<p>For parents who will be supplying their kid's spending money at college - how do you handle it? </p>
<p>Our son will be a freshman, and although he has a work-study grant, I'm not sure how much he'll be working because the freshman year at Pratt is supposed to be very demanding. We're assuming he'll earn his spending money from sophomore year on. </p>
<p>Checking account? Credit card (gasp)? How much?</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>Checking accounts at B of A. We both have 'em. I can transfer $$ from our account into hers online. And she can access $$ with ATM card. The student account is free. $200/month.</p>
<p>I know you didn't ask this...but is your future college freshman working this summer? That is how our college freshman is earning her spending money for next year. She also has a work study job, but we are hoping that she will work the minimum number of hours. We also have B of A accounts. The kiddos' accounts are tied into our ATMs so we can transfer money as needed. We transfer money for things like room and board for off campus DS.</p>
<p>Interesting that you should ask that because right after I posted I was talking with one of my co-workers (I was on my lunch break, not company time when I posted!) and she mentioned that her daughter has a summer job, and deposits most of her earnings into an account which she uses for spending during the school year. My son is still looking for a summer job, but if and when he finds one, I think he should contribute to his spending money. However, I have a feeling we'll be supplementing that the first year.</p>
<p>She also mentioned the Bank of America account. Do you get info about these accounts from the college?</p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>There was a lengthy thread about this about a month ago, which was most interesting in terms of money philosophy. I am pretty sure it was on this forum.</p>
<p>We are probably going to give S an allowance of about $150/month. He is also working a summer job, so if his break plans include beaches or ski slopes, he can draw on his summer savings.</p>
<p>Our accounts are at a locally-owned (& proud of it!) bank. Our ATM cards work nationally, and we can transfer between accounts over the internet. His school is several states away -- should I be thinking of switching to a national bank?</p>
<p>With re: to credit cards -- we're stymied there, too. S has his name on our account from a trip to Spain a couple years ago. It's been locked up since, but I think it would be a good idea for him to have it at school in case of emergency. S doesn't want it, for fear he'll lose it, and has challenged me to name an emergency where he would need it. Is a debit card enough?</p>
<p>I suspect there are as many ways of handling money for college kids as there are college kids.</p>
<p>First of all, this should be a discussion with your kid, as they will be able to do what they want anyway. It is amazing what banks will let 18 year olds do. Thank goodness my D wasn't 18 yet when she started, but she could still open up a college student checking account.</p>
<p>The real issues, IMHO are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>how much money will parents be providing, and when? Monthly? Per school term? Limited? Open ended (as much as they can spend???)</p></li>
<li><p>will they have a credit card for emergencies, shared with parents (and allowing them large purchases...)</p></li>
<li><p>will the kid have an account only in their name, or jointly with parents, allowing parents to look/see etc?</p></li>
<li><p>keep in mind the differences between debit cards and credit cards. Credit cards have a number of legal protections lacking in debit cards. OTOH, debit cards frequently have some contractual protections lacking in checks (but checks are more secure from theft, forgery and misuse!)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>What we did with our D was tell her tuition, room and board were on us. She was responsible for the rest, books, clothing, spending money etc., from summer and school year earnings. In practice, we cut her some slack, such as when some science textbook purchases mysteriously appear on my credit card account, to which she has an additional card. I must say, though, that she has not misused trust, has spent wisely by and large (but does love to eat out with friends...) and has been a great student (extremely high GPA with tough courses at a tough university) so who are we to nit pick!</p>
<p>I think every college kid should have a credit card.. just to build credit...</p>
<p>this topic has been discussed many times . Here's one recent thread:</p>
<p>Hmm...thought I posted this response. I'll try again. B of A has a college package that includes checking account, savings account, ATM/Debit card, free online banking, and a credit card (MC/Visa). When DS set up his accounts here at home, he told them he was a college student. He has no service charges at all for these accounts and won't until a year after he graduates. We set up the accounts here in our hometown as it is easier for the parents to access the accounts (they always ask where the account was opened). I'm sure other banks have similar deals for college students, but we chose B of A because it has branches in both towns where our kiddos attend college and one here too. As an aside...we have found that our kids are much more careful about spending money that they have earned themselves. It's one reason they are responsible for that. Plus...we are paying the rest of the bills....and we don't think earning spending money is too much to ask. Having said that...it is a personal family decision what to do.</p>
<p>We do the same thing as the above posters with Wachovia, as that was the bank that was on both of our kids campuses. Since we didn't have accounts there previously, I opened a checking that I keep enough money in so that I can transfer online to their accounts when needed. While in dorm, they needed very little money beyond what they had saved from summer jobs. Both use their credit cards to buy books and school supplies and the occasional pre-approved (by us) purchase or the Amazon used text book, etc.</p>
<p>The good thing about having a national bank is that you don't have to pay an ATM fee. I hate those fees! You may want to check what banks are close to the school. If the ATM isn't convenient to your college student, that can be a problem.</p>
<p>You can set up the bank accounts during the summer (which is what we did). But you can also set it up during move in day at the school. At my D's school, all the local banks had tables set up outside to handle New Accounts.</p>
<p>ARTMOM: My D will be a college senior (gasp!) this fall at an out-of-state college. She kept her local bank account here and uses her debit card there almost exclusively. She only writes checks for her house rent and a few food deliveries. I keep deposit slips for her and deposit money into her account as needed. This has worked fine for the first three years. Any emergency needs (car repairs, car towing) have been put on our credit card. She likes only having the debit card to keep track of. This fall she will get a credit card with a small limit to start building credit.</p>
<p>By putting everything on the debit card, there is a pretty good record of what has been spent with her bank statement.</p>
<p>amdgmom-We also have always used our local bank, but when S#2 went to school 1500 miles away, we had him opena BofA account. I felt much better knowing that if he had a problem such as a lost ATM card, he would have a local branch to go to in person to get it straightened out and get money.</p>
<p>I also think that any kid who will be a distance away should have a credit card for emergencies. We booked one of S's plane tickets home with FF miles, but when he got ot the airport, they had it listed as an unpaid reservation. Although it was straightened out and refunded the next day, the only way he got on the plane was to pay for the ticket with his CC (he would not have had enough in his ATM acct). He also used the CC to pay for unexpected medical deductibles, prescriptions and his books.</p>
<p>We use ING direct for savings linked to Wachovia free checking + credit card with direct monthly set $ transfer from ING. Wachovia also rebates ATM fees.</p>
<p>Art Mom:
Doesn't your kid have money from graduation? That's what my kid used his first year (and some very meager earnings). This summer he's working and that will be his money for this year, and so on.</p>
<p>My son (who just graduated from high school for the <em>second</em> time on Friday!) starts work tomorrow. He expects to earn his spending money (about $4500 before taxes) for his first year from this summer job. Even better, this job will count towards his internship/work practicum requirement for college graduation! There's no graduation dollars from the rellies tho -- they were very generous to him last year, and this year we said please no gifts. I'm sure it depends on the family -- he received about $1000 from family/friends gifts last year which was used for a laptop.</p>
<p>(Re: graduating HS x2 -- he did a PG year at a boarding school. The PG diploma is a normal high school diploma, although he earned <em>Distinction in Mathematics</em> from this school!)</p>
<p>weenie:
Graduation isn't for another two weeks, and I don't know how much cash he will actually get, but if he does - yes, that would be a good idea for spending $. Still waiting for him to get that summer job, too . . .</p>
<p>Art Mom:
Summer jobs have been a little tough where we live. My son did well going through a temp agency. He might give that a try. Good luck!</p>