<p>I had planned on our daughter keeping her regular savings bank account and using a debit card for most purchases, but she thinks she will spend too freely if she can't see the money coming out. Instead, she wants to use an ATM and spend cash. Are there any local banks (or national banks with local branches) that don't charge for ATM withdrawls? What's the most common method of handling finances? Does she need a checking account?</p>
<p>There’s a Bank of America on the Corner (where there are lots of restaurants and shops, where she’d be spending most of her money, probably) and in Newcomb Hall (dining hall/right next to the Bookstore) and in the bottom of O-Hill, I believe (not totally sure on that last one). There’s also a Wells Fargo ATM in the bottom of Newcomb Hall, but that’s about it. I’d say most people maintain a checking account and use a debit card for most purchases. If this might be a problem for your D it might be a good idea to set up a spreadsheet with her over the next week that will help her track her spending, or use a website like Mint.com that will do it automatically. Mint might be a great idea, especially if you could log in to check up on her finances and how they’re being spent and give her a friendly reminder about money management if it becomes a problem.</p>
<p>The only bank that has an ATM on grounds is Bank of America. They also have a full service branch in Newcomb. Wells Fargo has a branch that’s fairly close also (off Emmet next to Harris Teeter). I’m sure there are other’s, we use Wells Fargo so that’s what I’m familiar with. Our son did not switch banks and he continued to use his debit card. On grounds he used Cav Advantage. We loaded $200 at the beginning of the year for laundry, copy machines, vending, misc at the bookstore, etc. He rarely carried much cash because he just didn’t want it sitting in the dorm. When off grounds he paid with debit and kept track online. I’m also on his accounts so was able to keep an eye on his account from home and transfer funds when needed.</p>
<p>Everyone finds what works for them, but our son really found this worked best as opposed to carrying cash, and really didn’t need to change banks. As I remember, the terms of the account at BOA were not as good as what he has a WF.</p>
<p>Students can join the UVa credit union, which has some consumer-friendly policies and local ATMs. You could ration money by making periodic transfers from another account to this spending money account.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.uvacreditunion.org/home/atm[/url]”>http://www.uvacreditunion.org/home/atm</a></p>
<p>I looked at the fees and rules at Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and they were horrible, so my son kept his hometown out of state bank and uses his debit card. That works well because all of his deposits are during the summer at home.</p>
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I believe this is BOA. I double checked the WF website and searched for ATM’s to see if this was new. The closest was the one I mentioned on Emmet.</p>
<p>That must be a change, blueiguana. It’s been there for D’s three years prior.</p>
<p>For my kids, we opened a joint saving and checking account with Bank of America. They use the ATM when needed. (BOA has a debit card with UVA design.)</p>
<p>Joint account allows me access and monitor their spending and payment if necessary. They had meal plans first year and were not big spenders, so really did not have to monitor them. The accounts were set up so that I get email notification if falls below a certain amount. </p>
<p>Checking account is helpful because the savings account allows a certain number of transaction before they start charging a fee. Allows them to make online purchases and payment without worrying about fees. After first year, they also pay their own tuition from the account. They also used the checking account to pay rent as they both moved off the ground after first year.</p>
<p>They a both applied for a credit card on their own. Citi bank started them with $1000 credit. This also help them establish credit and get used manage credit use and payment. Monthly statement is sent home so that I make sure they are on top of payment and not incur fees (yes, they have forgotten to make payment. They called and changed to auto payment and the fee was waived).</p>
<p>^ I’d love it if it were! We’ll have to look next week when we’re back on grounds. Maybe their website is wrong? It would save my son ATM fees as he rarely bothers to hoof it to WF.</p>
<p>The Bank of America ATM is by the branch in the basement. Wells Fargo has an ATM (this may have changed, but it was definitely there all spring semester and I made regular use of it) on the second floor, slightly hidden. If you continue past the dining entrances to the exit that will take you out onto the outdoor dining area (very hard to explain, sorry!), there’s a room to the side with lots of vending machines. There is also a WF ATM there!</p>
