How Much Will College Cost?
It has become obvious that parents of kids who plan to go to college have no clue how they will pay for it. I understand where they all are coming from, but I have a plan. Most parents have no clue and no plan, unless they are filthy rich.
I have been discussing this issue with my wife, my son and a few friends and I am a concerned parent who takes this issue seriously. My son will start high school in the fall of 2023 which means I have approximately 1550 days or about 4 years to get the money together.
Since I live in Ohio, for this exercise I will assume that my son will attend Kent State. The current tuition at Kent State for an Ohio resident is approximately $10,000.00 per year. Room and Board is an additional $11,362.00 which comes to $21,362.00. Taking into consideration a 10% annual increase in cost, the total for my son’s education would be about $108,542.00.
Since my son is an honor student and I assume he will continue on the same track, I expect that he might qualify for a $5,000 annual grant or scholarship, which would reduce the cost to approximately $88,000.00. Add to that $1.300.00 annual cost of books and supplies and we are now at $93,200.00
Since he is planning on taking some college courses in high school and perhaps starting his first year in college at a local community college, I can only assume that we will save an additional $10,000.00 for a grand total of $83,200.00.
He might end up going to a college or university other than Kent State which would lower the cost but again, for this exercise I will stay at the $83,200.00 cost.
That ends up costing $20,800.00 every year for four years, which breaks down to about $1,733 every month to pay. That is the amount that parents will have to pay for their child’s education if they go to Kent State. This amount does not include the cost of a car, car insurance and health insurance. As you can see, college can be expensive.
What we have to figure out is how and where the money will come from. In my case, I have started a separate account just for my son’s education and have already started my journey.
This blog is the vehicle I will use to share my thoughts and ideas on how I will generate the funds, and you can either duplicate what I do or at least get some ideas on what is possible.
To get the ball rolling, last month I signed up for two new credit cards. I had to spend a minimum of $1000 with each, and had to pay for it, after which time one gave me $150 cash back and the other one gave me $200. I have already received the money and deposited it into the new account.
My wife opened a new checking account, and she also received $200. Many banks are offering incentives to open new accounts with the expectations you will charge a lot on their credit cards and pay them the high interest.
The secret is to only charge for things you need, and most important of all is to pay off the total bill every month so you pay no interest. If you can’t do that, then you will just get yourself into a financial bind.
One card I signed up for is this one. There are many more out there if you do a thorough search on Google, but this one offers 3% back on certain purchases.
Another thing I do is collect all the change that my wife and I accumulate each month and deposit it into the account. This month so far I deposited $25 just in change.
So there you have it. It’s not much, but it’s a start and I am on my way. As time goes on, I will share more things I am doing, and with hard work and effort I will get my son’s education paid for.
This is an exercise that most parents should do but don’t. This is also how kids end up getting in over their heads with student loans and end up suffering financially for years after they graduate because there was no plan in force.
Keep in mind that during this process it is important that we educate our children about money and teach them good money habits they will carry with them throughout their lives.
Until next time, have a great day!
Goulash