Now that our daughter has turned 18 we're in the process of separating our finances. Let me know what I'm missing:
For starters, when she was nine years old we established a NFCU checking account in her name. Since I was her custodian at the time, her account is actually a subset of my accounts. We'll be trying to split them out from mine to stand on her own. Ideally we'd do this in some manner that would keep her same account numbers and maybe even start her own credit history. I'd hate for her to have to go through ordering new checks, getting a new ATM card, and so forth. Has anyone done this before with NFCU?
Next up is her own credit card. She's had a Citi card in her name (under my signature) for several years, but it's actually my account against my credit rating. I don't know if Citi would separate her from me and split her out on her own. (She has a flawless payment record.) It's possible that USAA would let her NROTC stipend (currently $250/month) count as sufficient income for a credit card, or she could get one through NFCU secured by her CD deposits. I don't think she has any particular loyalty to Citi, so if they don't set her up on her own then I'd probably cancel that card. I already have three of my own credit cards, one of them for much longer than the Citi card, so I don't think that'd adversely impact my credit rating. If anything it'd probably improve it.
Another advantage of USAA is their electronic deposits. They have an iPhone app that takes a photo of the check and credits it to their account... pretty convenient when there are no NFCU ATMs in Houston and darn few snail-mail boxes around the campus. NFCU is way behind on this one.
The easiest part of this project will be transferring her Roth IRA from T. Rowe Price (with expenses of nearly 0.8%) to Fidelity (with much lower expenses). That may offer her an opportunity for a Fidelity Amex but she'll have to figure out her own good deals.
I still have a personal representative with Fidelity from my days of trading like a hyperactive bunny rabbit, so ideally we'll have some sort of consolidated family account or break on expenses. She's made three years of Roth IRA contributions from her part-time job but she won't be adding any employment income to that until she's an ensign.
If things go well over this Christmas break, by the time she goes back to school the only thing she'll still be on is our car insurance policy and our Tricare. When she graduates from college then she can take care of those details on her own.
Any other issues I should watch out for when separating our finances from our kid? Anything you wish you'd done differently? Sea stories welcome!
For starters, when she was nine years old we established a NFCU checking account in her name. Since I was her custodian at the time, her account is actually a subset of my accounts. We'll be trying to split them out from mine to stand on her own. Ideally we'd do this in some manner that would keep her same account numbers and maybe even start her own credit history. I'd hate for her to have to go through ordering new checks, getting a new ATM card, and so forth. Has anyone done this before with NFCU?
Next up is her own credit card. She's had a Citi card in her name (under my signature) for several years, but it's actually my account against my credit rating. I don't know if Citi would separate her from me and split her out on her own. (She has a flawless payment record.) It's possible that USAA would let her NROTC stipend (currently $250/month) count as sufficient income for a credit card, or she could get one through NFCU secured by her CD deposits. I don't think she has any particular loyalty to Citi, so if they don't set her up on her own then I'd probably cancel that card. I already have three of my own credit cards, one of them for much longer than the Citi card, so I don't think that'd adversely impact my credit rating. If anything it'd probably improve it.
Another advantage of USAA is their electronic deposits. They have an iPhone app that takes a photo of the check and credits it to their account... pretty convenient when there are no NFCU ATMs in Houston and darn few snail-mail boxes around the campus. NFCU is way behind on this one.
The easiest part of this project will be transferring her Roth IRA from T. Rowe Price (with expenses of nearly 0.8%) to Fidelity (with much lower expenses). That may offer her an opportunity for a Fidelity Amex but she'll have to figure out her own good deals.
I still have a personal representative with Fidelity from my days of trading like a hyperactive bunny rabbit, so ideally we'll have some sort of consolidated family account or break on expenses. She's made three years of Roth IRA contributions from her part-time job but she won't be adding any employment income to that until she's an ensign.
If things go well over this Christmas break, by the time she goes back to school the only thing she'll still be on is our car insurance policy and our Tricare. When she graduates from college then she can take care of those details on her own.
Any other issues I should watch out for when separating our finances from our kid? Anything you wish you'd done differently? Sea stories welcome!