<p>OK. New topic. What are you guys planning about pocket money and emergency money for your kids? Here’s my plan. My daughter already has a Savings account but no Checking account yet. So we are opening a checking account for her. I was looking at my credit union (Navy Fed) and they have a “Campus Checking” designed for college kids. No minimum balance, no monthly fee, ATM rebates, free checks (I think 5 per months). She will have her summer earning and graduation gifts either on savings and checking and she can transfer fund between the two. That should be enough for her discretionary spending for the year. We are joint owner for her saving so we can transfer fund to that IF (and only if) needed.</p>
<p>For emergency funds and books, she has a credit card that tied to our main credit card so she can use that.</p>
<p>Also she has a credit card that we can replenish every now and then if for some reason she run out of money and again, only IF (and only if) needed. I prefer giving her money through this card because every $ that we put on this card gives us reward points.</p>
<p>We expect her to at least work few hours per week on campus but probably not on her first semester. We’ll see.</p>
<p>What about you? Also for parents that have kids already on college, feel free to share what has worked and didn’t worked.</p>
<p>For my older son he and I got a joint checking through USAA, I think it’s some kind of student thing too. That way I can transfer money if i need to and it has the visa/debit card attached. They also reimburse ATM fees. We both figured out how much he had and what he needed and last year had a weekly budget of $60. Both kids have credit cards with their names in case of emergency. D just has a local bank right now and I’ll be switching her over to USAA as well. The first year I wanted to just make sure he didn’t go nutty with spending or have any issues, but it turns out the ability to transfer money has come in very handy.</p>
<p>@crowlady I think we’re in good shape, but I’m still going to keep checking on what I can. D even found a roommate on the facebook group, and that girl has an earlier room selection slot than D so we’re going to leave it up to her. The girls have been chatting about what they want in general, I’m sure it will be fine.</p>
<p>Our pediatricians office has parents come in to the appointment, discuss concerns, sign any necessary forms, then if the child is age 13 or older the parent leaves the room for the exam and anything the teen wants to discuss. Seems to work. </p>
<p>Haven’t figured out what we’ll do as far as credit card or debit card accounts yet, so thanks for bringing up the topic. </p>
<p>@2018dad - We also have USAA joint checking accounts with all three of our kids, as well as USAA savings accounts for each of them. We can monitor their accounts online, as well as transfer money between USAA accounts and non-USAA accounts, all online from home. One thing I really like about USAA is the deposit-at-home option (from either a scanner or iPhone), and the fact that USAA credits the account immediately with no waiting period [usually for 100% of the deposit, or infrequently for approx. 90% of the deposit until it goes through (at which point, the remaining amount is credited)]. Our other bank takes about 3 days to credit deposit-at-homes.</p>
<p>It turns out I’m an emotional mom, but not a hover mother. After the first 2 hour session with the provost, housing, dining, medical and financial office, tutoring, etc we looked at each other and said - okay, I’m good are you? I don’t need break out sessions, small groups, tours, handholding, pep rallies, etc. So we went out on our own, found a great korean bbq place for lunch, met up with d for a trip to the bookstore, and she’s off again for the evening. I don’t need the bus tour, dinner or pep rally either. I’m sold. And I’m not the one coming here. Tomorrow we do get to meet with the advisor and then d will learn how to register. That is important and I’m into that. </p>
<p>I know that no such thing existed when I was in college. I think it’s great for my d who only ever saw the school one time to really go over everything and get comfortable. I’m wondering when this started with parents needing to have their own orientation.</p>
<p>We just set up a CapitalOne online checking account - had to wait until this week when D turned 18. My D is going out of state, so this way she’ll have easy access no matter where she is. We both have full access, but of course it will pretty much be me putting money in and her taking money out, lol. I will link it to the bursar’s office so college fees etc can be paid directly. She’ll have a visa/debit care that she can use for books & plane fare & can get cash at an ATM right on campus. I’m hoping this will help her develop an awareness of budgeting etc.as she hasn’t had much experience with that yet.</p>
<p>I’m a year ahead of you all, but I often read this thread. Must be a glutton for punishment about the college application process and launch experience! </p>
