<p>Anybody do flex points? If so how much is a good amount to start with?</p>
<p>I threw $100 into my daughter’s account to get her started. It seemed like a trivial amount when tacked on to the tuition payment.</p>
<p>I was thinking about 250. I assume her points on the food plan will run out. Better to add more flex, than buy food plan points. Food plan points expire each year, flex carry over. I think…</p>
<p>socaldad42 is that $250 for the semester or for the year. I am thinking my son will use it mostly for laundry.</p>
<p>Stressed,</p>
<p>I am not sure. I am thinking a semester… I will monitor the use, and see how it goes. I expect some food at Trabant and Perkins will make its way to this account.<br>
I will give my daughter a monthly budget, and this is sort of a little extra. </p>
<p>She is responsible and frugal. She worked this summer, and hates spending her money…</p>
<p>We didn’t use flex at all. D kept quarters for laundry (which I guess she accumulated when making cash purchases), and used cash or her bank card when not using points for food outside the dining hall. She was not really inconvenienced by this at all, I don’t think. Fewer forms of money to juggle and keep track of, I guess. Also, she earned and was in charge of her own pocket money, so it wasn’t a matter of us transferring money over to her.</p>
<p>I did the same momof2giants. I just kept a large jar of quarters on hand for laundry. Never really felt like I needed flex for anything.</p>
<p>Flex is useful if you think you might run out of dining points (which should really only happen should you avoid the dining hall too often…and Trabant and Perkins really aren’t that much better anyway). For laundry, using Flex costs 25 cents more per load each way ($1.75 for wash and $1.25 for dry). On the bright side, you can use Flex at the Starbucks in the bookstore and I’ve heard that the Walgreen’s on Main Street takes it as well.</p>
<p>I initailly put some money into my D’s Flex account. She did not use much of it as you are relatively limited in where you can use it, especially for food, outside of Trabant, Perkins, and the Starbucks at B&N. She found that she preferred food available at some eateries (more healthy foods) on Main Street that do not take UD Flex. In fact we did not use it all after the first semester. It is true that you do not lose your money put in the Flex account and you can apply it if you wish to your tuition/fees (if you want to close out the Flex account). I would guess for some it might be useful.</p>
<p>It costs more to use flexpoints for laundry? How much is it for a load to wash and dry with and without?</p>