money access for college student

[SEA333]

How do you get out of fees from the ATM? I understand if your bank doesn't charge anything but how do avoid the other side? what bank is it?

thanks...

---Paul in Southern NJ

PNC Bank does not charge a ATM fee for any ATM transaction and reimburses any fee charged from any other ATM the customer uses. They credit the fee right back into the checking account within a day or two of the transaction.

You can deposit checks via your mobile app. Not sure about cash...we have never tried since our PNC is at the end of our block and we just deposit cash there if needed. But I *think* that PNC is fairly widespread in the USA?

 

[psimon]

PNC Bank does not charge a ATM fee for any ATM transaction and reimburses any fee charged from any other ATM the customer uses. They credit the fee right back into the checking account within a day or two of the transaction.

You can deposit checks via your mobile app. Not sure about cash...we have never tried since our PNC is at the end of our block and we just deposit cash there if needed. But I *think* that PNC is fairly widespread in the USA?

My older daughter always go to Wawa to hit her PNC account because there are no fees there. I wasn't aware that PNC will eat anyone else's ATM charges. Something to check out!

Thanks...

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

How do you get out of fees from the ATM? I understand if your bank doesn't charge anything but how do avoid the other side? what bank is it?

thanks...

---Paul in Southern NJ

If you are eligible for a USAA bank account, you can make up to 10 (I believe) withdrawals from any ATM and USAA reimburses all the fees.

 

[Nztara]

I got a job when I turned 16 and opened a checking account with my mom 's name also on it at that time. That way if I had an emergency, she could access the account. I worked and paid for everything while in school.

If your child is not responsible enough not to overdraft, consider pre-paid cards or Wal -Mart reload able cards. Almost everything needed to live day to day can be found at Wal -Mart.

 

[pryncess527]

Regardless of what banking method you use, I'd encourage you to consider having your kid try out YNAB. They offer it free to college students. I shudder to think how much better my finances would be now if I'd had YNAB in college.

http://www.youneedabudget.com/blog/2014/ynab-is-now-free-for-college-students/

It's essentially an electronic form of envelope based budgeting, and has a very convenient app that will make it easy for college students to record transactions and get used to planning.

 

[Patience]

DD is now a junior. She has a credit card (tied to our account) for specific purchases and emergencies. She has a checking account and debit card.

Same for our daughter who is now a junior. She uses the credit card for gas periodically to help her build credit. Her apartment complex does not accept debit cards so she has a checkbook that she only uses for writing rent checks. For everything else, she uses her debit card.

 

[barkley]

it's important to find out how the school operates for financial aid and scholarships-at dd's all of these are required to be administered through the school (scholarship donors must send the funds directly to the school to disburse). dd's university operates on trimestester so 3 times a year the school pulls 1/3rd of what's in that financial account to pay for tuition and fees, and then depending on what the student has indicated to them to do-either mails a check for the difference or direct deposits it into a bank account.

dd did a yearly budget, the amount that's her monthly spending money is set up to auto transfer each month from her savings to her checking. she uses a debit card for the majority of her purchases. she could have it put on her student id account at college-but that's limited to on-campus and some local vendors while her debit card can be used anywhere. we had the same credit union issue her an authorized user card from our credit card account with a set limit of $1000-she only uses this for gas, books, supplies and emergencies (great way to keep track of school expenses for taxes). when the statement comes in we can pay it on-line from her account.

we use our local credit union for all of this b/c they charge no fees, and we can set everything up so she/we (with her agreement) can have on-line access to the accounts (so in a pinch if needed, I could transfer money from our account to hers). our credit union has shared banking privileges so it remains a 'local bank' to her university by virtue of a nearby branch.

 

[Iowajes]

I graduated college ten years ago...

I had a checking account (no debit card, people still sometimes wrote checks, just an ATM card), I had 2 credit cards. One was my credit card, one was tied to my parents account. I was only allowed to use my parents card for true emergencies, or if they told me to use it (gas for a trip home, gift for a special occasion). I was not allowed to work a full time job, so my parents transferred rent money plus my food allowance into my checking account monthly, and I wrote a check to pay my rent.

