Living in the moment means much of our family’s “gold” goes toward travel and other impulsively inspired adventures. With sweet Skye a mere munchkin, I’ve been admittedly derelict in designating dollars for her educational endeavors. In this humorous excerpt from his book Good Dad/Bad Dad, author David George holds my feet to the fire! |
Do Start a College Fund...
By David George
 …for each child, as soon as possible!
I’m not saying to call your financial advisor while your wife is in the delivery room, but I am suggesting you do so while your bundle of joy is still in diapers. Why? Because the one advantage you have when funding your child’s education is time. Time, in this case, literally is money.
But first things first. Why a college fund? Because college takes a whole lot of funds, that’s why. After doing some digging on the Internet, I found that the cost of sending your child to a 4-year college, with on-campus living arrangements, is anywhere from $40,000 to $65,000. And that’s just for a state school. If you go the private school route, 4 years can set you back -- are you ready for this? -- a wallet-walloping $170,000. And that’s at today’s prices. Imagine what it’s going to be 18 years from now.
Okay, you can pick yourself up off the floor because like I said earlier, you have one huge advantage on your side: Time. Time is the greatest contributing factor to a well-funded fund. That’s why the earlier you start, the better off you are.
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