Our son has his own account, yet I am able to view his activity daily online. We have an agreed upon amount that I transfer to his account. If I have an issue with his spending habits, I call him and ask about it. I am not sure he knows that he can go over his known balance. Fortunately he knows the difference between Pending and actual, he keeps track. It really works well for us, especially when unexpected expences come up, I can just transfer the exact amount right to his account. If he ever has an issue with overages - it goes to him not me.(none so far)
Also, son does not have a car. We just told him freshman year, no car, deal. If he bums rides from friends a lot then I send a pre-paid gas card to that lovely friend so he can fill up every now and then (that way they don't have cash to spend on who knows what) although I am not that silly - I know they could spend a gas card on anything that is in a gas station minimart, so far they like to fill up
