Your child is going to college.
You’ve scheduled a summer orientation session. You’ve sent the housing deposit. You’ve done the obligatory shopping to pick out bedding, towels and closet hangers. You’re all set, right? Not yet.
Don’t forget to make financial arrangements for your college-bound student before school starts. Aside from handling tuition and housing payments, your student will want access to a fun-money account to pay for those late-night pizza parties, laundry and off-campus movies.
Here are the best ways to get funds to your freshman:
1. Load up the campus ID card.
Most schools have student identification cards that also act as debit cards. At Indiana University,CampusAccess cards are good for laundry, vending machines, the bookstore, on-campus dining and many off-campus retailers. University of Illinois i-card users can connect their campus ID to a TCF bank account, while University of Wisconsin students get a Wiscard that offers discounts and benefits. At Northwestern University, the WildCARD can be used on campus for meals, health services and sporting events, as well as at more than 300 local businesses that offer credits to cardholders.
2. Link a debit card to your account.
This method is a favorite with area parents. For Janet Rowe of Glenview, whose oldest son attends the University of Washington, a debit card fits the bill. “His card is linked to our accounts, so we can see whenever he’s running low and we get an alert when his balance falls below $25. The nice thing about having linked accounts is that we can see where his money is going,” she says.
3. Give them an Amex or PayPal debit card.
A newer option for the 21st century, the American Express Bluebird and PayPal cards give parents full access and makes it easy to quickly transfer funds in the account and monitor spending.
4. Open a checking account.
An oldie but a goodie, some parents prefer to let their kids handle money management the old-fashioned way. Glencoe’s Wendi Beimer used checking accounts with both of her sons, one a current college student and one a graduate. “I deposit a check each quarter in my son’s account; he handles everything from there,” she says. “My youngest isn’t a spender, so he has money left every month. My oldest was always out of money and I’d threaten to stop sending checks if he didn’t check in more often. Now every Sunday I still get a call!”
For miscellaneous items, some parents share an Amazon account with their kids, letting them purchase online from the family account. Amazon allows a member to have up to 300 delegated purchases, though, so keep an eye on those statements.
