College Savings
Sometimes saving for college can feel like trying to drink the ocean with a straw. Never knowing where to start because it looks like you'll never reach your goal! But there are ways that you can start small, and when you see your pennies adding up to dollars, and then hundreds, and then thousands of dollars, you will be eager and equipped to save more.
What if you had someone putting money into an account for you...not your money, but their money?
Now, if you want to start saving in other ways right away like... other people's money deposited in your child's account for college, check out Upromise .
These savings can be applied to student loans too! It's like using invisible coupons when you shop, and letting money pile up in an account to use for college expenses!
How Much Will You Need?
There are a few things to budget for when considering present, future and even past college costs, and ways to get started with help footing the bill.
Getting Ready
SAT Prep: $30 - $150
Many schools offer a study class to prepare high school juniors for the SAT exam, but it usually is just enough to pass. To ensure your teen scores high, budget for an SAT Exam Prep book or class. A higher SAT score opens up your childs eligibilty to more scholarship opportunities.
Kaplan and Princeton Review are two of the top providers of educational books. These books can cost anywhere from $5 - $30, depending on how long ago it was written, how many actual test questions are in the book, and how highly recommended it comes.
Search for the book that focuses on the subjects that will really help your teen, but budget for the best ahead of time. The worst thing that could happen is you end up with a little extra cash.
Visiting Campuses: Varies
When considering college, oftentimes our teens want to go as far away from home as possible. This could be costly when it comes to visiting campuses.
First, of course you will try to convince your campus-bound student to stay close to home, even if that means living on campus. Once that option has been vehemently refused, start looking into flight deals and merge visits for different schools into one trip.
As you prepare your budget, consider the cost of gas to schools within driving distance, hotel stay, food and fun money to check out what activities are around to sidetrack your teens from school in their possible future home.
Getting Through It
Tuition, Books, Fees, :$5,000 - $30,000 / year
These costs will depend on where your student decides to attend. The main things to consider for these huge costs are how long you have before school starts and how much you are starting with.
You can pay for tuition, books and fees with any of the following:
Your $$
Scholarship and/or grant $$
Borrowed $$
It is always best to try to save your own money to avoid debt whenever possible, as you encourage your teen to qualify and apply for scholarships early in the game. Try to talk scholarships as early as the 7th grade. When all other options are exhausted, apply for a student loan. Click here to learn about different types.
Room and Board:
So your child wants to get away while they are learning their trade. This does not have to be a big expense. At Mungro Consulting, we can teach you how to make this a profitable expense. Call today for a consultation.
Get someone else to pay:
Currently, there is a unique program that will give you free money for college! This program pays money (for your purchases at places like Exxon/Mobile and Harris Teeter) to you to be used for anyone's college expenses or to payback college loans! Right now, grab your store cards and your debit/credit cards and join now for free by clicking here. Once you do, the next time you get gas, you'll be saving for college!