Whether you’re a high school senior or a pro-active 7th grader planning ahead, saving for college can be a challenge.
If you’re like most students, every time you get a dollar, you find 19 different things you want to spend it on. So sticking it in a savings account for college someday doesn’t seem like an appealing idea.
So what can you do to start to save money for college?
- Start Today – When you wait until the last minute on anything, you add unnecessary stress to your life. If you just graduated and will be starting college this fall and haven’t saved a dime, you’re probably going to have a stressful summer financially speaking. So regardless of your age or how long you have until college, start right now with what you have to save towards college. If you work some part-time gig and only make $150 per week, save as much of that paycheck as you possibly can.
- Have A Plan – Once you figure up what college will cost you, you can create a plan for saving. The average tuition cost per year at a public university is $6,585. So if you’re a high school junior, you know you have around 18-24 months until you would need that money. If you divide $6,585 by 18 months, you need to save an average of $365 each month to have the money for your freshmen year. Plan ahead instead of just waiting till the last minute.
- Have A Long-Term Mindset – I know the new iPhone, eating out with friends, or a shopping trip to the mall all sound more appealing than saving for college tuition. With all those items, you get to experience the gratification of the purchase now. But saving for college forces you to delay gratification, which is a challenge for any human. It’s easier to save for college when you have a long-term mentality and learn to delay gratification.
YOUR 2 CENTS – What else can you do to start to save money for college?
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