdraft the account. It works perfectly. There is no minimum deposit for the card, no overdraft charges, no late fees, no credit check, and guaranteed approval. If you can opt for one of these cards because you’ll save yourself headaches in the long run. Good luck.</p>
<p>At Andover there is a Bank of America ATM right on campus, so our daughter can safely withdraw funds without having to go off campus. We set her up with a B of A debit Visa card to take advantage of this during registration her first year. We can transfer funds in electronically from our bank. This has worked well. Other schools may have similar arrangements-i.e. on campus ATMs.</p>
<p>oh yes, you can get a card from AmEx attached to yours to give for emergency usage.</p>
<p>My D was at Hotchkiss and the school debit card was the best option for anything she needed to buy on campus, including laundry machines, snack bar, bookstore, etc. A visa debit card or visa gift card is a nice supplement for things off campus but she tended to spend next to nothing when at school. Almost all the campus activities are free. She really only spends money when she is at home. Between having classes six days a week and all the homework and activities, there really isn’t time to spend much money. Even if they ordered chinese delivery once a week, that was only about 5-7 dollars.</p>
<p>My daughter has a free student checking account linked to my bank accounts. I can see her activity and transfer money from my account to hers. She also has a debit/Visa on her checking account. When that was set up, she was under 18 so I had to sign for it. She also used the student account linked to her school ID card for allowance withdrawal and on campus purchases. I made a monthly deposit to that. Near the end of her sophomore year I added her to one of my Visa cards because she was going to be traveling to China and wanted her to have options. I had heard that sometimes debit cards do not work in Asia. For that account I told the bank to lower the amount of credit available, so if the number was stolen, etc. there would be less of an issue.
I have on line access to all of the accounts and watch them closely. My daughter has been very good and keeps well within the limits I have set up for her.</p>
<p>Chase now has a High School Student Checking Account and Debit Card. The parent must have a qualified checking account with a minimum of $300 in it. Your student can utilize all the online banking services and your account is linked so that you can monitor all of their transactions and even get alerts to your email, phone etc. I think it is great for giving them an early lesson in financial responsibility.</p>