Saving For The Cost Of A College Education (NAPSA)—Whenasked to put a value on their children’s college education, most parents would reply, “immeasurable.” However, the cost of a four- year-college education in 2001, having increased at four times the rate of the average family income within the past 20 years, is anything but “immeasurable.” To hedge increased costs associated with obtaining a four-year degree, families are turning more and more to resources found on the Web. In order to send yourchild to a four-year public university in 2001, on average, it will cost more than $45,000. Similarly, the average cost of an elite private university will set you back more than $125,000 for four years. While these figures can be intimidating, resources available on the Internet can help families get a head start on planning for the cost of a college education, whether they haveaslittle as one month left to prepare or as much as 18 years. For example, MSN’s MoneyCentral personal finance Website provides a broad range of college financial planning tools. For parents or students, there is a tuition savings calculator to help develop a savings plan based on their specific goals. In addition, the site offers a step-by-step guide to saving for college, with tips on everything from investing strategies to making smart tax decisions. For the college bound high school student, there are also excellent guides covering the details of scholarships and financial aid information. Using tools such as the tuition savings calculator can give you a good idea of how much you needto save, given your situation. Depend- ing on how old yourchild currently Resources available on the Internet can help families get a head start on planning for college costs. is, that amount may be a wake up call. For instance: If your child is just entering high school, you will need to put away approximately $1055 a month, at nine percent interest to cover all four yearsof college. Starting when yourchild is in fourth grade, assuming the sameinterest gains, your monthly savings requirement drops to $568 a month. That number is reduced to only $280 a month if you start saving when yourchild is born. “We used the tuition savings calculator at MoneyCentral to determine how much we need to put away, ensuring that finances are not an obstacle when it comes time for our son to attend college,” said Kim Pollock, mother of four- month-old son, Tanner. “Getting financially organized helped us feel less overwhelmed by the amount of money we'll need to put him through college in 2018.” If you would like more information about any of the college finance planning tools listed above, go to http://moneycentral. msn.com/family/home.asp.
