College Resources & News from CFNC

When it comes to saving money to pay for college, many parents are doing it the old-fashioned way: that is to say, they’re hoping for a miracle! A survey conducted in January of this year found that 57 percent of the parents polled had saved less than $10,000. But the survey found that parents do have high savings hopes.

When Kate opened an NC 529 Account for the first of her four children, she was still paying off her own school loans from undergraduate and law school. She had been the first in her family to go to college and she scrimped, saved, and worked all the way through school and still came out with a sizable 10-year loan that she eventually refinanced into a 20-year loan.

There are optimists and there are pessimists. There are leaders and there are followers. And in the world of economics, there are savers and there are spenders.

Picture this. Your child strides confidently across the stage at their high school graduation, shakes the principal’s hand, and receives their much-anticipated diploma. Now, imagine being able to celebrate your graduate’s success by handing them money to put towards higher education expenses.

How do you picture your little one’s future? Bustling around a hospital saving lives? Reporting on the nightly news? Being a professional athlete?

Not sure what to give as a gift this holiday season? Make a contribution to a college savings account. Friends and family can contribute as little as $25 to a student’s NC 529 Account. The contribution is a meaningful gift that keeps on giving.

From baby’s first teetering steps until your child strides across the high school graduation stage, you’re focused on the future. You read stories and do homework to support their education.

The first years of your child’s life are filled with countless milestones: crawling, walking, talking, making friends, learning to count and read. There were first teeth and new words spoken.

College Savings Day will be held on May 29. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about how to save for college. Bray Creech has highlighted four key points that pertain to 529 Plans for this article in Citizen-Times.

Timeka Ruffin is a representative of the College Foundation of North Carolina. She talks with the morning show about teaching kids to save.