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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Sending the Kiddos off to College



I've had this post sitting in draft for quite some time. Always post-poning the scheduled date. It hadn't been written yet, at least not ink to paper, but I had it all panned out in my head. That is, after all, how my brain operates. Over and over again, I thought about this post and what I wanted to say. How I wanted to say it. Where to start it.

Let's start by just saying the word. College.

It can mean a lot of things. If you asked a crowd of people what first came to their mind when we said the word, I bet you would get a variety of answers. Party. Fun. Hard. Four years. Education. Important. And so much more.

But I guarantee the number one answer you would hear would be... expensive.

And the sad thing about this? Is that it will only become more and more expensive, and thus harder and harder for the future generations to attend college.

Before I get to the core of the topic of this post, let me just add here that I am still paying for my college education. My parents paid for my first year of college {and I am ever so grateful for this}, but after I failed to get the good grades {due to my over-indulgence in having "fun" and under-indulgence of going to class}, I had to then find a way to pay for school on my own. Thank you student loans. Thank you for allowing me to go to college and charging me a pretty penny while doing so.

However, if I had a choice... if anyone had a choice.... I think our choice would be that we wouldn't have those lovely monthly payments and therefore we would graduate without that overwhelming thought hanging over our heads. Yes?

So. Let's talk solution. What I am trying to get at with this post.
Saving money for our children from the day they are born. Essential. Key.

I knew when I was pregnant with Elliana that we would be opening up a college fund for her as soon as she was born. I knew that I wanted to take part in my daughter's education from the minute we brought her into this world. I just knew I wanted to do all that I can.

We are also so grateful that we have loving family members that feel the same way and help to contribute.

What I thought at the beginning would be an extra cost in our finances has turned into something that I value more than any other expense. A lot. And so when Graham was born, he was put right next to Elliana on my payroll.

So how do we save?

We opened up the College Choice 529 plan for Elliana {and Graham} as soon as their social security cards came in the mail {about two weeks after birth}. You do this online in a matter of a few steps. Setting up requires the account holder's information as well as the child's {children's}. Then you can set up a monthly plan or put in as you go. We do both. A little a month {whatever you feel comfortable in contributing} out of our bank accounts goes a long way. Every year  I increase the number by $25. Then we ask family members on birthdays and Christmas to contribute what they can instead of clothes and toys that won't last in our home. Of course they still get her a few presents, but the majority of their contribution goes toward her college savings. And I can't say enough how grateful we are for that.

They also send you "checks" that you can mail to family members where they can fill out to contribute and send back. Then this amount goes directly into their account.

And of course one of the perks is that it builds interest over time. 

When Elliana turned two she had enough money in her account to pay for one semester of college. Although we have seven more semesters to go, I feel pretty good about the fact that we have gotten this far so early on. My goal initially was to save enough to pay for 3 years of college. At this rate, we may get through it all.

But even if we weren't able to pay for all four years of our kids' college, it is important to know that we are doing something and we are contributing where it matters most.

I want my children to focus on their education, focus on their careers, and focus on their futures. I don't want them to have these lingering bills hanging over their heads. At the same time, I don't want them to take it for granted. I will tell them my story. Share with them my experience. Warn them, that they too must focus on why they are in college. I want them to have fun and enjoy their experience, but they must also keep in mind the number one reason why they are there.

At the end of the day, I just want to know that we are contributing. I know the economy is tight, money is hard to come around these days for many, but I promise you... even a little bit... goes a long way across 18 years.

And I hope my children appreciate this down the road. They better.

28 comments:

  1. This is a great post for mom's to be! I will definitely start saving the minute I get pregnant.

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  2. Such a good idea I want Kayden to go to college so bad & now you kinda helped me figure it out! I do have a question though how do you ask for money instead of other gifts? I have such a hard time doing this & feel weird doing so.

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  3. i get so anxious and nervous when i think about how much college is going to cost in 18 years...we plan to do something similar with our kids. i love the idea of having family put money into their savings instead of gifts, at least some of the time. when i was in school, that was my job, and i don't want our kids to have to worry about it either!

