<p>My D has had some issues with keeping track of debit card expenditures. Back in the dark ages, I either carried cash or wrote a check … and I faithfully recorded each check as I wrote it. When my D got a debit card, I encouraged her to keep a register, just like one would keep for checks. Good idea, but it isn’t going to happen. You guessed it. She just monitors her balance online. The account looks like it has money, but the transactions haven’t all come through yet … and the overdraw fee kicks in. It only happened once, but I don’t want it to happen a second time. </p>
<p>So, my question to all of you all-knowing CC parents: Do you know of any simple software that can be used to track expenses? I am thinking of something that acts like a check register … D can keep receipts & record them daily. Since the computer is pretty much an appendage, this should work okay. I searched on line for free software, but I am not sure what might work best. Budgets, expense forecasts, retirement planning … not needed! She barely has enough money to get by, so she just needs something that will keep her from overdrawing. I kind of like the idea of categorizing expenses, since it will allow her to see where the money is going. Other than that, no real bells and whistles are necessary.</p>
<p>I don’t know what my D does cause she doesn’t have any problems, but what I do is handle my accounts online and carry a PDA ( palm) that has quicken loaded. I am prompted to download updated transactions everyday when I waken my computer, and then I just transfer them to PDA ( using bluetooth)</p>
<p>Is Quicken good for just the basic stuff? I guess I worry that it might have so many extras (besides just a way to keep track of what’s spent) that it’s hard to use. I use Quickbooks for bookkeeping, and that has so much more than I need for the basic stuff I do … sometimes it frustrates me because it’s hard to bypass what I don’t need.</p>
<p>Quicken will work just fine and doesn’t have too many extras. At least the extra features don’t interfere…they do allow you to bypass (unlike some versions of Quickbooks).</p>
<p>I mentioned quicken because while I think that there are cheaper/easier programs, the quicken on my laptop- syncs with the quicken on my PDA- but there may be other programs that do that.
I have a Macbook pro so probably not as many applications out there that I am familiar with.</p>
<p>How old is she and what’s her situation? New grad who’s earning just enough to cover rent, 15 year old spending money at the mall, or something in between?</p>
<p>If she has so little money and a difficult time keeping track of it (and isn’t making big payments like rent), maybe she should be using cash instead of a debit card? It’s hard to overspend if you do that… I would be a little surprised if software (especially if she didn’t take the initiative to find it) made her suddenly start keeping track of receipts.</p>
<p>She is a college freshman at a school far from home. She has always been very good with her money. She is at the end of the school year, and it is her responsibility to use her savings for expenses … and they are running low at this point (no on campus jobs available for non CWS at this school). In addition, there are some expenses I reimburse her for & there is at times a lag between the expense & me transferring money to her account. I am not worried about her spending habits (I mentioned expense tracking just because it is a nice plus). The real problem in my opinion is the fact that she uses a debit card (without a hand-kept register). It is “the” thing to do, and I don’t think she’ll change that habit. That is why I am trying to hook her up with a method of keeping track of her expenses that will work for her. It’s not that she is spending too much per se. It’s more that she needs to keep a checkbook register-like tally in order to know for certain what is in her account at all times. I know lots of kids who use debit cards almost exclusively, and I know lots of kids - and adults - who often overdraw on their debit accounts. I don’t want this to happen to D, which is why I hope to find something that might work to put her on a good path now. Many CC parents have great ideas — that is why I asked, hoping some of you have ideas that work well for your kids.</p>
<p>Quicken! yes. Fill in the ‘register’ and then download the statement from the bank to cross check. </p>
<p>Also, you should be able to check your bank. We have Well’s Fargo which doesn’t allow you to enter your own spending into it, but does provide the breakdown (grocery, clothes, gas, etc) that can be a real eye opener. It is on-line so DD can get a sense of how much impact the $4.05 / gallon gas is making in her balance… Knowing the places the money goes is just as important as knowing how much you spent IMHO.</p>
<p>most banks (atleast mine) will have the purchases that haven’t gone through yet listed as well. So if she examines it more than just looking at the balance she should be able to know what is in the account. You could also just make sure that you have a cushion (~200?) so that you likely won’t overdraw the account.</p>
<p>Yeah, I like a $500 cushion in my checking account. Means I’m never worried about the balance. If I need to make a large purchase, I move a larger cushion of money into the checking account. I think if I was running low on money and couldn’t do that, I’d use cash for transactions because otherwise I’d be too worried about whether or not I would be overdrawing. </p>
