How to Save for Your Child’s College Education

Thank you to Upromise by Sallie Mae for sponsoring this post! As always, all opinions are my own.

Saving money for your child’s education can be a challenge when you are trying to live life by a budget and the budget is tight. So where do you start and should you even bother? These strategies will help you prepare and save for your child’s education all while living on a small budget.

Early Bird Gets the Worm

Begin saving as early as possible for college. Both of my boys already have savings accounts devoted to paying for college. They are 3 and 2 years old and they have both had a savings account since their social security numbers arrived in the mail.

The reason for our kids having an account for college long before they are even old enough to think about college and if they will or will not attend is that college tuition is always going up. As a non-traditional college student, I learned firsthand just how much college costs and how quick those other expenses like fees and organization dues add up.

It is not cheap going to college and if you saving for your child’s future education is important to you, you need to start saving now, no matter how old they are or how close they are to going to college.

Where to Start

Where do you start saving for your children’s education? This can be extremely difficult if you are on a tight budget or are currently in the process of paying off debt. My hubs and I contribute every check that our children receive from family and friends for their birthdays, Christenings, Christmas, Easter, and other special occasions to their college funds.

This helps us stay on track with our own debt-payoff plan and helps us contribute money towards our children’s futures. My hubs and I even started a “no birthday present” policy because our boys receive so much every year for their birthdays and they really do not need another toy, we decided to instead to take the money that we would have spent and put it in their college savings accounts instead.

Develop a Plan with Your Child

If your children are older, develop a plan with them on 1) if college is something that they even want to pursue, 2) where they would like to go to college (we called this our “dream school” when I was in high school), and 3) show them the actual cost of attending that school along with other schools.

Allowing them to see how much college costs, explaining to them that college is a privilege not a birthright and that if they want to attend, this is how much it will cost. Afterwards, explain how scholarships work and help them determine which scholarships they can apply for and encourage them to do so.

Then explain to them that they need to take a certain percentage (you and your child should work this number out together) from either their paychecks or allowance (or even both) that will automatically be saved towards their college funds. This will not only teach your child to appreciate the opportunity to attend college because they are helping to pay the way, but will also teach your child a valuable life skill – saving money towards their future.

Options

I was both a traditional and non-traditional student and have attended both a four-year university and community college. I am well versed in the lives of what it takes to graduate from higher education in the last decade.

When I started college at 18, I had a scholarship, part-time job, and lived on my own. Before I knew it, I had failed out of college after a year of schooling because honestly, I took it for granted and I was not ready for the commitment of school.

By the time I graduated, I was 26 years old, married for three years, had a four-month-old baby, and had spent five years working as a Project Manager for a large engineering firm in Atlanta. I took the scenic route through college and I do not regret a moment of it because by the time I graduated, I not only had life experience under my belt but gratitude for the education I worked so hard to receive.

Your child may not be ready at 18 to attend college right out of high school either and that is okay. The job market is saturated with college graduates that have no experience and your child can stand out from the crowd by being able to show that they have both.

The Simple Savings Solution

Y’all know that I am all about making saving money “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” because I believe that it makes it easier to save more. However, it can be a challenge to figure out the “right amount” to save, especially when you are starting the saving process.

That is why, I registered with Upromise so we could earn up to 5% cash back just by shopping with Upromise partners —including more than 850+ online stores and 10,000+ restaurants, grocery and drugstores.

Of course, y’all also know that I’m a debt-free advocate and do not have a single credit card, but that is why I love the Upromise program because all I had to do was register our debit card in order to start the earning process!

Don’t know what Upromise is? Upromise is a free to join membership service that allows families to earn cash back for college through every day purchases. To date, Upromise members have earned more than $900,000,000 and counting, helping families contribute to college tuition, expenses and loans. Members can allocate their cash back earnings in several ways to help plan, save and pay for college. Upromise members can:

• Transfer earnings to eligible 529 plans or high-yield savings accounts
• Apply earnings to eligible student loan repayment
• Request a check for cash for books and other expenses
• Split up earnings across multiple beneficiaries

Graduation

Upromise conducted a graduation survey: Parent vs. Student Expectations for Post-Graduate Life and below is some of their interesting findings:

• 52% of parents wish they had started saving for their children’s college education sooner.
• Students and parents alike overwhelmingly said the cost of college was their biggest stressor when it came to going away to college (48% parents; 45% students)
• About 65% of parents expect to support their children financially up to five years
  • 68% of students expect to be supported financially by their parents for up to five years
  • Half of students expect to be supported for up to two years after graduation (51%).
  • Only 5% of parents expected to support their children financially for more than five years in 2014, up to 17% in 2015
• Most students (40%) would prefer cash as a high school graduation gift
  • 22% would prefer electronics, 18% would prefer a trip abroad and 3% would prefer jewelry
  • 54% of parents would prefer their children’s high school graduation gift from a friend or family member be cash to use at college

Half of parents and students surveyed were aligned in admitting they wished they would have started saving for college sooner. By making a plan to save for college, parents and students alike can reduce their worries when it comes time to don a cap and gown.

If your child’s college is something that you want to and are planning on paying for, I encourage you to start saving now, help your child (as young as middle school) start thinking and planning for college, and to consider making saving money for their education easier by signing up your debit card for Upromise’s cash back program.

What is your savings strategy for your child’s education?

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