I hope everyone had a great Memorial weekend. This week, I’ve been working with my illustrator, Aaron Kizer, on the my upcoming book, The Lemonade Stand. His artwork is gorgeous and I can’t wait to share the new book with you later this Fall. In the meantime, I wanted to wrap-up May with some final thoughts about college.
Overall, I still believe college is a good investment and strongly encourage you and your child to read through my Important College Considerations and Conversations before they begin applying to colleges. Once you both mutually agree it’s right for your son or daughter then prepare them to navigate the financial world during and after graduation. College is an amazing privilege, but one you need to make sure your child is prepared to handle.
I have an interesting infographic that shows the true cost of college. A couple things to keep in mind, this assumes that the student applied for and received various scholarships and grants. I cannot tell you how many parents I talk to who don’t fully explore this opportunity and potential gold-mine.
They assume their kids won’t qualify or don’t know where to look, so they go directly to financing their child’s education via student loans. Don’t overlook scholarships and grants; they can make a substantial difference.
Additionally, don’t forgot about some of the hidden costs. We automatically think of tuition, room and books and to a lesser extent meals. But what about transportation? Car insurance? Gas? Food (if they don’t live on campus and have no meal plan option)? Health insurance? Cell phone? Laptop? Entertainment? Clothes?
Some of you may say beyond tuition and room that your child is on their own. Fair enough. But make sure they clearly understand this and most importantly, have a way to earn money to cover those additional expenses beyond a credit card. You don’t want to substitute student debt with credit card debt.
The Heavy Purse Store is now open! My new downloadable Money Club Workbooks are now on sale. Each workbook provides five targeted lessons to help you raise Financially Confident Kids. Please check them out in The Heavy Purse Store.
Photos courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net.
SHANNON RYAN, CFP®
And a student will have some of those living expenses even if they are able to live at home with their parents while they attend school. And I don't think that students should assume that just because they live at home that things such as their text books, laptop and clothes will be funded by Mom & Dad.
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