Saving For College

How to Begin to Save

How Much to Save

Setting and Achieving a Goal

Ways to Save

For the college graduate, education is an investment that pays a lifetime of dividends. Over a lifetime, someone with a bachelor's degree will earn on average $517,000 more than a person with no education beyond high school. Up front, however, the cost of college can loom as a significant financial challenge for most families. In fact, providing for a child's college education is one of the largest expenditures many families will ever face. Financial aid (loans, grants, scholarships, work-study) is only part of the formula when it comes to paying for college. Just as important is SAVING FOR COLLEGE.

How much you can afford to save depends upon your family's financial situation. Higher education is a cost that many families deal with at least once. You can be ready by taking a look at your options and choosing a savings plan that is right for you and your family.

Financial aid does not usually cover all the costs of a university education. In addition, grant and loan programs can change over time, in terms of eligibility and money available for distribution. Scholarships are not available to everyone. It just makes sense to do what you can - now - to begin saving for college.

How to Begin to Save

In order to develop a successful SAVING FOR COLLEGE strategy, you will need to know how much a UW education will cost. To do so, students and parents should estimate a budget that includes tuition and fees, books, transportation, housing, food, miscellaneous costs, and emergency expenses. Current tuition costs for UW campuses are available in the College Costs area.

How much to Save

Developing a savings plan is an important first step. It is important to save as much as your circumstances allow, but any amount you save is a step in the right direction. Setting a savings goal and breaking it down into installments that are manageable for your budget is a good way to get started.

It is still vital to investigate all options and consult other resources that may offer assistance on how to set up a savings plan, such as the local bank, credit union, savings and loan, public library or a financial planner. The two sections below offer some Web resources that offer more assistance on starting a college savings plan.

Setting and Achieving a Goal

Finaid.org: A popular Web site with extensive and in-depth information about saving for college.

Forecasting College Costs: The college costs projector is meant to provide an estimate of what college will cost in the future. The projector does make some assumptions about what the future holds for higher education.

Savings Designer: This calculator designs a savings plan for a family based on a particular savings goal and interest rates. For instance, it shows how much a person must save per month if the savings goal is $29,000 over a 10 year period at 6% interest.

Savings Growth Projector: This site projects how much current savings will be worth over a given period of time with a specific interest rate.

Yahoo Finance: Basic information and advice about how to start saving for college.

How to Begin to Save

College Savings Plans: Links to every state's 529 plan.

Deposits, Investments - There's a Critical Difference: A brochure with basic information about different types of investment products. It also explains under what circumstances investments are guaranteed by the federal government.

EdVest Wisconsin - College Tuition Prepayment Program: Wisconsin parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, legal guardians and trusts can purchase tuition units on behalf of a child beneficiary and apply them in the future towards undergraduate tuition at educational institutions nationwide.

Finaid.org: This Web site has an exhaustive list of savings vehicles and in-depth analysis of each vehicles impact on financial aid.

Planning for College: There are many different ways to save for college. This brochure gives a breakdown of the various saving instruments and devices that can be used to save for college, and a short analysis of each option.

Savingforcollege.com: Offers analysis of all 529 plans and gives users the ability to compare 529 plans.