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  4. I think this is so great of you and your husband. My parents saved for me and my siblings, but being that there are four of us money has gotten tight. I now have several loans out and dread the day I have to start paying them back. But it is all worth it in the end!

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  5. Holy thanks for posting this! We have a fund set up for K and the grandparents also contribute on bday, etc. but we were looking into other plans the one you mentioned I am going to research for sure and I have heard lots about the Gerber College fund too have you heard anything about that I e? Right now we have a cd my mom started when k was born and we add to it. We want to start another type of fund as well I think giving your child the gift of education as parents is one of the most important things you can do if you are able to do so! Thanks girl for posting this you have my brain churning way to early but I'm tickled lol!

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  6. We have an account for Olivia as well! We were actually just looking into some other options to see if there is a way to make more for her.

    We don't plan to tell her we did this for her. We want her to work hard and try to get scholarships and then when she picks a school we will tell her. I don't see Olivia not working hard in school, but I think if she feels she has to do it on her own she won't expect us to put $$ towards it. We are hoping to have enough for 8 semesters as well. Or if she gets a scholarship and doesn't need the $$ it will be a brand new car and graduation $$!! :)

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  7. Nice! We just finished paying off our college debt, but my hubby went to grad school the last 2 years. We are throttling the loan paying $900 a month to try to pay it off by the end of this year. I hate having no money right now, but once we pay it off all the things we could do with that money! It will save on interest too.

    We do the same. We opened CDs for each child and out money in there each month. We asks parents and family for that rather than toys (they already have too many). We're making progress, but the cost of college is daunting. I'm determined to help them as much as possible with education though. Every penny helps.

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  8. My parents paid for my college education and I didn't appreciate it... at the time. When I graduated, all of my friends were getting elaborate gifts - trips to Europe, Hawaii, diamond earrings, etc. All I got was brunch with my family. I was pissed... and ungrateful. When I asked my parents why I didn't get a graduation present there response was "your present is that you don't have student loans. all of your friends do." I was still pissed and ungrateful. Of course, as I entered into the 'real world' I quickly learned how amazing my parents were for footing the bill and for never throwing it in my face. They've told me that they knew it would sink in and that I'd be grateful, I just needed the maturity and the real world experience frist. I am still forever indebited to them and so in awe of their generousness (when I was appreciating it). My husband and I both don't have student loans and it has helped us tremedously in life. Your kids will one day appreciate all that you're doing for them... but don't hold your breathe on them 'getting it' when they're 21 :)

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  9. Great post! I definitely don't want to think about my 5.5 month old going off to college, but we have been saving already. I know when the time comes he'll have a nice chunk to put towards his education. It truly is one of the best things a parent can do for their child/children.

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  10. Great post and that's awesome that you are saving for their education. I'm still paying off (and will be for a while) my student loans. I may be finished by the time my son goes to college. We recently opened a 529 plan for him as well as a separate savings account. He got a lot of bday and xmas money from relatives for his college fund and we put in a little as well. Even if we can't pay for all of it I want to contribute as much as we can.

    one thing to note however, that most financial people point out is to make sure to save for retirement before your childrens college. Kids can get loans and scholarships for college but everyone needs money to retire.

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  11. Great post Becky! We are setting up an account for Piper very soon. What a great gift you're giving your babies:) You rock mama!

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  12. Thank you so much for posting this!! I just signed up Cameron! I love the idea of having people put money in the account rather than giving toys/clothes that will just last for a few months!

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  13. My daughter was given a check when she was born to start a college savings account. The money is still sitting there waiting for me to start the account. I need to start a 529 but didnt know where to start...I have seen so many online. Which site did you use?

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  14. I am only 15 weeks pregnant and already worry about college because we want a big family... this is a great/informative post that I will be putting to use!!

