Save For College

How many ways can you build college savings for your child?  Again I do believe that kids should work hard and earn money for their education but how neat would it be to hand your child money you have set aside through out their childhood on the day they graduate from college. Here are simple things you can do.

• Each birthday put the dollar amount equal to your child's age into the jar or piggy bank you have set aside for your child. You can even open a savings account with a bank and put the money there. It will gain a tiny bit of interest over the years as well and it will be in safe keeping.
  
• $1.00 a month can be your own little way to give your child "interest" on what you put in their accounts. $12.00 over 25 years adds up to $300.00 yes that doesn't seem like much over 25 years but believe me every bit helps.
  
• Don't forget we are still taking at least $10.00 out of each pay check as well, making this a total of about $6,000 at 25 years. 

Now with just these things alone you have a about $6,625.00 and this is just an estimation there here are other things you can do.

• garage sale money split between you and your kids
• pop can money split between kids
• loose change you find 
• instead of age amount for each birthday just give a set $20.00
• when you get a raise or bonus give your child's saving a raise

I hope you find these tips useful and remember to always add money and not take it away.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my Saving Money Tips blog. My name is Molly, I'm a wife, mother, and child of God. I was 19 and 21 when I had my kids and lets just say we made some bad decisions and we are now at a point where I realize things need to change for the better. We have been doing little things here and there and to get out of debt, save for our daughters college, and have enough to live on each month. We are not in any major financial crisis but we are aware that things need to change, and we are both excited to be out of debt.

STEPS IN GETTING OUT OF DEBT
Lets get started, The first thing we did was look at our debt. We had more than I realized but it was ok I knew that with time and effort we would get cards paid off in no time. Our debt isn't medical bills, it isn't paying for college tuition, its the dreaded credit cards we had back when things were so tight we had to put our grocery's on credit cards. So again the first step is realizing how much debt you have, the second is STOP USING YOUR CREDIT CARDS. We cut all of ours but one. We kept the one with the lowest interest on it till we were able to get $1,000 in our savings. Then that card was snipped leaving us our bank cards and checking account.

We have not been using credit cards and if for any reason you do... pay that bill before it grows.

COLLEGE SAVINGS
With 2 young children (5 & 7) I'm realizing that every year we aren't saving even a little bit is one year of making up for it later. I do believe that kids should get a job between the ages of 14-16 even if its one day a week to earn money so that they learn responsibility. When they are older they will be given a "piggy bank" of some sort that they will divide their pay check into 3 categories.

Shopping- This is their spending money
Savings- This will be put into their savings and not touched
Giving- This is money for church offering or give to a charity of their choice.

With these 3 slots they have to split that pay check into those 3 categories. When they start getting car payments and such then they will have a bills section too.

Now again my kids are only 5 & 7 so jobs and earning money are reaching FAR to the future but a head start on savings can be easy. Although I'm starting this now I'm back tracking and making up a little bit of lost time. I hope to make up any money we missed out on for my 7 year old so its as if we started doing this when she was 5 like her sister.

Where YOU Start- In the 9 months of planning for your little bundle you can take $10.00 out of each pay check and continue doing that till your child is out of college. If you have more than one kid find an amount your comfortable with and split that money between the amount of kids. Even $1.00 out of each pay check is better than none.  Depending on if you want it taken out of your pay check or at the end of the month you put a set amount aside its good to do this. You already have at least $90.00 and your child is just born.


More posts to come...