College Savings Plan

If you live in Missouri, check out the Mo-MOST plan--it's a 529 plan that's set up by the state. We use it for our 3 kids and you can donate as little as $25 per child a month. Ours is automatically set up to come out each month, so it definately gets in. You can also make big lump sum donations--my mom puts in $500 per child each year. The donations are tax deductible (I think??). They have a website that's easy to navigate, I set up the plans by myself.

One easy way, but not so fast way is to sign up for the Upromise site. You register your credit cards and your bank card and every time you make a purchase with that card at a sponsored place, they put a percentage of the purchase in an account. Toys R Us is a big one. There are dining sponsors, etc. so every little bit helps. Even family members can sign up so when they make purchases, little bits go into these accounts. Products like coffee creamer at the grocery store, etc. You sign up your cards from grocery stores, your shopper cards and they will put stuff in your account.

Look into the college 529 Plan. Also, an idea I had was having your children take out loans for college. Tell them that if they graduate, you'll pay the loans off in full, if they don't, they'll have that debt to pay off themselves. I think that would be great motiviation for me! Anyhow... just a thought... my twins are only 1 :-)

I am a CPA and know that there are various types of accounts you can set up to help pay for college. The 529 is the most recent form & you can check with your state to see if they have one where your donations can be tax deductible in that state. Otherwise, just setting up savings accounts or UTMA accounts in your kids names helps too. As far as paying for expenses, when I went to college I used the savings my parents had and then I also had to work to have spending & gas money. Then I also had a loan & paid it off after I graduated and had a good job. Talk to a financial planner for the best thing in your situation. I work with a great one in O'Fallon, IL if you are in the area.

I don't know your situation BUT you could work part-time from home & put your earnings toward the children's college plan. They usually have children's account that you can open in each of their names & it'll grow as well. I don't know where you live but Mazuma has an account called Max the Bunney Money & my son loves goini in making deposits & asking for a print out:-)! I do Mary Kay & I do it around my children, husband & full-time job. You can work it as little or as much as you like, in about an hour you could easily make $200./300.00 bucks! If your interested let me know & I can send you some information & it's not a lot to start up, you can train as you go & even attend class one night as week (We like to call it our girls night out)...NO it doesn't matter where you live we have adoptee programs all over the country. So IF you were to sign up, up under me & live in another state you still will get all the help you need & meet me as well as talk to me. Also some local banks can tell you about stocks & bonds or even Money Market accounts. I wish you all the best! Be BLESSED!

C.,

My husband is a financial advisor. He does a fantastic job (both professionally and personally) at putting money in the right place in order to gain the most return for your money. He highly suggests people start saving as early as possible even if it's a minimal amount per month. He says to stay away from "Missour MOST" as they charge a high fee to invest for you. You'd have to talk to him for more specifics and DON'T feel as if you're going to be roped in by making the call. He can be reached at Cornerstone Financial Group, Scott Harter ###-###-####.
Good luck,
B. Harter -Arbonne Independant Consultant-

From a place of someone that has not planned for anything (college or retirement), I would like to ask you if you have anything put into retirement for yourselves?

I know it sounds harsh, but the financial experts I've talked to say to start early for college savings plans for kids (with the rising cost of education and the laws of compound interest); however, most will tell you to put saving for retirement BEFORE planning for your kids' education. Why? Becuase there is low-interest loans available through the federal government that will fund your kids' education and very little if any out there to fund your retirement when the time comes. Think about it.

Now with that said, I would recommend you read a book by Suze Orman entitled, "Women & Money." In the book, she recommends you give hear 24 hours a month. Yep as little as 1 day/month (you can split it up...an hour here, two hours there throughout a month's time) for the course of 5 months, and her book can have you on the financial track I believe you are looking for...

You may purchase the book from a store, online, etc., or if you are like most and money is tight...check out your local public library to read the book for FREE. Not too long ago Suze Orman appeared on the Ophra Winfrey show and Ophra's website offered a FREE download of the book (for a limited time). That time has since passed. I only wish I woudl have see this question in time for you to take advantage of the FREE download. Anywho...check it out & good luck!

Look into 529 plans. In Illinois (open to anyone) had Bright Start. You can put in as little as $15 a month. You can manage the fund or have the fund readjust depending on the child's age. It is mutual fund driven investment. College Illinois is a program where you buy semester of tuition (in lump sums or in installments). You pay the cost of a semester today and your return is a semester of tuition in the future. It can be used in state or out of state, public and private schools. You can get details on line

As the others said.....529 plan. Also, go to upromise.com and become a member. You get rebates from retailers that are deposited into your 529s. (distributed between your children). Everyday I can look at the taskbar on my computer and see what my upromise savings are. To date, just by normal shopping we have saved $622.83 for our three boys who are 4 and under.

C.,

I am a nurse and I have also taught school. Our financial advisers suggested to us that we use the College Bound Fund program. You can make monthly deposits or a lum sum deposit each year. It gains interest and is transferable to your other children or to nieces and nephews if the money is not used for the child it is set aside for. It gains interest kind of like stocks. It is also more flexible and allows you to purchase books, computer, housing and all the additional stuff that grants and scholarships won't allow. Speak to a financial advisor and see what is best for your situation. They are generally free and can be a great deal of help in these situations.

C.-
I work for a mutual fund company. There is a plan called a Coverdell Ira. I don't know all the exact details about the plan, but I am pretty sure the max amount per year per child that you can put in the account is $2000.00. You would have to get with a Financial planner to go over the details, but that is the specific purpose of this particular plan is to help parents save money for college education.

K.