Saving for college can be a daunting task,
but the sooner you start the easier it will be.
A little warning up front: All investments carry some risk, investigate all your
decisions
carefully. The financial markets change rapidly, so today's good advice
might be terrible
tomorrow.
What our family does: We invest in
mutual funds bought directly from the companies to
avoid brokerage fees. We put in a small amount monthly to "dollar cost
average"
which just means when the stocks are up you buy less, if they are down, you get more shares.
With a long term investment you will get the mean low price. The other
thing we did was
register with
.
It's a great program that takes a percentage
of certain everyday purchases and puts
it
in a Upromise account that can be transferred
to a 529 college plan quarterly. There
are lots of companies contributing and you
can have friends and family also contribute. For
an article with more details click here.
Many states have instituted great
programs to help parents pay for college. They all vary
substantially so look for your state. Some states allow investments from any part of
the
country. Most have good tax breaks. They allow the money to grow without
taxes and
they also allow the money to be taxed at the student's rate when it is taken out.
They also
allow very low monthly installments so that it is easy for parents to start. Most
have
withdrawal penalties. SO READ EVERYTHING CAREFULLY. Some states, such as
Colorado,
have a pre-paid tuition plan.
Every state in the union has
a college savings plan. Since many plans
allow savers from any state,
check all those available to find one that
suits you best.
Is it too late?? Your child is already in college? At
least save on Textbooks. They are in many
cases more expensive than tuition. Buying in the college bookstore is probably the
most expensive place to buy them. Try TextbookX.com we have found a good selection and great prices for our
college student. You can also sell your used books here.
Fast Web
is a must for Jr. High
and up students. It is a free scholarship search and
has hundreds of scholarships listed.
For more information from a person who has
heavily investigated saving for college, I also
recommend the book The
Best Way to Save for College by Joseph Hurley.
