As an expectant parent, you have a lot to think about. Where your baby will go to college in 18 years is probably one of the last things on your mind. It’s hectic enough planning your doctor’s appointments, post-birth arrangements and even what color your baby’s room will be —there’s hardly time to think about the future. However, saving for college is one thing you should be thinking about now,
When it comes to saving money to pay for college, many parents are doing it the old-fashioned way: that is to say, they’re hoping for a miracle! A survey conducted in January of this year found that 57 percent of the parents polled had saved less than $10,000. But the survey found that parents do have high savings hopes.
When Kate opened an NC 529 Account for the first of her four children, she was still paying off her own school loans from undergraduate and law school. She had been the first in her family to go to college and she scrimped, saved, and worked all the way through school and still came out with a sizable 10-year loan that she eventually refinanced into a 20-year loan. She was determined she would do everything she could to help her children save for college by using North Carolina’s National College Savings Plan.
There are optimists and there are pessimists. There are leaders and there are followers. And in the world of economics, there are savers and there are spenders.
What shapes our spending behavior? Is it too late to change it? The lessons of smart financial management are best taught early, but research is showing that the psychology of saving is much more complex than getting your first piggy bank as a child.
Picture this. Your child strides confidently across the stage at their high school graduation, shakes the principal’s hand, and receives their much-anticipated diploma. Now, imagine being able to celebrate your graduate’s success by handing them money to put towards higher education expenses. With the help of an NC 529 plan, that dream could become a reality.
The NC 529 Plan offers several investment options for conservative, moderate, and aggressive investors.
How do you picture your little one’s future? Bustling around a hospital saving lives? Reporting on the nightly news? Being a professional athlete? Children up to age 10 can explore these careers and more at the Future Me Kids Career Fair at Marbles Kids Museum, 201 East Hargett St., Raleigh, from 1 – 4 PM on Saturday, February 24. Stop in to enjoy watching your little one explore the possibilities!
