my son (15 in September) will be commuting on a bus and a train to high school. he'll have a transit card but i also want him to have access to cash at an ATM in case of emergencies. i also want him, with my very involved help, to start developing money management skills.

UTMA does not allow him to have any kind of checking account until he's 16 and even then he would have me as a co-signer until he's 18. a savings account has a fair amount of limitations on ATM use; i want him to be able to access his allowance which i would reload every month.

anyone ever use this a Visa Buxx Card? i'm trying to find a downside.

[usa.visa.com]

As an aside, I've been with Chase since High School, and I've been able have a full checking account.

Quote
microchip
As an aside, I've been with Chase since High School, and I've been able have a full checking account.

since before 16?!?

I convinced them to give me one at the end of 8th grade.

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microchip
I convinced them to give me one at the end of 8th grade.

LOL!
Maybe your parents "convinced" them, but you can't even sign a binding contract under 18.

BGnR

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Obviously, my parents cosigned, however I did manage to get a High School Checking Account(also, tied to my parents, but a checking account nontheless), at the end of 8th grade.

BINGO, Microchip!

[www.chase.com]

i'll have to look into the fine print and see if it's available in my state but apparently this is an option with Chase.

If it doesn't work out with Chase, keep looking. My niece was able to get a checking account when she was 15 (which is when she started working a "real" job) and it wasn't with Chase. It was set up the same way Chip described, the account was in her name, under her social security number but it was tied to her parent's account.

Good luck-
DM

i'll call on Monday but chase requires the parent have a qualifying account in addition to the High School Checking. my mortgage is with Chase which qualifies me for the level of checking with no monthly fee as long as i can do it entirely online since only one google hit for Chase in Atlanta came up and that may be an investment office rather than a branch.

Have you checked with your local bank or a credit union? I'm sure my son had his first checking account before he was 16. I was a member of a credit union, so a new account was set up in his name. It wasn't tied to my account directly, although I was a co-signer on it. He's now close to 40 and still has the same account! I never want to hear him criticize ME for being resistant to change!

Washington Mutual has completely free checking. So does Wachovia.

As for management skills.... help him open a small meth lab. The revenue stream will
become very obvious at that point. Plus, the added business skills of procurement, hiring,
chemistry, packaging, etc., they will all help him in the years to follow.

Every spare bathroom is a potential business!

What's the limitations on the savings ATM? USBank savings was 6 withdrawals a month.

What's the limitations on the savings ATM? USBank savings was 6 withdrawals a month.

when i checked with BOA, their limit was 3 per month which i thought was a bit too restrictive considering i'd be dumping his allowance into savings. 6 would have been much more workable. i guess it varies from bank to bank.