<p>I’m not a parent, and I know that every family dynamic is different, but…</p>
<p>I would have hated it if my mom or dad had tried to set up systems for me to manage my money once I started college. Can you pass suggestions on to her and let her implement the one that she wants? Or none, if that’s her choice? Knowing that my parents trust me and believe I can behave in adult ways is incredibly empowering.</p>
<p>She wants me to help her figure out a system that will work - I don’t tell her to do anything - you don’t know my kid! :)</p>
<p>Sorry, that’s completely different, then. In that case, I’ll through in a vote for a spreadsheet program.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>This is what I did, in addition to overdraft protection linked to either a savings account or a credit card. I never like to play it close to the line when it came to dealing with the bank. If you cough without covering your mouth, you get charged a fee!</p>
<p>re post #17, some credit card companies will turn you down if you are over the limit. Some will let the charge go, then tack on a hefty overlimit fee, similar to a bounced check fee (I saw one recently that was $39.00). So if you go that route, make sure you find out ahead of time how that type of situation would be handled.</p>
<p>A note: if it is the first time she has overdrawn, most banks are fairly good about waiving the overdraft charge. (At least my bank is). A while back, my d. made a mistake with online banking – she thought she was transferring money from her savings to checking account, but actually transferred money to her credit card, at the same time as she also PAID the credit card from her checking… so she had paid double the amount due to the credit card & her checking account was overdrawn. She only found out about it when she went to the ATM and found she had no money. She called me in a panic, but I figured out right away what had happened (I’ve done that sort of thing myself a couple of times) – and I told her that she would be able to work things out. She called the bank & they were very understanding and did credit her back the overdraft fees. </p>
<p>Same with late fees on a credit card: they will usually waive the charge the first time it happens. Of course in either case you have to be very apologetic when you make the call and ask very nicely…</p>
<p>You might be interested in mint.com. It’s free money-management software and seems to have lot of powerful tools.</p>