Never to Early to start Saving

illustration by blog.credit.com

Happy Sunday, hope everyone is doing well. It's a beautiful sunny day today in NYC so I hope to take my camera out on a date later. As I enjoy my breakfast and clean out my inbox I came across my daughter's reminder that Tuition is due soon and that got me thinking...
My inbox is full of crap literally. I just finished deleting about 15 emails dealing with what I must have this coming Christmas or the top ten gift ideas blah blah. Sometimes I just hate the awareness I now have about living in such a society of Consumption. Oh no stop here you need this or don't worry by it now you can pay later.

I remember always feeling these pressures in my younger years and once I had my daughter the additional pressure of certain holidays and what the outside world was telling me I was suppose to be doing or wanting.

I am hear to tell you parents of small little kiddies...DON'T FALL FOR IT!!!

illustration by wahm.com

Save your money as our little ones get older things only become more expensive and College Tuition is no joke. I won't say I didn't do something to get off on the right foot but I definitely didn't do enough. I am grateful that my lil mama's school isn't over the top expensive but it is still a dent on my weekly paycheck and that is just tuition I am not even touching on her text books. What about those kids that go away and now you have to add dorm life and food!!!

So I am here to make a few suggestions and share a few tips to get you looking at a smoother ride.

-start a college fund the minute you know you are expecting even if $25.00 a week
-reduce the holiday gifts and instead stick to a reasonable number and put rest away
-if your child is gifted money divide it in half this way they enjoy some and you save the rest
-teach them work ethic and encourage summer jobs again encouraging them to say a portion of what they make this way they too have an investment in their future
-once they enter H.S. begin to research scholarship options and look into all the programs you may qualify for

illustration by listenmoneymatters.com

-be aware that unfortunately even if you are living paycheck to paycheck after a certain annual salary number you will not be able to be considered for certain scholarships or assistance
This happened to us and no matter my daughter's grades or class ranking or fact she was a female and a minority none of that mattered she didn't qualify for anything in their eyes I made too much money.
-be realistic don't pressure yourself or your kid(s) to only consider a certain school keep all options open be aware a name doesn't always mean better education it could well just be a networking situation
-start conversations early about ways to save for College, let your kids know what you truly can and can't afford
-Don't borrow unnecessarily. Let loans and grants be your last resort

Two income households may have a little cushion but even still with today's economy that is not even true anymore and those with one income such as myself I won't even go into how close we cut it week to week. So again start early!

We want to enjoy our lives we want to experience new adventures and we want to look forward to our children growing up and moving out so we can move on to our next chapter of our own journeys but it won't be any fun or stress free if we are worried about finances.
Again remember...
-be realistic
-communicate well
-look into all your options
-AND start early

illustration by forbes.com

I am sharing some links I myself looked into when I started my own journey I am 3 years in almost done it isn't and hasn't been easy but I am blessed to be able to help my lil mama and lil mama helps me.

gma.yahoo.com

savingforcollege.com

cnbc.com

What do you think? Any other tips you can share? What about your own journey? Did you just start or perhaps even finished? I would like to hear how you have dealt or deal with it.

Always stress free xo

Mari