<p>Thank you for reminding us about that full tuition merit award, MD. I had almost forgotten about it. :)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t want my parents to know exactly where I’m shopping. Since we have separate finances, it’s not something I’d ever consider</p>
<p>My daughter isnt currently working much while she is in school, so we know exactly what she has and what she is spending it on.</p>
<p>My D. currently cannot afford working at all, none of them in her class can work. They are all supported either by parents or by spouses or by student loans, including thier credit cards.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I suppose my kids could get cash and pay cash for a purchase they didn’t want us to see. What would be so hard about that? I mean, I don’t monitor what they withdraw - if they withdraw $10 or $100 for their walk-around money that week, it’s all the same to me and it’s their problem if they want to spend it on a t-shirt or treat 5 friends to Starbucks or buy a book of stamps or whatever.</p>
<p>My daughter is currently at a summer school program that doesn’t provide a meal / menu plan. So she has to buy food and prepare it, and / or buy pre-prepared food. Food is too important to scrimp on, IMO. She’s a careful person by nature, so instead of giving her a budget we just said - use our credit card to buy whatever food you need, end of subject. I’m not worried it will be abused, and I’m not interested in setting an arbitrary food budget.</p>
<p>I got credit cards for both my sons, ages 17 and 19. The cards were to be used only for gas or emergencies, and occasionally for eating out, IF the boys reiumbursed me. It worked fine with the older one, but the younger one’s idea of “emergency” was things like “urge for ice cream.” So I took his CC away and got him a debit card linked to HIS savings account. He can go online and check his balance at any point. Amazing, his definition of “emergency” has really narrowed!</p>
<p>^But ice cream urge is real from my experience, poor baby, he has to put a lid on it now. Boys do not gain so much from these type of urges, I would let my S. to enjoy, girls are different story. Well it is your money, you do whatever you wish with it, none of my business, really.</p>
<p>We got our Ds debit cards rather than credit cards. They would let us know when we needed to transfer more $ to them (from their accounts). Since it was from money they earned they were judicious in using them.</p>
<p>^You can set it up, so that they transef themselves, if they have 2 accounts / each.</p>
<p>My son does not have a credit card. He has two debit cards, one for his checking account at college and one for his checking account through out credit union. If there is ever an emergency I can transfer money with a click of the button to his CU account. He’s had a part time job since summer before his sr, yr. and works there over breaks and again this summer (along with an internship his college gave him a grant to do.) He pays for all his books, incidentals, entertainment and since we got him a car this spring, gas. He did run short the last few weeks of school since he hadn’t worked since Feb, break and so I deposited $100 to see him through to the end.</p>
<p>I’ve sometimes said to my daughter if she’s had a rough week - hey, go out and get a manicure or whatever, put it on the credit card, my treat. Or hey, if you want to grab a few friends and get some fro-yo, it’s on me.</p>
<p>I have two close friends who were surprised and horrified to find that their DDs had racked up thousainds (more than $5K) i n credit card debt while in college. They’d somehow managed to get cards and rack up the charges. I don’t think they could get that kind of credit these days. The interest rate was way up there too. It’s been nearly 10 years and those girls are still paying on those cards, and in one case prevented the young lady from getting a decent rate on a mortgage. The effects are long lasting on this kind of mistake.</p>
<p>My son has a credit card and a debit card through our local credit union. They are both in his name and I am not on either account. I have no idea how much money he has or what he does with it.</p>
<p>Our kids were both given authorized user credit cards when they went away to college. Our understanding was & is that they were to be used for emergencies and expenses that they cleared with us. If it wasn’t pre-approved by us, there would be a risk to them that they would pay, not us or we would contest it with issuer.</p>
<p>They have both been very responsible in using their CC. S only used it when directed & it was for plane fares for tickets we had told him to purchase. D has used it a few times for dinners with friends (she has no meal plan). Twice, it was when she was in a city & didn’t have cash. The friends reimbursed her & she charged the meal so she had cash for the trip.</p>
<p>Neither kid has racked up debt & D now has her own Costco AmEx credit card. She will view bills on-line & pay or I will scan & email. She can call to pay, as I have been doing now for years.</p>
<p>If used correctly, credit cards can be wonderful. I’ve earned about $50 in cash back this year. Unfortunately, most kids don’t know how to manage money by the time they leave to go to college.</p>
<p>^I LOVE my CC - I’ve lost count of how many free airline tickets I’ve gotten off of it. And the CC company has never gotten a cent of interest out of me, ha!</p>
<p>Roma- you would be surprised how well many students know how to manage their money by learning from their parents. I, for one, never encouraged(allowed) my kid to have her own credit card until she had a real job. You may believe the way you have been utilizing your credit cards is the way to go, but it is not for everyone. You have to spend a lot of money to get 50 back.</p>
<p>OF, did I say it was for everyone? I don’t care what people decide for themselves. The fact remains though that many, many (yes probably most) students don’t know how to manage money before leaving. That’s how so many students get in trouble with debt.</p>
<p>I’m not getting into another credit card argument. I stick by what I said and that’s that.</p>
<p>
I’m sure there’s some correlation of parental income to how much they hand their kids but it’s not always applicable. In my case it’s irrelevant how much money I have - my college attending kids would still pay for their own entertainment, which is what I consider eating at restaurants to be in their case. I don’t really look at it from an economic capability but more from an independence, responsibility, growing/learning experience perspective. Having a part time job and earning money of their own and then spending that money is an important experience IMO.</p>
<p>Roma - what make you think you are better at managing your money better than other students? The fact they have student loans? I do not know why you would make that blanket statment about most students, unless you have taken a survey or personally know hiw those students spend their money. Students who don’t have credit cards, by definition, won’t have credit card debt.</p>
<p>OF, when did I say any of that? </p>
<p>I didn’t say I was better at managing money. I didn’t say I don’t have student loans. All I said was that they can be wonderful if used correctly.</p>