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Parents of college-bound students have a decision to make as offers stream in for their soon-to-depart teenagers.

Should they send their green freshmen off to campus armed with a debit or credit card to learn how to handle money? Or is it better to keep firm control through the Bank of Mom and Dad?

The "correct" answer will vary by family and personal preference.

The Credit Card Act that took effect 2½ years ago made it much harder for anyone under 21 to get a card. Gone are the days of card issuers racking up scads of new customers on campus by handing out free T-shirts or rewards points for spring break.

"In the old days, if you could fog a mirror could get a credit card," says Adam Levin, chairman and founder of Credit.com, a San Francisco-based company that provides information about credit products.

Under-21s can still obtain a credit card if they have a qualified co-signer or proof of sufficient income to repay the debt. And card issuers still market aggressively to college students, targeting them with pre-screened mail offers.

That makes parents, as the likeliest co-signers, more involved in the card-or-no-card decision.

Robyn Kahn Federman of Rochester, N.Y., says there's "no way" she'll let either of her two daughters have a credit card at such a financially tender age. Her daughter Sarah, who's 19 and about to start her second year of college, uses her PayPal card instead. That lets her mom fund the balance as well as see how spends her money.

"I don't think anything related to debt belongs in the hands of a college kid," says Federman, communications director of a marketing agency. "The vast majority are not experienced enough with money or cognizant enough of the risks."

Some students, though, have shown they're disciplined enough to have their own card on campus.

Scott Gamm, a junior at New York University's Stern School of Business, used his income from freelance work and blogging to obtain a Visa card and then an American Express card recently. He charges $200 or $300 on them monthly and pays every bill in full.

But he has friends who obtained three or four cards within a year and now have big debts to show for their "status symbols."

"The more credit you have access to, especially at that young age, the higher the probability you'll use that card to finance fancy clothes, restaurants and entertainment," says Gamm, 20.

With or without a credit card, payment options for students under 21 remain plentiful:

CREDIT CARD - SOLO
Credit card issuers have differing standards in determining whether an applicant under 21 has the ability to make payments. Some may say it's enough if he or she has a job and can afford the minimum monthly payment. That can take the decision out of Mom and Dad's hands.

Any student who gets a card should use it only for emergencies or otherwise pay it off immediately.

Gamm, who founded a personal finance website, HelpSaveMyDollars.com, agrees. "Students should view their credit card as a way to build strong credit via minor purchases here and there and not as a way to extend their spending habits," he says.

CREDIT CARD - CO-SIGNED
Co-signing should only be an option if the student can use a credit card responsibly, says Bill Hardekopf, who operates LowCards.com, a credit card comparison site. If so, a card with a very low limit is a good way to start building credit without undue risk.

Some students under 21 have upperclassmen, friends or siblings sign for them to avoid parental hassles. That could be a mistake for both sides. If the student can't pay, the co-signer is responsible for all the debt and the credit history of both parties will be affected.

A variant of this is to add a child as an authorized user to a parent's existing account. But if the card has a high credit limit there's the potential for greater unchecked spending.

SECURED CREDIT CARD
These cards are backed by prepaid deposits, making them more manageable as well as relatively easy to obtain. Cards that report to a credit agency can help build the student's credit score. When applying for a card, call and ask which agencies it reports to.

DEBIT CARD
If you don't think your college kid is ready for a credit card, you can opt for a debit card linked to a checking account. The downside: These cards don't help build credit scores.

You should be able to set up email or text message alerts to be notified about any transaction that goes over a certain amount.

PREPAID CARD
These cards can be readily found at pharmacies and convenience stores and bear the MasterCard, Visa or American Express logo. They work like debit cards but are not connected to checking accounts. Many can be registered online so users can review transactions and balances.

Although they are less risky in many ways, they don't come with the same protections as credit and debit cards if lost or stolen. They also can come with a wide variety of fees.

The American express prepaid card is one of the best options, according to Hardekopf, because it has fewer fees than most.

The bottom line for college students and their parents: Be very cautious before you graduate to a full-fledged credit card.

"A credit card can be a positive tool," says Levin. "It can be very helpful in building your credit but it can also be an instrument in your financial self-destruction."

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

"We were born naked. None of us came here with clothes on to begin with. And it's so peaceful and relaxing," explained Joe Wagner of Orlando, Fla., sipping a beverage with his wife, Cindy, and three fellow nudists at a poolside table.

The Wagners first sampled the clothing-free lifestyle about a dozen years ago at Cypress Cove Nudist Resort & Spa in Kissimmee, Fla. Now, the couple lists Cocoa Beach's sole naturist establishment as a favorite destination.

