Preparing and sending your kids to college is no easy task. The financial responsibilities alone are enough to make anyone sweat. There are a few things you can do to help minimize the costs and make the transition easier for everyone. Save some money and stress with these simple tips.
Stay Home
You read that right. Don’t send your children away. Encourage your kids to live at home while attending school online or nearby. Some parents want their kids to have a ‘traditional college experience’. However, if you’re encouraging your child to go into debt in order to do so, you might want to rethink that. Ask yourself: is having a college experience worth more than a debt free education or at the very least a significantly cheaper one? Help your children graduate with the smallest amount of debt possible. In doing so, you will be helping them start their adult life and careers in the best possible way.
Working at School
Another thing you can do to help your child attend college without piling on debt is to encourage them to find employment at their school. While some jobs are inflexible in terms an undergraduate’s schedule, positions at the school never are. Most campus jobs only allow students to work around twenty hours a week. Additionally, they are happy to work around class schedules. This means that your child won’t have to worry about upsetting management with a new schedule every four months. Additionally, they will still have plenty of time to study because they’re only working part time. It’s a great employment option that will help your child learn to balance life as a college student while also earning money they can use to pay tuition.
Extra Curricular Activities
Ask your child to look into participating in a student government program. When you serve on your school’s governing body, they will typically pay you in the form of tuition reimbursement. Depending on the position your child holds, they could be reimbursed anywhere from 6-12 credit hours. That adds up to a large sum of money at the end of the day. It’s a really simple trade off that will help your student forge new relationships and discover excellent networking opportunities.
Additional Savings
To maximize college funds, help your child fill out the FAFSA every year. Assist them in applying for scholarships whenever you can and be sure to shop around for textbooks to get the best prices. The internet is full of excellent articles you can use to give you further ideas for saving money. If you would like Robert Farrington’s list of 50 ways to save money in college, you can find it at thecollegeinvestor.com by clicking here.
College savings are out there! Use all available resources so your student earn their degree for as little money as possible. One of the greatest accomplishments you can help them attain is a debt free start to their adult life.