Saving For College Essay

Improved Essays
Saving for College: It is Possible

It is no secret that saving for college can be an overwhelming and difficult process, especially with the rising cost of tuition. Although parents want their children to graduate debt-free, many students find themselves swamped with loans after receiving their diploma. This can quickly turn into a hole that takes years to climb out of.

Fortunately, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to the findings from Fidelity’s annual College Savings Indicator Survey 2013, there are multiple ways to make saving more manageable. The study not only provides valuable insight as to how parents and students have saved in the past, but also their recommendations for the future. A lot can be learned from their
…show more content…
A majority of parents rely on their own knowledge and experience to navigate the complex financial world, as only 33% have a relationship with a financial professional. However, out of those who do, 69% think it has helped them move closer to their college savings goal. An advisor can answer questions, alleviate concerns and outline an effective plan for parents and students alike. For example, they can assist with a number of areas, including strategies for efficient college savings, the debt you or your child may accumulate in college and the financial aid process. With their support, you can feel educated and confident about your available savings options.

Find out about a 529 savings plan. Another smart investment is to open a 529 plan. The account covers a variety of educational expenses, offers great tax benefits and is open to all income levels. When survey participants were asked for their opinion on this financial strategy, 78% agreed that it is an effective, tax efficient way to save for college even with market volatility. In addition, those who have already opened a 529 plan expect it to cover, on average, 50% of the total cost of college. This is promising news for parents and students who are looking for a stable, lucrative

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    529 Plan Research Paper

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Pages

    A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan for your education. Start a 529 Education Savings Plan for college education of your children. Open the account as soon as your child is born and inform friends and family of this account as the gifts pour in. Many times, family members will contribute to the education fund if they know you already have an account set up.…

    • 66 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Going To College

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When I was growing up college to me was just a place that smart people with money would go to get a noble job and earn more money. I only heard about it never really knew the extravagant opportunities it provided. College was not something that I was told to strive for the reason being that everyone in my family is going or got by life adequate without it. They had responsibilities at a young age and never really got to finish school or explore any intellectual concepts. Not going to college is a norm thing in my family.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Juan Alba, Director of College Board Membership Mobilization and Engagement moderates the 2015-2016 Counselor Webinar Series: College Financial Planning . The seminars provide college counselors encouragement and recommendations on ways to assist families with strategies to develop long term financial plans to ensure college completion. A summary of valuable information obtained from two titles, How to Help Low-Income Students Manage College Costs and Financial Aid For Middle Income Family follows.…

    • 1752 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Blakes Case

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Blake’s have a couple different solutions for their situation. With part of their savings been set up for their children’s college education, is it possible for them to consider applying for student loans, either for the parent or the child attending. Even though this will help their immediate situation, by allowing some relief immediately, the loan will have to be paid off eventually. Additionally, if their current financial situation will allow, they could consider saving more money on a monthly basis to build up their savings account quicker than originally planned. If the savings account is no providing them a big enough return on their savings, it is possible they could consider other savings options that will bring them in a interest return on their investment.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    1) What is the relationship between GAAP/FASB and personal financial statements? Peavler, R. (2017). IFRS and FASB - What are Financial Reporting Standards? Retrieved September 25, 2017, from http://bizfinance.about.com/od/accountingandcash/a/IFRS-and-FASB-what-are-financial-reporting-standards.html)…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    School is an important thing in life, and sometimes it’s a difficult thing for many students. They do not feel like they can afford to go, have the finances to go, or even whether they feel ready to go. Everyone deserves a chance to be able to go to college and feel they are ready for the next step in their education. Sometimes all that is needed is a little push from people in the student’s life. Having someone supporting them and helping them prepare for college is one of the best things someone can do for a student.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Owen and Sawhill clarified that it is a better investment for young adults to take the time to find a college or program that fits their individual needs to achieve a higher rate of interest. Coincidentally, the text asserts that information on financial aid and graduation rates should be more extensive and easier for students to access. The authors explain that certain policies, such as The Obama Administrations new college scorecard, are headed in the right direction to eliminate unclearness with these types of information. Nevertheless, the authors explain that more could be done to aid students in this important process. Over all, they assert that research about financial aid, scholarships, colleges, their degrees, and other programs are essential to helping students make wise decisions about which college and degree to choose; therefore should be more easily…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Short-Term Financial Goals Preparing the personal financial plan, personal financial goals, and balance sheet and income statements felt like a daunting task. Primarily because finances were something that I always thought about, but I did not want to know the “real” truth regarding my financial health. The second principle of personal finance, “Nothing Happens Without a Plan” fits well in my situation because I persistently avoided viewing the entire picture when it came to our family’s finances in order to create a financial plan.…

    • 1771 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ever since I was a little kid, I always heard my parents talk about how they needed to start saving for my college. That seemed unimportant to me because I knew that I wouldn’t start college for many years. Both of my parents went to college without having a large financial backing so the concept of saving for college never seemed relevant to me. When I was a little bit older, I began to understand why it was important to start saving money. My uncle, who became an optometrist, had many financial difficulties because of his college expenses.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Robert T. Kiyosaki and best friend Mike, spent their late childhood into their teen years doing the opposite of what all other children were doing on the weekends, or during their free time. Robert and Mike spent their time furthering their education, but not about knowledge geared toward typical school learning. They chose to learn about financial literacy. These boys worked for a genius in the financial field, commencing their journey to being financially literate. Beginning to work at this void of knowledge for the greater majority of americans at such a young age, set them up for greatness.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Conclusion In order to investigate and analyze financial knowledge and financial behaviors of 21st century Chinese college students in Zhejiang province, this research uses a questionnaire to collect relevant data. Based on descriptive analysis and t test, the key findings are as follows. Firstly, a majority of the students receive financial knowledge and information from different kinds of media, which shows that the media has become increasingly influential in conveying information for students. In addition, no more than half of the students receive financial knowledge from academic study, and the percentages of this option are 32.4% for non-business students and 61.9% for business students.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Boetcher Cost Definition

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Boetcher, 5U.S. (50%) ‘strongly agree’ that their undergraduate education was worth the cost” (Crabtree,Steve). Students who disagree with college costs did not prepare for the expenses. Lack ofpreparation is a contributor to negative views on college costs, but other unexpected twist canalso occur for those who are preparing, such as being robbed or a contributing family memberlosing a job. Kimberly Foss, for example, is an adviser who understands how the worst of financialstudent debt is created. She has mentioned how she had heard a family at a coffee shopdiscussing how they were going to get their son into college.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The 7 Most Important Steps to Save Money for Students Students need to save money so that they can live a comfortable life within their budgets. Students, as we all know, may not have as much money to spend around. As such, they will need to make good budgets that will help them to save money. A student does not have to make money to improve on their financial health.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The future is extremely unpredictable and it is difficult to ascertain the kind of situations that we would have to face in the coming days and years. That is why, it becomes extremely important and vital to invest and save money in a strategic and proper manner. Some of the reasons why saving money is important are as follows: Emergency Funds: In order to tackle emergencies in a proper manner, you need to have a substantial amount of money that you have saved over a period of time.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    If a student was to walk into on of the financial planning places and sit down with a consultant, they would draw a plan that 's very simple. Financial Planning in Hutchinson, KS recommends that someone coming in has some kind of savings developed before they start a retirement savings. (Armour) They also require that their clients are financially stable.(Armour) What this means is clients coming in need to be established and have budgeting skills instead of living paycheck to paycheck.…

    • 1314 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays