Save Your Nickels and Dimes

savings

Start saving all of that pocket change—September is College Savings Month!

Despite popular belief, college can still be affordable if you get your ducks in a row early. Plenty of people attend community colleges—and even state schools—for free through a combination of scholarships. Be sure to check your school for every scholarship available—both your high school and the college you wish to attend, that is—and fill out your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

 Even if you do all of this, however, it’s still important to have a good, old-fashioned backup plan—and that’s a savings account. To find out how much you’ll need to save, it would be a good idea to contact your college. Its “future students” section on its website will likely be able to give you an idea, if it has one—but adding up actual costs with the help of the financial services department will likely give you a better estimate.

You can also use the calculator at SavingforCollege.com to get a rough estimate. This site can also help you determine what kind of savings plan you might need, put you in touch with a professional for help, and access a lot of other information, such as answers to some questions you may have. Then you can start making regular deposits from money you earn as well as gifts that you receive.

A trip to your bank (or your parents’ bank, if you don’t have one) may be all that you need. After you answer a few questions, they can help you to determine what kind of savings account you need and perhaps even open it up for you today.

This goes for parents, too—it’s never too early to start saving for college! Though money may be tight, most savings plans for children don’t require a big minimum balance; twenty dollars here and there will add up big time by the time your tot gets his or her diploma—plus interest. Most states even offer savings plans that give you tax benefits and matching grants; click here to find the one in your state.

Some parents even start planning when they get pregnant—or beforehand—which may seem like overkill, but in reality it’s a sensible thing to do. Even if you can’t get pregnant for some reason, down the line that money will still come in handy in other ways.

With today’s schools preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet, a college education is becoming the best option for more and more people. With a little planning and a lot of hard work, you can definitely still go to college.