Any personal spending was put on my credit card and I was on the hook to pay it off each month with money I earned from my part-time job, or had saved, including anything in my checking account after rent was paid. (I often went without good groceries so I could get a pedicure, for instance).

I also had a savings account, but I never touched that in college.

Our student ID was hooked up to "Aggie Bucks" which could be spent at a ton of places around town, and my parents would usually give me like $300 a semester on that for a few trips out to eat.

 

[MrsPete]

Here's what we've done to help our student:

1. When she was a high school senior, we helped her open a checking account with a debit card attached. While she was still a senior, we helped her learn to manage these things: We gave her an allowance only once a month (directly deposited into her checking account), we gave her the money for her senior fees and so forth and let her pay them. When she went away to college, she was well aquainted with how to use the ATM, etc.

2. Her checking account is at our state employee's credit union. We made sure that an ATM was available on her campus and a full-fledged bank was located down the road. If these things hadn't been on her campus, we would've looked at moving her to a different bank.

3. Now that she's in college, each time the tuition bill comes, we sit down with her and go over what it'll cost for her to be a student that semester -- tuition, fees, groceries, whatever. And we give her the money to allocate appropriately. It does help that her university doesn't sell books; rather, $105 of her tuition is book rental; it's easier for us to be exact in what she'll need for the semester. She understands that this is IT for the semester. If she wants to come home, we're happy to come get her, and we'll send her back with a bag of groceries and a couple homemade goodies, but we do not provide spending money throughout the semester.

It's been working for us.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Here's what we've done to help our student:

1. When she was a high school senior, we helped her open a checking account with a debit card attached. While she was still a senior, we helped her learn to manage these things: We gave her an allowance only once a month (directly deposited into her checking account), we gave her the money for her senior fees and so forth and let her pay them. When she went away to college, she was well aquainted with how to use the ATM, etc.

2. Her checking account is at our state employee's credit union. We made sure that an ATM was available on her campus and a full-fledged bank was located down the road. If these things hadn't been on her campus, we would've looked at moving her to a different bank.

3. Now that she's in college, each time the tuition bill comes, we sit down with her and go over what it'll cost for her to be a student that semester -- tuition, fees, groceries, whatever. And we give her the money to allocate appropriately. It does help that her university doesn't sell books; rather, $105 of her tuition is book rental; it's easier for us to be exact in what she'll need for the semester. She understands that this is IT for the semester. If she wants to come home, we're happy to come get her, and we'll send her back with a bag of groceries and a couple homemade goodies, but we do not provide spending money throughout the semester.

It's been working for us.

How do you decide how much to budget for her for incidentals like toiletries and groceries? My daughter will be a freshman and I'm trying to decide how much she'll need.

 

[aprilgail2]

I guess it's a little late for you to do this, but when my kids start driving I open them a checking acct. that is attached to my checking account so I can transfer money to them, it's a teen account (they can't access my account with it). My daughter will be using her debit card at college, she's used to it now.

My 14 year old just opened her first checking account with a large check she got from an acting job she did- it comes with a visa debit card. She is really good about watching how much she spends where and checking online to make sure everything is right in it. I think that you need to help them learn about managing their finances way before they are a high school senior and going off to college the following year.

 

[OnlyDisney]

Probably I grew up differently, but I got a job. I had a checking account, savings account and credit cards.

My parents were not involved in any of this. They were fantastic resources and gave advice when I asked, but I was an adult and they treated me as such. If I wanted money, I worked.

During the summer I worked 2 jobs. During the school year, I had my work-study and my weekend job. I earned what I needed to put gas in the car I bought for myself, buy my books and pay for everything I needed, including tuition and dorm (just for one year I decided that was a waste, but a must-do for college). Also, I graduated Cum Laude and was Senior Class President as well as involved in a Sorority and other clubs all through college.

My junior year, I also squeezed in a trip to Spain for the summer.

So, probably I would not arrange for access to any money, they can earn it and spend it as they see fit.

You sound very blessed. I would love to know what year you graduated, the school, and what kind of work-study and weekend job you had.

