Stick to the Plan
The biggest threats to budgets, say students and financial aid experts, are the innocuous little expenses that add up over time: snacks for the dorm room, dinner out with friends, a daily dose of caffeine. Imagine drinking a $4 latte five days a week, and spending $8 twice a week on pizza and drinks. That's $144 in one month--and your child hasn't even visited the laundry room.

One way to help your child live within her means is to dole out the money you are providing piecemeal, either by sending a monthly check or making electronic funds transfers to her bank account. Unless you are confident in your child's self-discipline, packing him off to school as a freshman with a semester's worth of expense money is asking for trouble.

Also encourage your child to keep costs down by looking for deals. Spiral notebooks and other supplies at the local Staples may cost half as much as the logo-emblazoned versions in the campus store. You may find deeply discounted textbooks on eBay's half.com or other websites. You'll also find bargains in used dorm furniture and other gear at end-of-the-term sales by seniors, who are eager to shed possessions they no longer need.