Talk
to them about income and expense budgets. Some kids are paying their own way
and others have parents footing the bill for living and out-of-pocket expenses
during the school year.
In
either case, create a budget. It doesn’t have to be detailed expenditure by
expenditure, but a general budget alerting junior just how much they can spend
every week, month and semester is good training for real life. Create general
categories such as entertainment, travel, school supplies and ask your child to
monitor it under your supervision.
This
is a far better alternative than learning during the winter break that your
child has spent an entire year’s worth of money in one semester. Some of
today’s over-leveraged economic problems in the U.S. may be because no one had
the sense to drive this concept home into the minds of their children earlier
in life.
Pay
attention to health insurance. Make sure that your coverage will get your child
access to the type of care that may be needed beyond what the school offers.
This is more significant for children who travel abroad or those who require
regular medical care. Travel abroad can be especially problematic with respect
to health insurance, so learn about your options early.
The
same may be true for the car that your child uses at school. Let the insurance
company know that the car will be garaged at the school. It may also be a good
time to talk to your child about granting permission to their friends regarding
use of the car. We all want to be the good neighbor, and help a friend in need,
but it may be a better policy to discourage allowing any college buddies from
using the car.
For
students living on campus, you should check to see that all of the in-dorm
valuables are covered. This may be a simple call to your agent or a separate
policy that you buy from the school or your insurance agent. For children
living off campus, there is a good possibility that there is no coverage
automatically. It could be as simple as notifying your insurance company or as
complicated as adding a special rental policy or endorsement for the off campus
housing.
John P. Napolitano is CEO of U.S. Wealth Managementin
Braintree, Mass., and 2012 president of the Financial Planning Association of
Massachusetts. He may be reached at jnap@uswealthcompanies.com
or on Facebook as JohnPNapolitano and US Wealth
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Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.
Investment advice offered through U.S. Financial Advisors, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. The LPL Financial Registered Representatives associated with this site may only discuss and/or transact securities business with resident of the following states: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MN, NC, ND, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WV. USFA, and U.S. Insurance Brokers, LLC are wholly-owned subsidiaries of U.S. Wealth Management. U.S. Wealth Management companies are not affiliated with LPL Financial.
The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.