The Counter is Ticking

Want to scare yourself to death? Visit Savingforcollege.com and calculate how much money you will need to save to put your child through college from beginning to end, all expenses paid. This sight calculates for you the amount of money you will need to save per month based on your child's current age.

If your child is 13, you have five years to save for college expenses. The "Simplest College Calculator" on the site can adjust for the amount you want to spend. For instance, if you just want to pay for 80 per cent of your child's expenses, expecting your child to work or get a partial scholarship to pay for the rest, you can adjust the calculator down.

If you want to pay for 100% of your child's college expenses, your child is 13, and you haven't saved a penny yet, you would need to start saving around $1,268 per month to afford that kind of an education. It only gets worse the older your child gets, if your child's college savings account is sitting at nil.

The site also has information on 529 College Savings Plans and other savings instruments, but you don't have to buy anything. As the parent of two college-aged children (one in law school) I would advise you to check out this web site today. It will give you an estimate of what you are facing in the way of college costs. You may as well pay yourself, as pay one of the college lending institutions.

Another thing to consider is that loan money is drying up. Restrictions for student achievement to get and maintain student loans are being tightened. If your child cannot maintain a 2.0, loan money probably won't be there anyway.

There are so many things to think about when factoring college costs. Education is the best way to understand the savings process, as well as the borrowing process. The counter is ticking and you want it to tick in your favor, not in interest from college loans.