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  15. I love this. Caleb and I, after we get married, are trying so hard to pay off debt so when we decide to start a family we can focus on building a college fund. Neither of us had the luxury of a college fund, and its something I wish I had! Thanks for being so inspiring! :)

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  16. This is so important! I did the same thing you did - I lost my $5000/year scholarship after my first semester and my parents made me pay the remaining $5000 each year to make up for it. I am kicking myself now! My exhusband's parents (I blame it on them for not giving him better guidance) let him go to a school that cost $36k a year PLUS $900/month for rent to live downtown. He only finished 4/5 years, so he didn't even have the degree to pay it all off and ended up with over $150k in student loans. And I didn't even know about it all until AFTER we were married. It's no surprise that that contributed partially to our divorce. It's so awesome that you're doing this for your kids!

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  17. I'm in the same boat as you: paying off my own college (private school was the worst idea ever) and still trying to save for two college educations. Thank goodness B's mom set up some kind of fund for them too.

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  18. Great post! I think of this from time to time and feel guilty we don't have one. We have 3 little ones and we keep saying we need to start setting more aside for their college funds, but unfortunately with my extreme about of student loans I'm paying off it seems we have nothing left. I say that our kids will probably have to take out loans like me and I feel awful! Knowing how much it sucks forking out that much every month, I definitely don't want them to have to go through the same thing. I know there will be no way we could pay for it ALL but I would hope to at least contribute. For example if they go to a community college for their gen ed first like I did, I would like to at least pay for that. I just hope I can potentially have mine paid before they START college! ha At least then we may have the extra to help out. I am holding out that they will earn a scholarship!! :) I agree with another commenter that if we do start a savings, I would keep it a secret until they got in! I would hope our kids would be grateful, but most 17 year olds will not work as hard for something if they know it will be handed to them.

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  19. We have a college fund for our children because I don't want them to start their lives in debt. I'm thankful my husband could help pay off my debt when my parents weren't there to help!

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  20. My hubby and I both still have our college loans and I just added some grad schools loans to the list :( However, we did start a 529 for our little one when he was born and I'm so happy we did. We don't contribute a ridiculous amount, but I'm starting to re-think our contribution amount. I would love to pay for at least half his (and future children) college expenses. I also like the previous post about not letting the children know about their "free money." Some things in life you have to work for. I have never thought about asking our family to contribute to the 529, but it's a great idea. He has so many toys and it's just not needed. I just don't know how to go about doing that!

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  22. Me & Hubby started our son's savings on his 1st month & every month it keeps growing. We believe & hope the money will help towards his education, a business venture or investments; however, if it's education I'll say have him get loans & scholarships & if he graduates pay off the debt for him. Otherwise, he may take for granted the money & school.

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  23. yes thank you for sharing! I'm saving it for later! With our first coming in June this is something I would like to do also!

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  24. We opened 529s for both of our children too. I don't want them to have student loan debt. I am so grateful to my parents who paid for my college education. I did have to pay for my masters though and I don't appreciate those darn payments! I hope to be able to help both my boys pay for school.

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  25. So I guess I didn't realize how easy/truly beneficial it was to set up one of those accounts. I think we're going to have to do this!

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  26. Some parents let the rising cost of tuition paralyze them. It’s awesome that you are being proactive and setting a good example for us parents out here. And we don’t have to wait until junior and senior year to look for scholarships. There is actually free college money for kids as young as kindergarten (check out Doodle 4 Google).

    I have a page dedicated to posting scholarships for kids 14 and younger. Hope it’s okay to share, http://bookwormmama.com/scholarships/

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  27. Such a great post. Wondering though what if your kids chose to not go to college? Is it an option for you guys or non negotiable? I have a friend who also has been saving since her sons birth but if he decides to not attend college, the money would then roll into their Roth account for retirement. I live for the day to not have student loans!

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  28. Such a great post. Wondering though what if your kids chose to not go to college? Is it an option for you guys or non negotiable? I have a friend who also has been saving since her sons birth but if he decides to not attend college, the money would then roll into their Roth account for retirement. I live for the day to not have student loans!

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