Families have many choices in the planning process. The earlier parents begin to plan, the more opportunity they have to take advantage of these choices. The opportunity to save occurs before the child enrolls in college and has two advantages:

• the earlier parents begin saving the more interest they earn
• the adding on of interest payments increases the initial investment

Parents should target a specific amount to save for college. This amount depends on their yearly income and the age of the child. Table 1 illustrates what a college education is expected to cost in future years. Keep in mind that these figures are average costs. The school that your child wishes to attend could cost 25% - 30% more than the "average." The majority of families will be expected to make a significant contribution toward meeting their children's college expenses.

Most families can afford to save something and should begin the discipline of setting aside monthly or annual amounts soon after the child is born. You should treat this as you would any other financial goal, i.e. saving for a down-payment on a house or saving for retirement. Saving for college can be done in installments over a long period of time. If you have been able to set aside savings for this purpose already, use Table 2 below together with the projected costs in Table 1 to estimate the additional amount needed from the family or other sources.

Each family must decide what the value and priority of college education is for them and their children. Based on that decision, each family should save as much toward that goal as practically possible. As you will see in Table 4, as little as $26 per month @ 7% interest saved from age 1 can add up to $10,000 when your child is ready for college. This represents an out-of-pocket expense to you of $5,304 versus $10,000 if you wait to pay it from current income when your child enters college. Many of you who are reading this have children who are older that this, but it is never too late to begin the discipline of saving; however, keep in mind that the earlier you begin, the more choices of colleges your child will have and the less strain there will be on the family's budget. Your savings discipline may make the difference between your child being able to attend the college of choice versus the college you can afford.

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