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5 Tips for Affording Your Child’s College Education

Thinking about college education can be a double-edged sword for many parents. On one hand, it is an exciting process that sets your child up for their later life. On the other, it is a daunting process that requires a significant financial investment – one that some people may struggle to afford.

However, there are ways to make this expense easier to tackle. So, whether you are planning ahead, and your child is nowhere near thinking about college, or you are currently looking around potential college campuses, here are our five top tips that can help you afford your child’s college education.

Sell Your Life Insurance Policy

If you have a life insurance policy, it may be worth researching the possibility of selling it. But how can you make money from your policy?

One option is a life settlement, which involves selling your policy for an instant cash lump sum. This sum will be considerably higher than what you may otherwise get if you chose to surrender the policy, and so it is likely that your insurance is worth more than you think.

We recommend getting an instant valuation with a life settlement company to find out if this is a viable option for you.

Start Saving Early

This point may only be relevant to those who are thinking ahead for their child’s education, but it is still worth mentioning.

Saving early is perhaps the easiest way to make a significant dent in your child’s college cost, as it gives you a large portion of time with no immediate pressure.

For those who may struggle to save effectively, we recommend the strategy of saving first. Essentially, this means making saving your priority and moving funds into a savings account before thinking about any other expenses.

In doing so, you will remove the money as a temptation to purchasing other things later in the month, giving you a higher likelihood of successfully saving it for the future.

Ask Friends and Family for Help

Your friends and family can help you raise money for your child’s education in a number of ways.

It could be something simple, such as contributing directly to the fund with any spare money that they have. Another way they could help is by assisting you in organizing a fundraiser to raise extra money, which offers a fun and unique way of tackling the problem.

Alternatively, if you are planning early, you could also propose the idea of your family opening their own savings account for your child, creating more pots of cash to draw on in the future.

Consider Different College Options

When it comes to selecting a college, there are so many options to choose from.

You may find that there are alternative, and perhaps cheaper, college options that are offering the course your child wants to take. It is important, however, to note that we highly recommend taking your child’s opinions and wants into account if exploring this option.

While it may not be clear why a particular college is your child’s first and only choice, it is still important to them and, ultimately, it will impact their life the most.

Research Scholarships and Grants

Many colleges will offer scholarships for particularly skilled individuals, whether that be in sports, music, academia, or something else, and these offers will likely include a significant discount in the child’s tuition fees. In addition, many institutions offer grants to help those who come from a lower economic background.

Researching these offers should be at the top of your priority list if you are concerned about affording your child’s education, as they offer a simple solution to the problem if you qualify.

 

Jeff Campbell