The bank that my family uses is far from my college campus. This means that the only way for me to get cash would be through ATMs which require a service fee. Would I need cash in college or can I get away with just using my debit card and my campus meal card?
Cash is useful especially if you are going to small student led shows or performances that may not accept cards. I would say just take out a certain amount of cash beforehand and bring that to college with you
Thanks for the advice. I love your icon by the way. Psych is the best!
It’s always a good idea to have cash on hand.
You’ll survive without cash. I can count the number of times I used cash in college on my hands.
With that said, it’s not a bad idea to have access to cash without fees. I’d open a bank account with the on-campus bank so that you can pull out money without fees.
I spent last summer in a part of the country without my bank. Whenever I knew I would need cash, I would use the cash back option with my debit card at the store on the credit card pad. I’d see if that was possible for you to do if you know in advance. I use chase, and there aren’t fees for this service, but I don’t know about other banks.
Using your debit card to get cash back is usually (in my experience) fee-less, so that is an option to consider. I found that I was always in need of smaller bills for things like everyone chipping in a few bucks for pizza, small local businesses that didn’t take cards, etc. I never once visited a bank at school; I always got the cash I needed through cash back on my debit card.
I disagree with taking up a lot of cash beforehand, just because of the potential of theft. I’d take out a certain amount each month, or as you need it.
To everyone who replied: thank you so much for your responses. This has been really helpful.
I’ve found that people need cash mostly to split a bill/pay a friend back after borrowing money (though a lot of people use venmo now) and for places that are cash only or charge for the use of a credit card. The prevalence of places that are cash only vary widely depending on where your school is located though. Some cities have tons of places that are cash only or have a minimum credit card purchase, while in other places, it’s relatively uncommon. In my opinion, I think it’s always good to have some cash on hand. I do have lots of friends who never have cash on them–and they always ask me to borrow cash when they need it. So take what you will from that.
Regardless, I do think you should put yourself in a position where you are able to get cash if you need to. Perhaps, you could consider opening an account with a bank closer to your school and preferably a bank that doesn’t charge a fee to use an ATM.
I personally kept at least $40 in cash on me at all times, and only used it when card wasn’t an option
Why don’t you open a second account? When I went to college I had an account that was a 5 minute walk from my house whereas the only location by my school was a 10 minute DRIVE away. I transferred my money into a CHASE account, while I still got charged at the school ATM there was a chase right next to my job if I needed it.
Where I go to college, I go to a few cash-only eateries fairly frequently, so having ATMs from my own bank can be useful. Also, sometimes if I’m paid back by friends for a meal or something, I’ll want to deposit the cash back into my account.