A Creative Gift for College-Bound Grandchild

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Mary Hunt in Tips 14 Comments

Although my grandson is only three, I’m keeping this first tip handy for when he graduates from high school.

Graduation

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POST-DATED GIFTING. When our grandchildren began graduating from high school and heading off to college, we wanted to give them money each month during their first year of college. So in their high school graduation card we enclosed 10—$100.00 post-dated checks, starting with August of that year and ending the following May. We knew it would come in handy, not only for the grandchildren but for their parents, too. We figured the extra money each month might avoid a call home, asking their parents for a little bit more. Or, it might pay for something that was unexpected.

Our oldest grandson told us many times how he appreciated this. We have been blessed, always knowing how important we are to our grandchildren—because we have let them know how important they are to us. Linda, Nebraska

SHARING BOUNTY WITH CHICKENS. My family owns chickens, which means we need a lot of produce to feed them. Our local grocery store lets us take the produce that they are planning on throwing away. Frequently, this produce includes perfectly edible food. There might be one moldy potato in a bag, but the store still puts it with the produce to toss. Because of this, we end up eating some of what we get for the chickens. Items we salvage the most are potatoes, bananas, lettuce and strawberries. Talia, email

CLOTHES DRYING SYSTEM. I have a method of drying clothes that works very well, especially on jeans. I dry the items on a low setting for 10 to 15 minutes. Then I remove the clothes from the dryer and gently pull on the seams and the bottoms of the pant legs. This takes out the creases and stretches the pants to avoid shrinkage. Finally, I hang the pants by the waist to dry completely. This has been working for me for many years. Joan, email

APPLESAUCE-TOPPED SHORT STACK. I buy pancake mix that only needs water. From this I can easily make about three pancakes and not have to concern myself with dividing an egg and oil. It’s easy to reduce the measurements, you just do the math. Instead of using pancake syrup, which really adds the calories if you use too much, I sometimes top my pancakes and waffles with unsweetened applesauce. It adds a bit of moisture and a nice, mild fruit taste. And, it has lots of good nutritional value, too. Nellie, email

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDERS FOR ONE. To hold toothbrushes and paste, each person in my family stores theirs in a coffee cup—or a plastic cup for little ones. This separates the brushes and cuts down on germs being passed around. It keeps the counter picked up, and they’re easy to clean since I put the cups in the dishwasher. K., EC Blog

Question: Did your grandparents give you money while you were in college? If so, how did they give it to you? A lump sum, monthly, college account? Join the conversation here. 

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Posted on October 31, 2012 by Mary Hunt in Tips 14 Comments
  • Elena

    have a grandson in college and he is near my home. As he leaves in a dorm that has a kitchen I buy his groceries every other week, basics, and that way he avoids eating junk. Elena

  • Beck

    Wouldn’t it be nice if all grandparents who had the means and wanted to help ask their own children while their grandchildren are in college. If they would only ask would you like some of your inheritance in advance to help defray college expenses? I know several people who have to scrimp to send kids to college and they know in a few years their parents will be gone and they will get an inheritance but it could really be helpful to get some of it now. I am talking about people who have thousands in the bank not someone elderly that only has their home. That sad they need to make it clear it is for the grandkids college and not new furniture, new cars and so forth as I have seen some squander gifts they were given over the years. Perhaps if grandparents either paid tuition directly to the school, bought books directly or gave walking around money directly it would all be good and it would be used as it is supposed to be.

    • Wendy

      That is exactly what happened in our family. Grandparents provide reimbursements for books, keeping a great conversation going with the kids, helping them build a library of resources, and taking a big budget item off the worry list.

  • Gina

    My husband’s parents give every grandchild the graduation gift of 2 years of community college paid in full. This is such a blessing to our family. If the child only wants a 2 year degree, it is fully paid and if they want to transfer to a 4 year college, they have saved a lot of money on completing their first 2 years at the community college. So many people start out at a large university and end up graduating with hefty student loans to pay off.

  • WA Mom

    My daughter is a current college student at an out of state college – her grandparents opened a bank account with her and gave her a “travel scholarship account”, started it with $500 and deposit $100 monthly into it – she can use this account to fly home for the holidays and summer. It is definitely a blessing!

    • Wendy

      This is a wonderful idea.

  • Jenn

    My grandmother bought me a computer for college. This was back in 1993 when that was a HUGE gift. It saved me from waiting for an available computer in the computer labs and taught me how computer programs worked. When I started my job search I could type and honestly say that I knew how to run various progarms. Today’s college-bound graduates have a lot more technological literacy than I did but my grandmother’s gift helped me advance beyond my peers.

  • PJ, Seattle

    While the idea of post-dated checks sounds nice, in reality it does not always work. Only two times in my life have I given post-dated checks and both times, the recipients cashed the checks immediately instead of holding them until the date. I was surprised that the banks would accept a post-dated check. Not only was I embarrassed when they bounced, but I had to pay extra bank fees. Now I give cash gifts or say, “Sorry, no can do.”

  • Yvy – Texas

    I would like to know if there is a way for a grandparent to show a tax deduction for the school expenses (tuition, books, commuting gas) spent on a grandchild. A parent still gets to deduct college expenses up to a large limit, but as far as I can find out, a grandparent can’t. My accountant hasn’t been much help here.

  • Anne

    As PJ noted most banks will accept and cash post-dated checks. Most banks will not cash checks that are over six months old. Cashing a post-dated check in advance can be a big problem for the check writer.

  • eva

    when both kids were in college, I would send shoe boxes ( you can get for free from payless shoes or similar outlet) full of miscellaneous items appropriate for the month, Oct = halloween, Nov= turkey etc, things they have mentioned they wanted or needed, snack items, toothbrush . new comic book , etc then the box was covered on 5 sides with comics, sayings , stickers etc. top side had address only. The kids really appreciated the boxes from home inside and out… My daughter said everyone on her floor would wait eagerly to see the box when it came.

  • MaryBeth

    When I was in college in 1976 every few weeks my Grandmother would send me a card full of all the newsy stuff from home and she would always enclosed $1.00 and write “Don’t spend it all in one place” It became something I totally looked forward to and was our own private joke. Since back then I could get a small cheese pizza for $1.25 across from the dorm it actually did help! It may not have been the biggest gifts I received but it sure meant the most! It made me know how much she loved me.

  • Wendy

    When each of our children graduated from college my in-laws gave an extraordinary gift. They promised to pay for their books each semester or quarter by reimbursing whatever they submitted in receipts. That guarantees that very 10 to 12 weeks there has been a conversation that is priceless between the grandparents and their grandchildren. Then, when the reimbursement checks arrive the kids can decide what to do with it. Back to when they graduated we had encouraged them to take the total of all their saved money and graduation gift money and meet with a financial advisor. Both of them opted to set up investment accounts, and quickly learned the benefits. Not surprisingly, most of those reimbursement checks have grown those accounts or ended up in a more liquid savings account tied to checking. It has been a win-win-win for them, their grandparents, and us.

  • MN Grandma

    How far we’ve come — three of my grandparents didn’t live until I graduated from high school and even if they had lived, they couldn’t have afforded to send me anything but love at the time.