<p>Didn’t have the time to read all of this post, but I have a suggestion for you, Curious (unless this has already come up?) based on what we did.</p>
<p>I, like your daughter, received merit scholarships and worked over the summer for most of my spending money. My family’s financial situation is such that my parents can afford to give me an allowance without much hardship. We talked about my budget a little bit, but for the most part my parents know my spending habits and approve of them. (I like to go out to dinner and do things with my friends rather than buy clothes or expensive stuff)</p>
<p>We ended up deciding that the easiest way was to connect my Mom’s bank account and my bank account. We both use the same bank and have online access, and I have overdraft protection, so she occasionally adds $100 or so to my account when I’m running low. I don’t have the balls to ask her for more than what she already gives me, and for the most part I’ve been just fine all year. It’s nice to get an e-mail or a text message from her saying “I bumped over $100, love mom” every once in awhile. I owe my parents $100 from a running-a-red-light ticket and maybe a little more money too, but other than that I’m not expected to pay them back.</p>
<p>They didn’t want me having a job during my freshman year (as a bio major, pre-med, doing lots of interning at a big research lab) because they want me to concentrate on school and coursework. They know that a consequence of that is them paying for my everyday stuff, and it hasn’t been too much of a problem. I will point out, though, that much of the money I spent this year is money that I had saved from last summer and some graduation money, and that most of the money my mom gave me has been this semester.</p>
<p>I’d say my parents will probably continue doing this as long as I’m in school, but since I’ll be making more money this summer and will likely have a part time job next year, I will need even less from them as the years pass.</p>
<p>I’m sure you guys will figure it out just fine, but transferring money on an as-needed basis worked well for us!</p>