<p>Regarding money matters: S13, who just finished his first year, had a savings account before college at our local bank far away from his school. Last summer we set up a checking account to go with it, and he now uses mostly a debit card. The account is in his name (not joint), but he gave me access. He is quite frugal, and pays for his books, airfare to and from school, and incidentals with money he makes from his campus and summer jobs. He also is responsible to us per semester for the small loan part of his aid package, in order to graduate debt free. The account access for me has come in handy, since I can deposit tax refund checks that come to our address and reimbursement checks from the school for items he bought for his club with his own money (he is president next year). He can make online transfers between the two accounts and can go into a local (to school) bank to get cash on his VISA debit card with no charge. So far he has somehow managed not to need much cash. This has worked very well. He knows we’re here as a backup if he has an emergency need, but so far that hasn’t happened. It helps that his school has great food and only one (full) meal plan and he doesn’t order out–he doesn’t even have a refrigerator in his room. Students who need more/extra food will spend more.</p>
<p>First I’m hearing about the physical as well – I have immunization records that are current for what is required in CA high schools, and there is no health history to speak of as none of my girls has had anything beyond a cold or stomach flu. Curious if this is something that will come up for the UCs.</p>
<p>We live in NY & bank at chase, which is everywhere here, and my kids have had their own chase accts with an ATM card throughout high school. We researched banking & ATMs near my S1’s college and noticed there were no convenient chase ATMs or banks nearby. So, he switched his acct to a Bank of America bc we have one in our town and there is a Bank of America ATM on campus, where he incurs no extra charges as he would if he had kept his chase acct. It just made sense. We’ll have S2 research banking at tufts as soon as school is over. I do recall seeing a thread about local banking on the umichigan forum. Parents & students chimed in about their preferred banks and there was a lot of overlap. I guess that’s another mode of research at our fingertips.</p>
<p>@CinMom - Wish I could’ve gone to your party! Love the live music and chocolate fountain!</p>
<p>@minnymom - Your S is very thoughtful! I’m sure his visit made her day!</p>
<p>S had a checking and savings account and a credit card. He deposited all his summer earnings in the savings account. Then, on the first of each month I would transfer a set amount (his savings divided by school months) from his savings to his checking. He “pretended” like the savings account wasn’t there and said it made it easier to budget his spending this way. </p>
<p>I guess because D has chronic health problems she’s a pro when it comes to doctor visits. She schedules her appointments, and unless it’s a significant visit, she goes by herself. She knows all her meds and dosage and gets her prescriptions filled. </p>
<p>I can’t remember who asked about a grad gift for a non-college bound girl (if I scroll back on the iPhone I’m likely to lose this post), but I would think a gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond would be ideal. It’s useful for either setting up one’s first apartment or dorm shopping. </p>
<p>Our pediatrician keeps kids through college. I like that because they can keep ties with a doctor who knows them at home, while using someone in the heath center at school as needed. Then wherever they end up upon graduation, they can find a new doctor.</p>
<p>We’ve long had all our kids’ annual physicals in May because of needing forms for summer camp, so we did that again this year. We only needed an immunization record signed, which I could have dropped off and just had them get signed for me, but he needed a physical anyhow. I asked the doctor to talk to him about the interactions between his meds he takes for a chronic condition and alcohol/pot. The doctor recommended the HPV vaccine so he got the first in that series. He already had meningitis which is recommended for kids living in dorms, again because of camp. I went in with him because he didn’t care either way, and I wanted to ask the doctor to talk to him about drugs/alcohol. He’s not the type to be likely to be a big party animal, but he’ll likely experiment and I want him to know what is and is not safe.</p>
<p>re: money, my older son has a checking account at our home bank that is joint, and he has a debit card on that (as well as checks, which he very occasionally uses). His summer earnings get direct deposited in there. I can transfer money to it if needed, which I’ve done once or twice as a temporary cash-flow help (i.e. to put a deposit on a room for his internship last summer, and then he paid me back when he got paid). There are no branches at school, so he got an account at a small local bank too, so he’d be able to deposit his earnings from his on-campus job and draw cash when needed, which is not often. He also has a credit card on an account of ours that we never use – so it’s “his” card – he uses that for routine purchase and pays it using online banking from the home account. I want him to apply for a real credit card of his own this summer since he has a good-paying internship, and probably qualifies, because I want to hand that account of mine over to S14, who also already has a card on it which we gave him for emergencies when he went to Israel last summer. S14 will have an ATM of our home bank on campus, and a branch nearby, so he won’t need to bother with having a separate account. They also have a debit system on their student card where he can put cash on it and just carry that to pay at a bunch of places on/near campus, but I’m not sure if that will be necessary or helpful in addition to already having his ATM card. (It would save him from having to carry the ATM card all the time, but I’m not sure that is such a big deal)</p>
