Many universities require direct deposit for WS these days. Employers do as well.
Last night, when my daughter (age 31 now) sighed and said “Instagram’s not that hard, mom” I thought immediately that there should be a companion thread to this one: “things our kids assume everyone knows–and we don’t know”.
@Overtheedge hysterical about the pods! I just bought my son some and realized from your post that I will need to explain! If they make the analogy to dishwasher pods, of course they’ll want to put them in the tray!
doschicos - good to know I am not alone. love my flip phone!!!
Mom’s detail oriented is still needed by a 22 YO when it comes to apartment details, lease, and move in special maximization.
@doschicos, LOL, oops, sorry – shouldn’t have assumed!!
One of these days I’ll make the plunge and then I’ll be all over it, @collage1. I’m definitely a proponent of online banking.
That you really should carry some cash on you along with your school ID at all times.
Yes! DS got to a strange city, thinking a friend was going to pick him up at the airport, miscommunication, didn’t know how to get to his conference. I said, “get a cab.” (OK, old-fashioned mom…) He said, “but I only have $2.50 in my pocket.” (This was notwithstanding my prior admonition to always carry cash when traveling!)
Fortunately I asked my niece (early 20s), who happened to be around, for any ideas, and she suggested Uber. He was able to get an Uber using his debit card. But I think he learned a lesson.
Might not have needed to, @Sweetbeet, since most cabs take debit/credit cards these days, too.
(I frequently travel without any cash in my pocket, myself.)
I usually have some cash when traveling. But I often don’t have cash when going about my day to day life. My husband almost never dies. . Many cans take cards. Also, airports have ATM’s. As do many other places. You might have to pay extra to withdraw from them but you can get cash.
I enjoy asking the cashier if they still take cash.
Ack. I swear I retyped cabs 3 times and it still came out as cans. Didn’t even see dies for does. 
Watch your pay stubs to make sure you are being paid correctly. D2’s summer research checks are being mailed to our home address this summer, and I have been depositing them in a joint checking account we have. Last one arrived this week, and I noticed she was underpaid by $500 for the summer by looking at the YTD totals. She probably wouldn’t have noticed (maybe at tax time)? I showed her what to look for, and helped her figure out who to contact.
D3 was sautéing something and thought she had too much oil. She headed straight for the sink until I stopped her. She wanted to pour it down the drain, “don’t worry, I’ll pour it on the side”. No, kid! We had a little talk after about congealing fat monsters in sewer systems.
^^that reminds me, one thing I have taught my kids is that you don’t put out a grease fire with water! (I used a Mythbusters youtube video to illustrate, not wanting to actually start a grease fire to explain).
That reminds me;What is the best fire extinguisher for the kitchen?
My 20 year old attempted to mop the other day. She added some pine sol to water and went to town. After we got home and started walking around I noticed my shoes were sticking to the floor. When questioned it turns out that she was not aware there was a water to cleanser ratio. I think she used about a quarter of a bottle to a gallon of water.
@Iglooo we have a Costco-sized bag of baking soda. Super low tech, works very well to suffocate fires. I’ve been known to set the dinner on fire. 
High powered gas stove + person who always cooks on high=FIRE!
It not that everyone does it, but I wish my DD learn how to sew. It is completely unrelated to my occupation or her prospective major, but she sees me doing simple alterations and feels that this is the skills she wishes she had. It was a class I took in HS and I wish our school had something similar. As she watched me yesterday shortening her dress she asked what she is going to do when she needs to do alteration for her children. I told her: bring it to grandma 