<p>Should I put money on my husky card? I feel like it would be easier to just use cash. It seems like there isn't really anywhere to spend it anyway because we are given dining dollars and laundry dollars.</p>
<p>At orientation, they told us that dining dollars will run out with a couple of weeks. My mom wants me to put money on my card asap… doesn’t want me carrying too much cash around in the city. There are those Bank of America ATMs on campus anyways… too bad no TD Banknorths for me :(</p>
<p>But perhaps a current student could give you a better answer :)</p>
<p>I think I’m going to open up a bank account at Bank of America and just take out money when I need to. It seems easier to just spend the money instead of putting it on a card then spending it.</p>
<p>I would advise openning up a Bank of America account right away. It’s the easiest bank to have, since they have a bunch of stuff online (so worried parents can keep an eye on you) and there are at least two BOA ATMs on campus. </p>
<p>Don’t carry a lot of cash. First of all, if you don’t know it already, carrying cash makes you way more likely to spend it on stupid things (for most people, anyways). Most people I know don’t keep a lot of cash on them. The only time I would disagree is when you go into the city at night. It sounds like the opposite of common sense, but you should always bring at least 20 dollars with you when you go farther than walking distance from campus at night. You never know when you’ll miss the last T home, and have to take a cab. So bring 20 bucks and then don’t spend it.</p>
<p>Put some money on the husky card though. It rolls over until graduation, where you can take it out. Dining dollars run out depending on how careful you are. If you just buy random stuff all the time, then yeah, you’ll realize in October that you have no dining dollars left. However if you actually keep an eye on your amount then you can last longer-- especially if you have a meal plan (because of outtakes). Also the husky card is safer than a debit card. First of all, you will ALWAYS have your husky card with you. ALWAYS. If you go outside without it, you’re an idiot and need to call your roommate to have them bring it (or another form of ID down to you). You don’t always have your debit card with you though. So if you run out of dining dollars and want to grab a yogurt on the way back from class or you remember to get your dad a neu shirt as you walk by the bookstore, having some money on your husky card saves you the trouble of walking all the way back to your dorm. Moreover, the moment you lose your husky card you can call the non-emergency Public Safety number and tell them it’s gone, and they will cancel it immediately. All you have to do then is go to the registrar and get a new one for like 15 bucks or so. Whereas you lose your debit card, and its a huge pain in the butt to get a new one. </p>
<p>So as I said, I would advise getting bank of america and putting like 50 dollars on your husky card just in case.</p>
<p>If your mother has access to your portal, she can put funds on your husky card. My daughter had both the Husky card as well as a debit/visa check card. She rarely hot the ATM and DID find TD banks when she didn’t want to be hot with high ATM fees</p>
<p>Oh yeah, and give your parents access to your portal. You never know when they might be feeling lonely and decide to give their awesome college freshman some money.</p>
<p>And really, for a school that costs as much as neu, they are definitely paying for some if not all of it. My roommate made a big fuss about how she didn’t want her mother to see her grades. If they are paying more than a thousand dollars, they deserve to see your grades.</p>
<p>I’m definitely opening a bank of america account tomorrow, there’s one right down the road from me. I’m going to put a decent amount of money in it, and I figure I’ll use that whenever I need to spend money. I guess I’ll put some money on the husky card too just in case. I don’t plan on using any other debit cards though. Thanks for the responses.</p>
<p>Its also helpful to have money on your husky card for laundry if you dont want to use quarters.</p>
<p>Did you not live on campus when they had laundry bucks? They now “give” (but of course you totally payed for it in your housing) you some money each semester for laundry. It usually works out to be enough, unless you change your clothes twice a day and wash jeans every time you wear them. Even if you do run out, chances are that there is some guy on your floor who still has 60 dollars, so you can just go bug him to use some.</p>
<p>You actually do not have to have access to the student portal to put funds on a husky card. You have to have a parent portal account. I would highly recommend you set up your parents with a parent account not give them access to your student account.</p>
<p>just a followup to ebeeeee’s post, parents can also make tuition payments from their parent account. Very handy.</p>
<p>I have another Husky Card question… And I know it sounds wicked stupid lol… I got mine at orientation, but I absolutely hate my picture. It was pouring rain out and whatnot and I just look awful. There even appears to be some sort of scratch on the picture that covers my cheek. Do I have to spend $15 or whatever to get a new one? Do you think I can still send in a picture of me to get a replacement one? I’m just realizing that I’m gonna be using the card for everything… and I know that people aren’t going to be staring at my picture or anything (presumably), but I just despise it so much!</p>
<p>Haha, my picture totally sucks. It depends on who is there in the registrar when you go get a new ID. If it’s broken or doesn’t work, you don’t have to pay to get a new one (its just if you lose it). When I lost mine, they just printed out a new one. When a roommate of mine had a card that wasn’t scanning correctly, the girl at the registrar offered to give her a new photo if she wanted (she decided not to). If you ask, they might be nice and allow you to.</p>
<p>^Thanks for the response! I might as well give it a shot.</p>