<p>When kids leave home for colleges, what parents should prepare for them, such as daily life stuff, what are the necessity? do you give them your credit, debit cards, cash, and/or bank account? How to send money to them? How to avoid over spending? or anything/lessons you learned?</p>
<p>We set up a checking/savings account that was joint so that we could easily transfer money in the case of emergency (and alert us and them in case of an overdraft). If you are eligible for USAA, they are the absolute BEST-flexible, deposit-at-home (or by i-phone), no fees, and they reimburse for all ATM withdrawals. Otherwise, there are pluses and minuses to using local banks if you can’t hold a joint account–no ATM fees, but may be difficult to move money. There are probably some internet only banks that would work–most of these reimburse for ATM withdrawals, and you can link to your local checking/savings account.</p>
<p>For money–there are many threads on how much (if any) discretionary funds to provide. Just search under “allowance.” We did provide a small allowance deposited monthly into the checking account-and sometimes I’d watch it dwindle to about 2.00 by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Both my kids were issued credit cards with low ($500) limits-I’m not sure banks can not do this when they are under 21 any more. My S has used his occasionally, my D chose to leave hers at home to avoid temptation. They know to pay off the balance each month. I also give them a high-limit credit card on my account, so that they have that for emergencies -they know they have to call to get permission to use for something else, even books. They’ve been good about it.</p>
<p>Finally – off of the financial topic, once your kid turns 18, good luck finding out any medical info or being able to talk to your insurer about billing–due to HIPPA they won’t tell you anything, even though your kid is on your insurance and the bill is paid by you. Telling them your kid is a thousand miles away doesn’t work. After one such experience, we had our kids sign waivers provided by the insurance company giving them permission to discuss treatment and billing with us. Also -if you sign up for on-line access to forms/services, you can often set up an account for your child and deal with most issues.</p>
<p>Finally, we had our kids sign a medical power of attorney–giving us the right to get access to medical information and make health care decisions if necessary. I think this is critical, as if your kid is ill – unless it’s critical–they won’t tell you anything other than they he/she is admitted or in the ER. At least you can have this at the ready if needed. I just downloaded a form (for free) from the internet by googling “medical power of attorney” and my state.</p>
<p>We set up an account for our son at the credit union that is on campus. It has an ATM as well. If your child is going to be working on campus be sure they have appropriate identification (son was required to have passport of birth certificate to prove he was a citizen). Don’t over buy for the dorm room! Remember, what you move in you must move out. Kids don’t actually need everything at BB&B. You will probably want to get an additional Insurance card for you child to take with them.</p>
<p>Momof3: Thanks so much for that tip on the medical power of attorney. I hadn’t even thought about that. I’ve made my elderly mom do that, but I’ve been taking my kid to the dr. since day 1 so I hadn’t even thought about that changing!</p>
<p>Make sure that they read the honor code for their school and make sure that they understand it.</p>
<p>Another big fan of USAA for your child’s banking. Our daughter has a debit card account set up with them, and the ability to instantly put money on it is fantastic. She can stand in a store and call me on her cell phone, tell me how much an item is that she needs to buy (which we agree to pay for) and I can immediately put the money on the card on-line, and its instantly accessible to her for payment. Her grandfather wanted her to have a “Starbucks Fund”, and was able to set up a monthly allowance for just that. Its credited automatically to her card on the first of every month.</p>
<p>That being said though, we do not ‘send’ our daughter money at all. Our agreement with her was that we cover tuition, room and meal plan. All books, supplies and spending money must come from her earnings and savings. She opened a bank account with a bank that has a national presence (there is a branch here at home and near her school) but she rarely needs to go to the actual bank…most everything can be done on-line.</p>
<p>She and her Dad sat down in August before she left and worked up a simple budget plan for her to follow to ensure her money lasted through the full year. She maintains good records of her spending, and at every break period she sits down again with her Dad and goes over budget vs. actual, and tweaks the numbers as needed. The discipline of writing down everything she is spending makes it easy for her to know exactly where her money is going, and if she’s spending too much in any one area. She’s become a very smart shopper as a result.</p>
<p>Our son has access to our checking account including checkwriting privileges and an ATM card. He has had a part-time job since sophomore year and generally takes care of his own expenses. We just gave him money when he needed it or asked for it in his freshman year.</p>
<p>Many thanks for the information.</p>
<p>USAA is private, it is a great company, but unless you are military or related to a military member you can’t join. USAA is not available for everyone. It is a credit union, it is not a bank per se. Our DS has USAA also, but he got it because of his father being military and he is an AFROTC cadet.</p>
<p>We also set up with our DS a payday system. We deposited money into his account on the 1st and nothing else came down the pike during the month, financially. He learned to budget his money. </p>
<p>Freshman yr is like raising a child, if you don’t stick to the line drawn, they will continue to push it…i.e. MOM, I only have 20 bucks left and all of my friends are going to Chipotles and the movies Friday night, can you float the money early? Bullet and I were/are hard arses…NO! You will enter the real world soon enough and you need to make the hard decisions regarding your finances. Let me make this clear DS was spending money to eat at McD’s instead of the dining hall, he quickly learned that he had to make the decisions.</p>
<p>I would suggest to investigate the school, they typically will have banks that they use on campus for their ATMS. Open an account with that back. DS had a BB&T account, but his school has Chevy Chase. He still has his BB&T with a min balance, but we opened a Chevy Chase so he doesn’t pay fees and can deposit the occasional check that he receives from the grandparents.</p>
