Parents: Help Prepare Your College-Bound Students

by Center for Personal Finance editors

High-school graduates soon will leave home for college and embark on many new experiences. Financial independence will be a first for many. Parents, here are some ways you can help prepare your kids for what's in store, according to the Credit Union National Association and the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.

Explain how credit works. If your kids apply for a credit card at one of the countless campus table promotions, they'll not only take home a free T-shirt or coffee mug, but a credit line they may not be able to afford, and may not know how to manage. Nellie Mae reports that undergraduate students had an average credit card debt of $2,327 in 2002. Make sure your teen knows using a credit card is not free money; it's instead a means of putting off paying for purchases until a later date. Accompany your child to the credit union for the best rates on credit cards and consider urging him or her to use a debit card instead.

Create a spending plan. A map of where you're going is the best way to avoid losing your way on the road to financial independence. Sit down with your teen and develop a spending plan. Write down all college expenses such as tuition, books, room and board, cell phone, toiletries, entertainment, and so forth. Determine which expenses you'll be paying and those for which your child will be paying. Take scholarship and loan money into account.

Come to a no-bail-out agreement. Agree beforehand that students are going to take full responsibility for their finances at college. Some students will end up charging more than they can afford, run out of money before the end of the month, or be in debt to their roommates. Your first reaction may be to send money and bail your child out of the financial hardship. Don't do it. Students need to figure out a way to get out of debt such as working on weekends or staying home when their friends are going out. Chances are they won't make the same mistake twice.

July 26, 2004