Financial Advice for College Students

My child is going off to college this month. What financial advice should we have given her about handling money on a daily basis? -- Penny-wise
Answer: We asked several recent college graduates to comment on what they wish their parents had told them before they left home. They spoke primarily about handling credit or debit cards wisely.
Jennifer: All parents should tell their children not to get a credit card or to only charge what they can pay off each month. A lot of my friends got into big trouble from carrying high balances.
Maria: I needed a better understanding of credit cards. When you get to college, there are credit card sign-ups everywhere. I did not know how to compare what they offered. I also needed to know how to track better what I was spending.
Matt: I wish that I had known that many banks cover debit-card overdrafts and then charge you a fee -- typically about $35 per transaction. This is terrible when you are only $1 or $2 over your limit.
George: My parents gave me an ATM bank card at the local bank where I put money from my summer job. They showed me how to view the balance. I never paid any attention to the balance and overdrafted constantly. Then I just waited until my parents put in more money. Not good financial sense!
Karen: I wish they would have taken me to the store so I could have learned how to shop for groceries. I wasted a lot of money on food until I figured out the best types of food to keep in my dorm room -- low cost, long shelf life, non-refrigerated, good tasting.
Shari: I wished that they had talked about how much text messaging could cost. Then I would have gone with a cell-phone plan that included unlimited texting.