My wife and I recently went to our financial planner after the birth of our daughter to talk college savings. Our adviser had a nifty tool on his computer which could calculate estimated cost of attendance at a variety of different types of schools 18 years from now as well as how much we'd need to save each month to hit the mark, realizing that unlike retirement, the window to save is much shorter for college savings.
Assuming our daughter may think like her folks, we had our adviser plug in a 4-year, state school, assuming in-state tuition. He asked what percentage we'd like to help fund. We went with forty percent. As he entered this information and the computer calculated, he asked us to guess how much 40% would be...not knowing, he broke the news....$85,000!!! Again, that's only 40% and that's for in-state. Granted, there is some inflation added in and such, but holy cow, we were surprised!
The cost of higher education continues to rise, especially in times of a tough economy and less funding from tax dollars. I write this as a reminder of the true investment an education is....and that people should remember those numbers as they think about skipping class, being ok with a "C" grade or taking their time getting that degree. If you bought a new car each year, you wouldn't neglect it like many neglect their education. And remember, if you take out loans, you'll be reminded each month as you write those checks.
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