I'm sure you've heard about the inflation of tuition. Here is an article that talks about working your way through college or actually the myth of it. Here's a small excerpt: "A credit hour in 1979 at MSU was 24.50, adjusted for inflation that is 79.23 in today dollars. One credit hour today costs 428.75."
It's a great read for people who have been out of college for awhile.

My 14 year old just opened her first checking account with a large check she got from an acting job she did- it comes with a visa debit card. She is really good about watching how much she spends where and checking online to make sure everything is right in it. I think that you need to help them learn about managing their finances way before they are a high school senior and going off to college the following year.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

You sound very blessed. I would love to know what year you graduated, the school, and what kind of work-study and weekend job you had.

I'm sure you've heard about the inflation of tuition. Here is an article that talks about working your way through college or actually the myth of it. Here's a small excerpt: "A credit hour in 1979 at MSU was 24.50, adjusted for inflation that is 79.23 in today dollars. One credit hour today costs 428.75."
It's a great read for people who have been out of college for awhile.

I'm inclined to agree with you. While I encourage my daughter to work part time, I want her focus to be school and I really don't think she would earn enough to buy her own car or anything besides some extra pizza money working weekends at minimum wage. But fortunately she earned enough in academic scholarships and has enough financial aid that her only expenses will be books and incidentals.

Also something that concerns me is my own experience, I worked during college and I got sucked into it, working more and more hours because I was supporting myself completely and finally my school took the backburner and when I was promoted to management I dropped out of school because my grades weren't where they needed to be and I couldn't decide on a major.

 

[Happyjen27]

I graduated 20 years ago, but I looked at that chart from NC that you linked, and tuition was not $846 up in the northern states. I wish it were. Probably I could have afforded more than the 11 year old Toyota Tercel I had in college if it were that low. My tuition was approx. 2700 per year. Current rates are 6100 per year. If you adjust my 2700 tuition for inflation it was equal to 4334 in today's dollars. So yes, in 20 years tuition has gone up, however, minimum wage was 4.50 then, and now it's 7.25, so earning power has also increased more so. (EDIT: earning power has stayed the same when adjusted for inflation.)

I went to a state school, my work study was in the school library (extra study time for me!) and my weekend job was 8-4 at a local drug store. Yes, that's 8-4 both Sat and Sun every week, class all morning and lab all afternoon during the week. Extracurriculars in the evening, and going out with friends weekend nights. That lifestyle is for the young for sure, I couldnt' keep that pace now.

I worked 2 jobs all summer. One was for fun, it was at a Day Camp for kids where I got to ride horses, hike, swim and lifeguard all day. Most nights I was back at the drug store to complete my 12 hour work day.

Yes, I was blessed, my mom let me live at home for free 3 of the 4 years I went to school, and that was amazing. 3 days after I graduated, she started charging me rent though. Even that was a blessing, because she kept me motivated. It made me appreciate the free room and board she happily provided as long as I was in school. My sophomore year I lived on campus, and decided that I could live at home so much more cheaply it wasn't wise to continue that.

I may not have been very clear about my point. It was not to "make" anyone work, but simply to point out that a young adult entering college might benefit from being completely in control of their own money. Whether they work for it or you choose to provide that money in form of a gift, then put it in their account so they can make their own budget, choices, etc.

As for whether it would be possible to work myself through school in this day and age, yes, I think the numbers support that it would be. Will I have my kids work for their money for college? Yes, but I'm saving diligently every month to ensure I can provide tuition, room and board for them.

 

[sk!mom]

How do you decide how much to budget for her for incidentals like toiletries and groceries? My daughter will be a freshman and I'm trying to decide how much she'll need.

Not the person you asked but our plan is for DD to cover her own incidentals and gas. She has worked this Summer and will go with a healthy nest egg and she has lined up a 12 hour a week job that pays $10 per hour. That seems like a number of hours that should provide enough spending money without interfering with her ability to make school the priority.

She has a 7 day meal plan so will have no "need" of groceries. She will take with her a stockpile of toiletries and cleaning products. When we visit or she comes home, I'm sure we will help her restock.

I want her to have money for fun but not too much fun.

I'd love to hear others ideas on this.

