subject: Your Child's College Education - What You Need To Do [print this page] With the obvious exception of buying a house, paying for your child to attend college is the single biggest expense you face as a parent. the best way to take the sting out of paying for your child's college education is that of taking special care when planning how to save. The wisest course of action is to begin saving as early on in your child's life as possible. The following detailed timeline will help to set out what you need to be doing as your child approaches college.
Opening an education IRA is best done when you are 15 or more years away from college, this will allow you to conservatively save money for your child's education. There is also the option of investing in stocks and funds as there is a large amount of time 'til your child will need the money. As the college starts to loom closer it is best to save conservatively but for the moment being aggressive is fine.
When college for your child is about ten years away there are many ways to increase the balance of your college fund. One of the first things you may want to consider is prepaid tuition plans, these allow you to pay for your child's college education over time before your child ever steps foot on campus. The only major downside to this idea is that it requires you to pre-decide where your child will attend college. It is a wise idea to consult with your accountant about what savings plans are on offer from the state for college funds. There are many savings plans out there and finding the right one for you can be difficult but consulting with your accountant can help you find the right one for you whether that is a plan that provides certain tax breaks or one that will help you to meet your saving needs. It is important the make sure your portfolio is stable and secure as you approach this mark in the timeline. Both organizing your investments and saving conservatively become good ideas at this juncture.
moving your money into a new account or new bonds is a good idea when you reach the ten or five year mark. Bonds can be a good saving option as well as a fixed income. The first step you might want to take when you get to this point is to consult with a financial planner that will help you to decide on the best options available to you.
Making sure that all your investments are now conservative and non-aggressive is important when you reach the five year mark. This is the time when you should guard you money and not risk it.
If you realize that even after 15 years of saving you still don't have enough to send your child to college then it is the best time to consider any number of student loans on offer that don't need to be paid back until after your child finishes college and offer los interest rates. With loans available for the parent as well as the child there are lots of flexible options for you to choose from to help your child get to college.
And the fun doesn't stop there, there are a lot of different tax breaks that you can file for whilst your child is attending college. Making a plan and starting early are the best ways to go about saving for your child's college education.
