<p>Chandi…That is commendable and I suspect you are not the norm. I know balancing a checkbook seems a little crazy right now because you are not required to write alot of checks right now but it is one of those things that you will be doing once you graduate collge and are on your own.</p>
<p>Reesezpiecez… BTW I love your name, and I always seem to smile when I come across a post and see Reesez. Packing clothes effectively comes with practice. Once you are in a position when you must pack 20 pounds of crap in a ten pound bag, so to speak, you will get much better about packing. The key to packing is to place clothes especially bulky ones with as few folds as possible…like a heavy sweater would be best if just folded in half top to botton with sleeves folded behind the sweater. The more folds the less you could fit. Also pack PJs on top if you are arriving somewhere late so they are the first thing you see when you arrive to where you are going. The things you don’t need often go on the botton of the suitcase. Roll things like tee shirts and fill in the empty places in your bag. As far as going back to college packing…forget the suitcase if you are driving and go with hefty bags. You could fir far more clothes in a bag and it is easier to maneaver in tight spaces in the car. </p>
<p>After four kids I might also add to the above list…learn how to cook at least five dinner meals. They do not need to require alot of prep but they should be fairly easy, tasty and nutritious. College comes to an end and I have watched a couple of my kids stare at pots and pans like they no clue that they exist for anything other than eggs. You can’t surveive on eggs and restuarants…neither are healthy all the time and your money will leave your wallet very fast.</p>
<p>The other thing is if you don’t have AAA for roadside assistance GET IT. I can’t tell you how many times one of my kids needed a tow, and how many times a car they were in needed a tow. They helped many a friend simply by having their AAA card. The extended AAA which includes a tow for as far as 150 miles came in handy once when the tow was 147 miles. That kid would have had to pay alot of money for that long tow.</p>