<p>There used to be two ATMs in Newcomb. The BOA machine was outside their branch on the first floor and the Wachovia/Wells Fargo machine was on the second.</p>
<p>There was an ATM in Alderman at one point. I’ll go take a walk around and see what I can find. The construction probably displaced the Wells Fargo machine. </p>
<p>Back in a few minutes…</p>
<p>Poor Dean J…like you didn’t have anything better to do today! You rock!! :)</p>
<p>BTW, I know I looked on WF’s website last year so shame on them for not being accurate!!!</p>
<p>The ATM in Alderman is for the UVa Community Credit Union. It’s the on the 4th floor bridge (straight back when you walk in, near the copy machines).</p>
<p>The first and second floors of Newcomb are still closed off. I saw Tom, one of the managers at Pavillion XI, at the West Range Cafe a couple weeks ago and he said he’d be back in Newcomb at the end of the month, so I’m thinking the first floor will be opening soon. That would mean the Bank of America branch and ATM would be accessible. The BOA ATM across the courtyard at the bookstore hasn’t moved.</p>
<p>[The</a> last construction report](<a href=“http://www.fm.virginia.edu/FPC/FeaturedProjects/NewcombHall/NewcombRenovationsCSR.pdf]The”>http://www.fm.virginia.edu/FPC/FeaturedProjects/NewcombHall/NewcombRenovationsCSR.pdf) says they are doing finishing work on the first floor, so it seems as though Tom was right.</p>
<p>Thanks so much Dean J! When the second floor of Newcomb reopens hopefully the WF ATM will be there.</p>
<p>I have to say that it reflects so well on UVa that Dean J would see people posting on a forum (that she is a regular poster on, may I add) about ATM’s and go check to see if there was one where she thought there was. I just thought I’d take that moment to appreciate her. How does she fit everything she does in to her busy day? The world may never know…</p>
<p>When I was at UVA, I used a combination of a credit card (please get your daughter a credit card now to start building her score) and my Cav card. The Cav card was the best - every time you swipe, it tells you how much you have left. You could achieve the same thing with prepaid credit cards, though there is a slight fee for them. You have to consider whether the fee is worth it to keep your daughter from overspending (in which case paying for the fee is less than what would be spent on any other kind of card). The Cav card only works on grounds.</p>
<p>I used Wells Fargo/Wachovia, which was great with the ATM on the 2nd floor of Newcomb (minus this construction). I also was working so I had an idea of how much was in there and so on. If I were to do it again, I would look into Bank of America just because there are more ATMs and I have a credit card with them now and they are not as evil as everyone portrayed at UVA. I would also consider the credit union. You need to keep in mind the account minimums, though. Again, the fee for the account minimum might be more than a fee for a prepaid credit card which your daughter would know how much is left and so on. And if your daughter is going to keep less than the amount that negates the fee, then you might run into overdraft problems and such which would REALLY be more than the prepaid card fee.</p>
<p>Anyways, NOW what I use is a combination of credit cards and mint.com – that website is amazing. There is another one my mom uses that keeps track of checks but it sounds like that would not be as useful for your daughter. I have never used a debit card because it doesn’t get rewards, might as well use the cash - but my boyfriend swears by his. There are usually limits on how much you can take out in a day, and how much you can spend on a debit card, which keeps him honest. 
I think it would be great for your daughter to try out a few things and see what works the best. For me, since my mom gave me a credit card (ONLY FOR GAS) at 16, I was used to how to use it so it was a natural transition, but it is not a viable financial option for some students who will overspend with one.</p>
<p>There is also a class 4th years can take about financial money things…</p>
<p>This is a great thread, this topic does NOT come up as much as it should.</p>
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I’m convinced Dumbledore gave her a time-turner. ;)</p>
<p>Another idea is to use someone like USAA - they reimburse ATM fees. A bit harder to deposit checks though since they don’t have ATMs.</p>
<p>USAA has a mobile app where you can deposit checks by taking a picture of them. Pretty cool! It’s available for apple, android, and windows 7.</p>