Saving for College: How to make your plans
When you've got a kid or two, you're going to have to start
thinking about one of the inevitable problems of parenthood:
saving for college. This is often the single biggest expense of
having kids, and private schools can run forty thousand dollars
per year or higher. Even state schools cost several thousand per
year - parents need to plan ahead.
What should you be doing? When your kids are still young, you
need to be socking some money away every year. This will
probably need to be a good amount - at least a thousand or more
per child. You've got roughly eighteen years, and if you save up
a little bit each year, you can make sure that your child can at
least attend a solid state school. Make a budget, and stick to
it. You may have to make some cuts in what the family is
spending, but it's worth it in the long haul. Don't touch the
money you set aside, even in emergencies. You may think that
your child can simply get a job or earn his or her way though
college, but that often isn't practical. Their grades will
suffer, and that can mean a permanent black mark on their record
that will hurt your child's chances of getting into graduate
school. A solid savings base will mean that your child can
attend the best school possible - even an expensive private
school, assuming you can get some scholarships. Financial aid
will also give you another boost - you don't have to save every
penny. You just need to save enough so that your kid doesn't
come away with hundreds of thousands in student loans.