Travel dilemmas: A student's wallet abroad

A reader writes that she's about to send her 19-year-old daughter to Italy for college-related studies and wonders what's the best way to manage money and communications.

Note to parents: Coursework? Living arrangements? Logistics? Those are important concerns. But these money and staying-in-touch questions should be addressed first, I would argue, so you don't have a kid who runs out of money in, say, Barcelona, Spain, about 220 miles and 24 hours from her final destination. That kid was me, and those were the dark ages when there were fewer options and a financial rescue took much longer.

Today, the issue isn't scarcity or speed. It's the multiplicity of choices. Here's