<p>Also agreed about the pending transactions. I also only check my account online (don’t use a register) but the lag has never caused me problems.</p>
<p>Her bank does not have pending purchases listed anywhere. IMO, that shouldn’t be an issue … if expenditures on a debit card are treated the same way checks are treated, there wouldn’t be any question. I’m just trying to find the teen-friendly way to get her to do that! </p>
<p>A several hundred dollar cushion would be nice, but she doesn’t have that at this point. </p>
<p>I like the idea of Quicken. It’s readily available & relatively inexpensive (actully, someone gave me Quicken & I haven’t used it … but she has a Mac, and I don’t think my copy will work for her). </p>
<p>Seriously, if she uses the computer to track her purchases, and she uses her debit card almost exclusively for all purchases, they are going to show up within 24-48 hours online. Unless she’s making huge purchases or drawing her balance down to single digits, it shouldn’t be too hard to track it online, especially since you can remember what you’ve charged to your debit account that day, even if it isn’t showing up online yet.</p>
<p>I have this talk with my own kids- if they are not going to keep a “check register” then they have to check their online balances nightly, period. They check their facebooks whenever a new “So-And-So commented on your picture” comes on… so they can check their bank account too.</p>
<p>That leads to a great idea- an online banking system that emails students with constant updates (like myspace and facebook)… “You’re checking account is below $100…” </p>
<p>Oh, my bad. They’d rather you open a line of credit. Go figure.</p>
<p>Actually, plenty of banks give you such updates. My credit card company emails me whenever a purchase is made with my card, one of my checking accounts emails me with my balance every day, and the other one emails me if a purchase of more than $100 is made. [Edit: these are all opt-in, though.] </p>
<p>My mom still thinks I should use a register, even though I’ve never come close to over drawing my account. My system works for me, though.</p>
<p>I vote for the excel spreadsheet. She can enter things when she’s on her computer to do facebook or homework or whatever else she’s doing. Another idea would be something like an index card that she could keep in her wallet and just jot things down, or an envelope that she puts ALL of her debit card receipts in.</p>
<p>Really, any system can work, she just has to DO it.</p>
<p>And just as an editorial, I don’t like Quicken, although it will certainly do what you need.</p>
<p>I like Quicken over Excel spreadsheet just because it somehow seems more " fun" to track things. But you have to buy Quicken and she probably already has Excel.</p>
<p>She has to make the entries of course and I’m wondering if she will.</p>
<p>Personally, I think she should ditch the debit card and go with a credit card. For (at least) two reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li>Debit cards just let you keep on using (apparently) and charge you those nice overdraft fees if you spend money you don’t have.</li>
</ol>
<p>Credit cards will be turned down if you are over your limit (won’t they?) Set a low limit, pay it off in full monthly and she will not have this problem.</p>
<ol>
<li>We found out when a local grocery chain had a security problem where credit/debit card information was hacked into:</li>
</ol>
<p>If your credit card is used fraudulently, you are protected so long as you report the abuse within 60 days. Your max exposure is $50.</p>
<p>BUT, if your debit card is used fraudulently, you are protected ONLY so long as you report the abuse WITHIN 48 HOURS! You might not even be aware of the abuse in such a short time. And your maximum exposure is more like $500.
When I learned that, I had my son stop using his debit card and apply for a credit card. If his debit card were compromised, they could almost wipe out his bank account. </p>
Not a very friendly, but quite efficient way is to let her pay the fees a couple of times…
You can easily set up an email notification if the amount goes bellow set $$$, or any withdrawal over certain amount is made.</p>
<p>I agree about using a credit card. She can build up her credit - assuming she pays it off every month. She can also get one with rewards - I use a cashback card for all my purchases - including big ones like health insurance - and I get checks back all the time. Of course, it makes no sense if you carry a balance because the interest eats up the rewards so you need to have one that you pay off every month.</p>
<p>Nngmm, she did it once & had to pay the fee. I am not nice enough to cover dumb mistakes! I warned her …</p>
<p>I am such a stickler for keeping track of my expenditures. I have been treasurer for many organizations & I have seen so many people bounce checks. It has always blown my mind. I guess I just want to make sure my own kids don’t end up paying hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees, as I see happen to others. </p>
<p>Thanks for all the ideas. I think the excel thing is probably our best bet. It will give me a chance to try out my skills at doing something other than the usual reports I do. It should be easy to set up. I will work with D throughout the summer while she is home to try to get her to enter the info so it becomes second nature.</p>
<p>She does have a credit card, but she keeps charges to a minimum - stuff she is going to be reimbursed for, basically.</p>
</p>