Money Management Tip: Keep Saving for College!
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. You attend games, performances, and festivals so that they develop as well-rounded people. You foster good behavior and encourage community spirit so that they join society as responsible adults. Each move you make, including opening a college savings account, brings your child one step closer to making their college education a reality.
As a parent, that’s one of your big goals — putting college in your child’s future. Once your child has an acceptance letter in one hand and high school diploma in the other, you can breathe a sigh of relief as you realize that you’ve achieved this goal. And, it may be tempting to think that you can stop contributing to your NC 529 Account now that you’ve reached this milestone.
Keep in mind, however, that the real end goal is college graduation. Getting into a college or university is a fantastic step forward for you and your child, but the payoff comes when he or she graduates from their post-secondary school. This is typically four years from now.
Between today and the next time you sit proudly watching your child cross the stage to receive a diploma, you and your child will incur many costs — tuition, fees, books, required equipment, and living expenses. The savings that you have in your NC 529 Account today will help you conquer the costs of any qualified expense.
By continuing to contribute to your Account while your child is attending a college or university, you stretch your dollars even further. Think about what you and your child can achieve with four extra years of savings. As you already know, you can contribute as little as $25 at a time to your NC 529 Account. If you continue to do this at least once a month over the next four years at a two percent interest rate, you’d have an additional $1,200 to put towards the cost of college.
That extra money makes a difference! It may mean that you need to spend less out-of-pocket money while your child is in school. Or, it may mean that your child has smaller loan payments after college ends. Or, it could even make it easier for your child to consider the benefits of obtaining an advanced degree because money is available in the account after college graduation.
Having additional savings in your NC 529 Account means having additional options. As you and your child progress through college and beyond, continue to contribute to your account so that these options are available to your family.
Ready to make another contribution to your NC 529 Account?