The $10 College Fund

I recently started a college fund for my kids. With my oldest getting ready to turn 10, this was a late start. However, when he was born, we were in no position to set aside anything extra.

At least, we didn’t realize we were at the time.

When our oldest son was born, I was 20 years old. I was working in a factory and hadn’t gone to college myself, yet. That’s a situation that makes it hard to justify a college fund. Financial planning and responsibility was to come at a later date.

So, how much do we have in this shiny new college fund? $10. That’s not a typo; I didn’t miss a couple of zeros. We are now putting away a solid ten dollars every month for our kids’ college educations. In 9 years, when my son starts college that will be an estimated $1080, plus interest — split 3 ways.

So why bother?

I ran across some good advice.

“Just start now.”

$10/month is not my ideal. $10/month is not my plan. $10/month is, however, something, which is important. We are currently digging our way out of debt, as fast as we can manage. When that is done, the college fund contribution will be jacked as high as possible.

When that time comes, we will choose the proper investment vehicle and split the funds for each child and settle on an amount that will make a more noticeable difference in tuition. For now, we’ve started. That’s something.

If I had it to do over again, I would have immediately set up a savings account as each kid was born, with $25/month set aside for college. That’s still not enough, but it certainly is better than nothing, especially when you start your family young.

No matter what your situation, no matter how old your kids are, start a college fund. Take a look at your budget, find some place you can cut $5 or $10 each month and just start now. You won’t regret it.

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