Here’s some shocking news: The price of college tuition is not getting any cheaper.
OK, that may not be so surprising, but for those of you who are preparing to send your
high school students away to a university, this tidbit might be: Many financial analysts
predict that the cost of college will rise approximately 6% every annual school year. So,
being that the price tag of an in-state public university is currently averaging around
$22,000 (you can close to double it for a private institution), then you know that for each
year, you need to add about 6%.

It’s definitely something that can take your breath away, but it doesn’t have to seem
so consuming if you simply do some thorough financial planning ahead of time. If you’re
looking for some ways to find the gentle balance between sending your child off to
college without going broke, check out five effective tips below.

Try community college first. You know, there used to be a time
when community colleges carried a bit of an odd stigma to them. Basically, if you were
a student who didn’t have good enough grades to go to “a real school”, it was a suitable
compromise. These days, a lot of people are opting to get an associate’s degree and
one of the main reasons is because it’s a great way to save up some money so that you
can go to a “big school” later. Plus, if you complete your first two years there, the added
bonus is that you enter into a four-year institution as a junior rather than a freshman.

Start up a 529 college savings plan. Something that more and
more families are opting to do is start a 529 college savings plan. The benefits of having
one on the federal level is that it’s tax-free money that you can save up that doesn’t have
a 1099 attached to it until you make your first withdrawal (a withdrawal that only the
donor can make). On a state [Read more…]