Paying for College

Do you have kids in college?

I do.

2...plus myself.

So, my advice is this...if you do not have children, start saving for their college now.

If you are pregnant and have not started saving for their college...start now.

If you already have children and have not started saving...start now.

It is never, ever, ever too late to start saving for their college.

Unless of 'course you have three people in college at the moment with two more making plans and your budget is already stretched beyond what it can handle. This is where I am today. Thankfully we had VA for our oldest daughter to help her through the cost of university; but, even with that combined with a small pell grant, she is still needing to make monthly payments. 

If totally sucks as a parent to realize that after all these years of encouraging my children to go to college that we have nothing saved up except the saving grace of the VA. Which helped me my first year back and will help our oldest for her last three years. But, I still have three more children to consider. The middle daughter is at community college with myself so therefore a pell grant will cover her. Ok, two down, two to go. How in the world do I start saving for these two when the budget barely covers what we have now.

Prayer.

It is all I have this afternoon. 

Prayer that I will make the right decision in the coming new year to work out a better budget and set the record straight, in my mind, to start saving. Even if it is just a few thousand for each of the, it will make a difference. These two are university bound if I like it or not. And unless each of them win some major scholarship - could happen! - it is going to take many hours of working to have it all paid for and not leave my children with thousands of dollars in loans when they graduate.

I know, I know - it is NORMAL for people to graduate with loans. It might be normal, but I have decided that we - The Fifield Family of six - are not normal and therefore, will not have my children paying for their college ten years down the road in this economy and their own families to raise. 

Why?

Because I know that that is not the way it should be. Maybe for some families, but not for mine. The Bible speaks of the poor being slave to the lender. This is so true and I have walked way to many miles in these shoes. So, I constantly encourage my children not to take loans or credit cards. I dutifully remind them of the times we have been house poor due to taking on too many loans or credit card debt and I gently remind them of the things we have gone without because of our poor decisions. 

Hopefully, after all of this is said and done...they will listen.

Again, it is never too late to start saving...but you have to be willing to set that example for your children so that in turn they might learn from lessons and mistakes. Paying for my children's college is my decision to do. It is not for everyone, so do what is best for your family. 

Proverb 22:7

The rich rules over the poor,
and the borrower is the slave of the lender.