"Look around," Cindy Wagner said, waving her arm at bare-skinned sunbathers around the pool. "You can be 100 pounds. You can be 500 pounds. No one cares."

After nearly going under as a struggling motel, Fawlty Towers reopened May 1 as a re-branded, clothing-optional resort. Now, manager David Broad says weekend business is brisk, and the no-clothes strategy has saved the 32-room facility from fiscal oblivion. It has also made it one of a growing number of resorts establishing nudist-friendly facilities as a way to weather the lingering economic downturn.

The American Association for Nude Recreation estimates that nude recreation has grown into a $440 million annual industry.

The changes are not without controversy. Two days after the grand re-opening of the Fawlty Towers, the Cocoa Beach City Commission ordered research on whether the facility ran afoul of hotel, health, alcohol or public-nudity regulations.

Debra Key, a Cocoa Beach resident who is involved in Girl Scouts, complained to commissioners that Fawlty Towers could corrupt children's minds and attract prostitution.

"It doesn't stay behind closed doors. The type of perversion that comes to these places — they bring the drugs along with it, the sexual promiscuity," Key told commissioners.

But City Attorney Skip Fowler later determined that Fawlty Towers is operating in legal fashion.

"My hat's off to them. They're trying something different," said Bob Morton, executive director of the Naturist Action Committee of Oshkosh, Wisc. This non-profit group fights for nudists' rights in communities across the USA.

"It may or may not work for them, but they'll make some adjustments and say, 'That's the best idea we've ever had' — or, 'That really stinks,'" Morton said. "You have to ask the Cocoa Beach city commissioners: Would they be happier to have the place shuttered with a 'For Sale' sign on the window?".

In a similar business-model switch, the shuttered Mira Vista Resort in Tucson, Ariz., reopened as a nudist facility in May 2006. The historic property formerly operated as a guest ranch, a shelter for abused women funded by Suzanne Somers, and a gay health spa before closing down in December 2005, said Suzanne Schell, co-owner.

"Had we just bought this place as a traditional hotel, we would not have lasted. It's lasted because we've got this nudist niche," said Schell, who also co-owns Laguna Del Sol Nudist Resort near Sacramento, Calif.

"We were born naked. None of us came here with clothes on to begin with. And it's so peaceful and relaxing"

Joe Wagner of Orlando, Fla.

"You've got a clientele of people around the country looking for nudist places to go to. It makes it a little more viable, and we've been able to survive a significant downturn in the hospitality industry better than a lot of properties," Schell said.

Near Silver City, N.M., the new owners of Faywood Hot Springs are constructing a 2-acre, clothing-optional campground to attract new guests. The resort, which features 13 geothermal mineral pools, reopened in February after being closed since 2007.

Campground construction may wrap up by early fall, said Damon Shirk, co-owner.

Not all naturist resorts are prospering amid poor economic conditions. Near Ithaca, N.Y., Bonita Nudist Retreat owners dropped their business model May 1 and reopened as Aspen Family Campground, a clothing-required facility.

Co-owner Annie Troeger said her struggling nudist resort could not compete with traditional, long-established campgrounds in the Finger Lakes region.

"Any other campground around the area, they're stocked with people. We're in a small town. Most people did not care a lot about naturists," Troeger said.

Troeger now plans to add more child-friendly activities and equipment at the 100-acre wooded site, which offers swimming, boating and fishing.

Broad hopes Fawlty Towers can capitalize on the clothing-optional cruise industry. In November, Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas will offer a nudist cruise from nearby Port Canaveral that may attract nearly 4,000 passengers.

Kickstarter has drawn on regular web users to fund $236 million in successful projects as of this writing, and it’s the leader in a projected $2.8 billion crowdfunding boom in 2012. But there are plenty of other platforms for getting a project off the ground these days—at least 450 of them.

What follows is some hand-picked crowdfunding options that differ from Kickstarter in mission or model. Kickstarter screens projects, requires that some kind of project, event, or release be the end goal, and only gives over funds collected if the project hits its goal inside a deadline. Almost all of the crowdfunding sites are based on pledges or donations, not actual investment, but that is likely to change in 2013, when President Obama’s JOBS Act goes into effect, allowing small-stake investors to pick up equity.

As always, read the rules before you commit to any web venture, from the creator or backer sides.

In a shocking incident in Bihar, a mother allegedly sold her four-month-old son for Rs 62 ( less than $2 ).

Police have initiated a probe after reports of the baby sale in Araria district in Bihar surfaced. Reports had indicated that, driven by extreme poverty, 35-year-old Shannu Khatun allegedly sold her son to a Nepalese couple.

Shannu, however, says she gave away her baby, but insists she didn't take the money. She says she took the extreme step because her husband is disabled and she has other children to look after.