 

[SC Minnie]

When DD was getting ready to head out for her freshman year she stocked up on toiletries- shampoo, body wash, etc. She didn't need restocking until spring. To be honest they really don't need that much for toiletries. If the student is on a meal plan the only money they would need is for the occasional going out with friends and snacks. If they don't have a car they don't need gas $. If you set a budget for them for incidentals, $100, $200, or whatever, then they need to learn to live within that. JMO

 

[MrsPete]

How do you decide how much to budget for her for incidentals like toiletries and groceries? My daughter will be a freshman and I'm trying to decide how much she'll need.

As a freshman-sophomore, she lived on campus, so food was easy. She had a meal plan, which meant she could always eat -- but if she wanted to go out with friends, she had to pay that herself. We sent her away with a "starter stock" of toiletries, and we gave her $50 for the semester for refills on those things. That was also expected to cover the occasional stop at Health Services for a bottle of Tylenol or cold medicine. And, like about 50% of new freshmen, my daughter DID get sick during her first month on campus -- I forget if it was Strep Throat or Bronchitus -- and that covered the antibiotic from Health Services.

Now that she's in an apartment, we're moving into new territory. I'm thinking of giving her the same amount I used to spend on a meal plan for food, but I haven't yet taken time to figure out how much that is per week. The $50 /semester for toiletries, meds, and other emergency items worked out fine for us. I think she even had some left over some semesters.

When she was on campus, she didn't have (or need) a car. She worked at Health Services on campus, and we never minded running back and forth to get her for a weekend home. Now that she's starting Student Nursing and will be required to travel to hospitals for Clinicals, my plan is to figure up (with google maps) how many miles she'll be driving for classes each week X how many days she must to go Clinicals, and I'll give her gas money for her required driving . . . but she'll be responsible for her fun-runs. Since she'll be in different hospitals each semester, we'll have to figure this up again every semester.

We are not paying for an on-campus parking sticker; she'll ride the bus when she needs to go to campus.

Our plan has always been, We'll pay for the necessities, but you're responsible for the over-and-aboves.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Not the person you asked but our plan is for DD to cover her own incidentals and gas. She has worked this Summer and will go with a healthy nest egg and she has lined up a 12 hour a week job that pays $10 per hour. That seems like a number of hours that should provide enough spending money without interfering with her ability to make school the priority.

She has a 7 day meal plan so will have no "need" of groceries. She will take with her a stockpile of toiletries and cleaning products. When we visit or she comes home, I'm sure we will help her restock.

I want her to have money for fun but not too much fun.

I'd love to hear others ideas on this.

When DD was getting ready to head out for her freshman year she stocked up on toiletries- shampoo, body wash, etc. She didn't need restocking until spring. To be honest they really don't need that much for toiletries. If the student is on a meal plan the only money they would need is for the occasional going out with friends and snacks. If they don't have a car they don't need gas $. If you set a budget for them for incidentals, $100, $200, or whatever, then they need to learn to live within that. JMO

Thank-you for your replies. I was thinking along these lines so I'm glad I wasn't forgetting about anything. DD isn't taking a car to school, she has a meal plan with a $200 declining balance that can be used at the fast food and convenience store on campus. I'm sending her with new toiletries and detergent and I figure I'll probably get more when she comes home for breaks to send her back with. She's actually very frugal and does a really good job of looking for free activities, she even does swagbucks.

 

[Angeni11]

Of course I went to college over 20 years ago but I had a $500 student VISA card though our credit union that I used and my parents paid the bill on. If I needed cash I usually just went to the comptroller office at the college and cashed a check.

 

[danygirl]

Ds worked all summer and blew it and went to school freshman year broke. I pd the tuition room and board and bought books and didn't give him a dime beyond that. He learned

Middle dd has an on campus job that keeps her in grocery money and play money. I pay tuition. She lost her scholarship and had to pay that money herself. She learned

Baby goes off this fall with a full tuition scholarship and we pay room and board

This summer she coached, guarded, taught lessons and walked a dog daily. She also coached and walked that pup all year. She has bucks. She learned by watching the other two

The one thing I know for sure is that the more of their own money in the game, the higher the grades!