The summer is a great time to provide some financial education to a son or daughter heading off to college in the fall. Here are a few things that may be helpful to review:
- How will incidentals be covered in college? Will you as parents be paying for movie tickets, restaurant meals, concerts, gym memberships or will your student be paying for them? Will you set up your student on Apple Pay and have them charge your credit card? Will your student get his/her own debit or credit card? If your students gets his/her own credit card, ensure he/she will follow a budget and plan on having the balance paid off immediately each month.
- Who is paying the college tuition? If there are student loans, which parts will be paid back by the student vs. by the parents? If there are loans, roughly how much will your student be required to pay back after college and when must the payments begin?
- Can your student get a part-time job during the academic year and/or during the summer? If so, will your student’s earnings go toward paying off student loans, or will it go toward paying for incidentals or put into savings?
- How can your student save on costs? Can used textbooks be purchased instead of new ones or can digital copies be rented cheaply? What student discounts are available from merchants or restaurants? What is an affordable way for your student to travel home during vacation periods?
- What type of health insurance is needed for your student? If your student is attending a college that isn’t too far from home, could he/she continue staying on your family insurance plan and obtain a waiver from having to pay for the college health insurance plan?
- Does your student need a car? If not, you can either not pay for car insurance at all or pay a reduced amount to have your student able to drive only during visits home.
Sage Personal Finance 