<p>One other thing I would suggest is that you start alerting family members the best gift they can give is a Visa/MC gift card, not a check or even cash. They will learn a lesson regarding finances and it is accepted everywhere.</p>
<p>Some colleges do not charge kids to attend athletic games, if they do, buy them for them because if you don’t and expect them to pay for it themselves they may miss games. </p>
<p>Finally, really investigate the meal plan…gone are the days of 15 or 21 meals, now it is so varied that it becomes difficult to wrap your head around. The best bet if they use points is to buy a plan that they can use at the Student Union and athletic games on top of the meal plan. Be honest to yourself, your child is 18 if they eat breakfast every day than they will probably do so at college, if they don’t than don’t play the Just In Case game they might want to so I am going to cover the bet. It is a wast of money.</p>
<p>The situation may be different for every child, you know how your own kid behaves and need to tailor it to him. Our son has the minimum required meal plan (because it disappears if they don’t use it), and an ATM card to his own account (he has alot of money in it that he earned), and we put cash in his wallet when we see him. He also has his name on our credit card, with a high limit. In his case, this is a kid who rarely spends money, we trust him implicitly and are urging him to use the card to go to a movie, please go out to dinner and get a good steak. If he was a spender, it would be an entirely different deal (and we’re going to have to change it for our other son)!</p>
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<p>Made me RMAOFL…sometimes I think our DS comes home not only because he ran out of quarters, but because if he comes home he knows we will slip him money as we hug him goodbye at the dorm after the weekend, of course he also gets the replenishment of Pop tarts/cookies and chips…aka midnight snacks which helps him financially! I guess you can say he is working the folks, but as the folks I too know he is working the system and just happy to see him at the dinner table for a night or two. It is a win-win situation, he gets money. and we get him!</p>
<p>Ok, I have a question about meal plans. Most of the plans we have seen are the typical 13, 15, or 19 a week meal plan, and some of them have extra “dining dollars” that they can spend.</p>
<p>My daughter is a 5’5" 125-lb girl who eats a lot. She HAS to eat 3 meals a day - she never misses. She also has to eat a few snacks throughout the day. She gets sick and weak if she eats less. She is very high energy and her weight stays in the 120-130 range no matter what she eats.</p>
<p>So even though most of the schools state that their “average” student purchases the 13/14/15 meal plan…I was planning to get her the biggest plan they offer. Is there any reason I should not do this? Am I missing something?</p>
<p>MissEmily: I’ve also heard that there’s an “athletes” plan at most schools which offers unlimited meals. don’t think that’s advertised as heavily.</p>
<p>My D is the opposite of yours & skips meals left & right so I can’t be of much help; we’re going with the bare minimum, especially since she’ll have a kitchen where she can prepare some basic stuff on her own.</p>
<p>Thanks Robd - I will look into the “athlete” plan. I am worried if I get her a 19 meal plan (which for some strange reason seems to be the biggest plan the schools we are looking at offer) and she needs 21 meals per week (plus snacks) that she will run out of the extra “dining dollars” by the end of the semester.</p>
<p>missemily, check to see if you can add dollars to the “dining dollars” or some other flex account that she can use to purchase additional food. That is a pretty common arrangement.</p>
<p>Can you add additional dining dollars? or add just general money to her account so that meals can be charged to the account when her meals run out?</p>
<p>I would recommend having them get their own checking account at a bank that is close to campus or which has ATMs on campus. It’s best if it’s a national bank where you can make deposits into it from your home as well, that way you just get the account number and you can easily deposit money as needed. </p>
<p>A student credit card, one with a low-balance that can be used in emergencies, is very helpful to have. Especially if they plan to be flying home, they’re great for covering things that “pop-up” like baggage fees, or ticket fees or a hotel room in case there is a weather emergency and their plane gets grounded (happened to me 3 of 4 christmases in college). </p>
<p>For savings, think about getting an online savings account like Ally bank or PNC Orange. They usually have better interests rates than regular brick and mortar banks and you can start accounts with as little as one dollar and they don’t charge exorbitant fees. Also they are FDIC insured.</p>
<p>Also, one thing I can’t stress enough that I just discovered myself is mint.com. It’s a website that aggregates all of your financial information from all of your accounts (credit card, checking, savings, loans, etc) and then tracks your spending for you. You create a budget with categories either it defines or you define, it sends you email or text alerts when your checking account has a low balance or when you exceed your budgeted limit for something. It also shows you charts that break down your spending so you can see where you can save the most. And it’s free. And it has an iPhone app. Seriously, not just for college students, this has really helped me (a young person wtih computer savvy but not a lot of budgeting skills).</p>
<p>I think that at all the schools she has been accepted to they allow you to add “dining dollars” if you run out.</p>
<p>Dining dollars vary by schools. I suggest you go on the college threads here andpose the question of how the meal plans work.</p>
<p>We got a medical POA and FERPA release so you can get grades/talk to advisors. We talked to S about this and told him we would only use it in case of medical emergency. Haven’t had to use it yet.</p>
<p>Get an extra copy of your medical insurance card for your student in case he/she is sick/injured and needs to go to a local doc/hospital.</p>
<p>We got a small personal safe for meds/passport (he has traveled a couple of time for school activities).</p>
<p>We are also USAA fans, though S has a checking/savings account with the bank on campus (free). He keeps his regular savings account here at home where he can’t access it easily. He does have a USAA debit card and we will get a USAA credit card before he head overseas for a semester this fall.</p>
<p>We don’t do allowances or transfer $$. He has an on-campus job which pays for books and spending $$, plus he has Staffords which help pay for tuition. This was part of the deal in exchange for him turning down serious merit $$ elsewhere.</p>
<p>When he comes home, we load him up on dorm snacks and slip the occasional $20 in his pocket.</p>