One of your life’s biggest goals is to save for your child’s college education. But since you may have other financial responsibilities such as paying off credit card bills, auto loans and mortgage payments; saving for a college fund can be a daunting challenge.

Some parents have their own student loan debts to care about. But financial experts strongly suggest that you should start saving for your child’s college education as soon as you can.

As a parent, it is your job to regularly contribute a fixed amount of money to save for your child’s college education. But before you do that, it is crucial that you have:

• paid off your own student loan
• set up an emergency fund for unexpected costs
• already established a retirement fund

But parents don’t need to be the sole source for college savings. When your kids grow up to be full-time students, get them involved in building up their own savings fund. You will be surprised to see their enthusiasm. In addition to that, the practice also teaches them valuable lessons about how to spend and money. This is trait that is definitely going to benefit your kids throughout their life.

Here a few ways your children can help you build up a solid savings account to help you fund their college education with ease.

Scholarships
There is a reason why every student wants to bag a scholarship. If your teen is gifted enough to bag a scholarship, encourage him/her to apply for a scholarship. All students who excel in academics, sports or extracurricular activities have higher chances of getting partially or fully-paid scholarship.

AP classes
This is a great tip for cutting down the expenses you would need to incur later. Signing up for Advanced Placement classes offer high school students the chance to earn credits even when they are studying in high school. Each AP class taken in high school results in one less class a student will have to pay for in college. Get in touch with your child’s academic counselor to know more about AP classes.

Finding a Part Time Job
A part time or full time gig during the summer never hurts a student. Not only the opportunity gives your child a much-needed exposure to the real world, all earnings can help them save for their college fund.
Opening a savings account

Most students today are serious about building their own college savings account. No wonder most banks offer accounts which are specifically for students with no minimum balance requirements. Students can open a savings account with waived monthly maintenance fees, and parents can be the joint account holder, in case they are below 18.

Sign up for a funding platform
Thanks to internet, the whole world has now become a social community. The Gift of Education provides you with a fantastic opportunity to create a free account for 529 College Savings Plans, without any setup charges. You can also notify your friends and family with easy social media links to help you build a strong savings fund to shape your child’s future.

Final Thoughts
Although it’s never too late to start saving for college education, the sooner you start the more you end up saving for the most crucial phase of your child’s life. Most people open up a savings account when their children are just babies.

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