How to Save for Your Child's College Tuition

The last thing you want to think about is your child's college education. Not only is it several years away, but it's likely going to cost several thousand dollars just to pay for a decent school. And that's not even considering the possibility of out-of-state tuition prices. But the reality is that you need to be prepared for the day when your son or daughter graduates high school and wants to get a college education so they can have a great career. Don't let the years go by until you wake up and they're seniors in high school. The best time to start saving is now. Consider the following suggestions to get the most from your investments and savings so your child will only be limited only by their grades and ambitions rather than finances.

1. Start NOW! There's no time like the present to beginning saving for your child's education. Whether your child is nine days old or nine years old, start an account today and put money in it on a regular basis. It doesn't take a ton of money each week to build up a sizable college fun in 18 years, so the sooner you start, the better your fund will be when it comes time to use it.
   
   
2. Don't think about the cost. If you focus on how much money tuition will be twenty years from now, you might get overwhelmed and discouraged. In turn, these feelings might keep you from saving any money in the first place. Just start piling money away in an interest-bearing account. If nothing else, the money you save will make a huge dent in the tuition or it will likely be enough to pay for an in-state university by the time your child is ready for college.
   
   
3. Make sacrifices. If you're like most Americans, you're squeezing every dollar out of your budget that you can use. But can't you find a few extra dollars each month to put away for your child's education? How about taking a sack lunch to work a few days each week instead of paying between $5-$15 for fast food or something even more expensive? Or you can try reducing your cable service to a basic service instead of paying for all of those movie channels that you'll never watch. If you look closely enough, you'll undoubtedly find an extra $50 or more each month to put towards their tuition.
   
   
4. Research the different savings plans available. Two of these include the 529 Plan and prepaid tuition plans. With the 529 Plan, you can save your money tax-free as long as you use it for higher education. With prepaid tuition plans, you can pay for an entire four-year education now and pay today's prices or put money in an account and prepay a sizable portion of the tuition over the next 18 years.
   
   
5. Teach your child to get good grades. The better grades your child gets in school, the more chances they have at getting scholarships and grants based on their grades. Focus on the educational scholarships rather than the sports scholarships, though. You might think you have the next Lebron James living at your house, but one knee injury could ruin their sports career. They need something to fall back on in case something like this happens. And there's no better backup than a quality education. Even with scholarships, you should still be prepared to pay for at least 30 percent of your child's education because other forms of financial aid rarely pay for the entire tuition.
   
   
6. Leave the savings account in your name. When applying for financial aid, your child will be less likely to get help if their name is on the account because they will be expected to contribute 35 percent of that money toward tuition costs. If you leave it in your name, parents are only expected to pay less than six percent toward tuition costs.
   
   
7. Recognize the importance of a college education. Today, it's nearly impossible to find a good job without one. Just think of how much more difficult it's going to be in 20 years. If you think like that, you might be more motivated to save up money for your child's college fund. In fact, you might even find yourself looking for a part-time job just to find extra money every month to add to the fund.

A college education is one of the best things you can give your child. With the increasing cost of tradition, it's essential to start saving right now so you can be prepared when that day finally comes. Hopefully, you can encourage your child to do well in school and get scholarships to help defray the tuition costs, but that doesn't always happen. And even if it does, having a nest egg to put towards your child's education is never a bad thing.