If your teen-ager or college student is getting ready to open his or her first checking account, do some research first about student checking account perks. You may find the terms and rates to be a lot more friendly than the accounts that are available to us parents!

My daughter started using banking services in high school with a savings account she opened at a local credit union. She also got used to using gift cards and a pre-loaded “cash card” (which we decided wasn’t worth the trouble, given the problems she had in using that card at retail stores.)

At age 18, shortly before she started freshman year in college, we set up her own checking account. I had my first checking account at age 16, so this was not “too young” by my experience. But by waiting until 18, she was able to get a debit card linked to that account.

If possible, look for a bank that has a branch both at home and in the college town. This is a very convenient way to take care of “I need money” requests or money transfers – Mom or Dad can keep a couple of deposit slips for the student’s account at home and make deposits as necessary. And college kid will find their checks more likely to be accepted at college town businesses when they have a “local bank” affiliation.

We also found it convenient to sign up my daughter for on-line statements. When I was in college, I moved so many times between dorm and apartment rentals that, at one point, I got a postal box at the city post office to keep up with my phone bill, car insurance, bank statement and magazine subscriptions. Yes, daughter still gets some mail at home. But bank statements really need to go to the account holder as soon as possible.

And here’s a tip: if possible, open that student account in the summer. Why? Some banks and financial institutions do special promotions for the “back to school” market. You do like freebies, right?

Here are some of the student account programs available in the Monroe area:

• Monroe Bank & Trust.
• KeyBank.
• Fifth Third Bank.

If your bank isn’t listed here, I had problems getting past the front page of some sites without customer access or entering a zip code.

Other banks and credit unions offer basic banking packages that, while they may not have a “student account” designation, could work very well for young adults on the move.

So do your own poking around with your customer access to look up the offers on line at financial institutions where you already do business, or stop by a bank or credit union branch near your school and and ask for account information.