<p>It’s pretty easy for students to get their own credit cards. Instead of using a card in my name, S got a card in his name. He used it for emergencies and charges authorized by me, and then I paid the bill. It helps them establish good credit while in college. D has a credit card that she obtained and pays herself. It terrifies me because she is not the frugal child like S, and kids often get into trouble with credit. My saving grace is that it’s issued by S’s employer and he keeps an eye on her account for me </p>
<p>@agentninetynine Our school required that the doctor certify the immunization record. Our doctor would not do that without a recent physical. It was a chance to finish up the pre-college vaccines (meningitis and HPV). So the physical itself wasn’t technically required. </p>
<p>@dilecon @eyemamom We have USAA also and love it. Latest unit in the “road to independence” will be learning how to deposit his own checks (grad money) using the mobile app. I think you still have to have a military connection to be a USAA member.</p>
<p>Also on the “road to independence” is memorizing his social security number. </p>
<p>With our first S12, we were very unsure how much extra money he would need. We put his savings in a saving’s account and funded his checking account with parent money. I asked him to transfer money from his savings to his checking when he spent money on non parent approved items like video games. After the first year, I reviewed his spending and told him it looked like he spent about $100 a month in approved extra’s (not books, not train tickets etc…just misc. stuff…) So year two, I am just giving him $400 per semester at the beginning and no longer monitoring his account. I told S14 he is so lucky to have a frugal older brother who has set the bar so low! Ha! Ha! We are going to give son two the same $400 per semester. We have moved S12 to a credit card and will start S14 on a debit card. I am still connected to both their accounts. </p>
<p>I,ve always been on the kids’ checking accounts with debit cards so I could bank for them while they were in hs. They couldn’t always get to the bank during business hours. So, checking won’t change except for ordering paper checks. The account will remain at the local bank. Both kids got credit cards after graduation. An 18 year old with no credit wasn’t going to be approved, so I’m on them. Limits are $1500. The d’s are responsible for their own books/spending, so I don’t put any money into their accounts. They should make enough this summer to cover spending. </p>
<p>We all see the same family doctor, so no changes there. I’ve been sending them in alone for physicals since 15. Going to need to get those physical forms done before registration/orientation in June. </p>
<p>Graduation is over. They really did a very nice job with it. All of the girls were in white gowns and carried a dozen red roses with them. They were all on the stage in chairs on the risers (188 of them) and mixed in was the choir in blue robes in the formation of an “M” for the school name. Their 6 hours of rehersal showed as the all came to the mark on stage and were then announced by the Dean of Student Affairs. The audience actually behaved and there were no shout outs or early applause to spoil the process. It only took an hour. The class speaker did a really nice job and kept the attention of the audience. Her speaking skills were excellent. If that were a primary hiring criteria at my company, I would offer her a job. D ended up receiving an honor for her service (only one of four) and her diploma was one of 52 that were with honors. Grandparents were present and of cousre very proud of her accomplishments as wewre mom and dad.
We came home and had graduation cake and champagne. Actually, we killed 2 bottles!! (Just 5 of us as D had a couple of sips and turned her nose up at it.) Not her cup of tea which is actually good.<br>
Next is the grad party on the 7th. Looking to have about 80 - 100 guests for a BBQ cookout dinner plus the kids that will drop by later. Since we will have beer and wine for the adults and S-2011 friends, we have a retired local cop who will be the bartender and control the alcohol. We did it this way at the 2011 party and had no problems at all. Best money I ever spent for a party.
Best wishes to everyone who is having a party and/or may still have graduation to get through.</p>
<p>@GoldenWest - My 20-year old still has his checking acct with USAA. It just appears as a “secure checking” account now, instead of a “youth spending” account. I still have access to his account, and can transfer money as needed.</p>
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