1. Don't deposit and dash:
For parents who plan to supply their student with extra spending money, realize that your offer is both incredibly generous and potentially hazardous, if you're doling out a semester or year's worth of cash without a loose framework of how that money should be divided, notes Houston Dougharty, vice president of student affairs at Grinnell College in Iowa. "Too often, I have worked with [parents] who, upon dropping off their student, say, 'I've put $2,000 in your checking account for the year,' -- and then that student is the most generous pizza buyer for the first month of college," Dougharty says. "[By] October, they don't have money to do laundry."
Instead, talk to your students about the importance of intentional, incremental budgeting. Help them set up a month-to-month plan that allows for unexpected expenses, such as an off-campus dinner with hall mates or a few extra loads of wash. That conversation is also a great opportunity to be honest about what they can assume from you; if you expect your student to save money to cover the last two years of tuition, for example, or if he or she will be paying for textbooks out of pocket, mention that now, experts recommend.
