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How We’re Helping Our Teen Save for College

February 10, 2020 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

College is getting more expensive every year, and with the student loan crisis, more and more students and parents are trying to forego student loans.  Avoiding student loans, if possible, is a smart way to go.  We should know; my husband and I are still paying off his student loans from graduate school, which he finished eight years ago.  So, we want to do everything we can to help our own children go to college without accruing any debt.  How we’re helping our teen save for college involves a multi-pronged approach.

How We're Helping Our Teen Save for College

How We’re Helping Our Teen Save for College

There are four ways we’re helping our teen save for college:

Using an Employee Discount

My husband is employed at our local university, so our children will get 75% off the price of tuition.  While this school currently costs approximately $12,000 for in-state tuition for a year, our children, thanks to the discount, will only need to pay $3,000 a year.

Matching Our Teen’s Savings

From the time our children were young, we set up a savings account for college.  We match each dollar that our child saves in this account.  Our three children all have varying balances, and one of our children is a much more prolific saver than the other two.  While this account won’t cover their $3,000 a year that they will have to pay for college, it will likely cover their textbooks for several semesters.

Paying for AP Tests

 

How We're Helping Our Teen Save for College
Photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash

Our teen is bright and this year decided to challenge himself with an AP history course.  We paid for the AP test that he will take in May.  If he scores a 4 or a 5 on this test, he will be able to earn college credit for the course.

Next year, he plans to take several AP classes and tests, and we’ll pay for those, too, in the hopes that he can score high enough and reduce the amount of time he needs to be in college.

Finding Scholarships

Our teen took a practice PSAT at school, and while his score was okay, it wasn’t stellar.  Since he has a 4.0 in school, if he can raise his SAT score by at least 100, he will qualify for a $6,000 scholarship from our university.  (The higher the scores, the higher the scholarship amount he qualifies for.  If he could get his score even more than 100 points higher, he would qualify for an even larger scholarship.)

We don’t have money to pay for SAT tutoring, but having it would be valuable, especially if it helps our child raise his score and qualify for the scholarship.  I found a scholarship offered through a private foundation that could be used for SAT prep.  We applied, received the scholarship, and he’s begun tutoring this semester.

Final Thoughts

Money has been tight throughout our marriage, so we’ve never had much money to set aside for our children’s college education.  (Our priority has been paying off our student loans and saving for retirement.)

However, helping a child in other ways rather than just paying tuition outright can also be valuable.  This is how we’re helping our teen save for college.

 

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Children, Married Money, Student Loans Tagged With: children, college, debt, kids, Student Loans

8 Free and Cheap Things to Do with Kids This Summer

June 29, 2018 By MelissaB 1 Comment

Summertime is here, and if your kids aren’t already out of school, they will be soon.  Summer is the perfect time to make memories with your kids, but if your plans include the local theme park, shopping at the mall, and meals out, plan to spend a lot of money entertaining the kids.  While you can enjoy summer that way, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the summer without spending a lot of money.

Here are some of our family’s favorite low-cost or free summer activities:

Have a Picnic

Pack some sandwiches, chips and some fruit, and take a drive out of town.  Find a nice, rustic place to have a picnic and spend the afternoon.  Kids will appreciate the adventure and change of scenery.

Go to Summer Movies

Several movie theaters, including Harkins and Regal, offer discounted movies for kids during the summer.  For 10 weeks, my kids and I go to Harkins theaters once a week to see a movie.  The best part?  We buy a pass for each of us for $5 apiece.  Yep, if you see all ten movies throughout the summer, you pay just .50 a movie.  The four of us can see a movie for $2 total every week.  Can’t beat that.

Attend Free Concerts

Many cities offer free evening concerts and movie showings.  Just check out the happenings in your town every weekend.  You may be surprised how many free events you can find.

Enjoy Summer Bowling

There is also a summer bowling program, Kids Bowl Free, that you can sign up for.  While the bowling is free, you do have to pay for shoe rental.

Attend Library Programs

Every week, our local library has at least one free program for kids.  This week, my son will be taking a one hour art class.  Next week, my daughters will be taking a free science class where they will be erupting mini-volcanoes.  While you’re there, don’t forget to check out a few books, DVDs, and CDs.

Camp in the Backyard

If your kids want the adventure of camping but you don’t want to pay the camp site fee, why not camp in the backyard?  Kids get the adventure, and if they get scared during the night, the house is only a few steps away.

Go to the Beach

Is there anything better than visiting the beach on a hot summer day?  Bring your sun screen and a lunch and spend the whole day playing in the water, reading a book, and getting a tan.

Have a Movie Marathon

Feeling nostalgic?  Why not watch the Star Wars movies with your kids or the Back to the Future trilogy?  Watch a movie a night until you finish.  Enjoy popcorn and reminiscing about watching these movies in your own childhood.

Summer can be expensive, but it doesn’t have to if you know where to look to find free and cheap activities to keep the kids entertained.

What are your favorite free or cheap activities to do with the kids during the summer?

 

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Children, Frugality, Married Money, Saving Tagged With: Bored Kids, kids, Summer, summer kids, summer vacation, vacation

5 Best Subscription Gifts for Kids

December 18, 2016 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

It’s Christmas morning.  Your kids excitedly rip open their presents, and all day long, you can barely pull them away from their new toys.  If you’re lucky, the excitement lasts a week or two.  But then, unfortunately, the new toys lose their appeal and luster.

Does this sound familiar?

If you want to avoid the kind of gifts that quickly lose their luster, consider giving your child a monthly subscription present.  Then, the joy of Christmas lasts all year long as each month your child will get a new surprise gift!

Here are some you may want to consider:

Surprise Ride

best subscription gifts for kids
Subscription Gifts for Kids

If you have kids who love books and crafts, this may be the subscription service for you (and them)!  Each Surprise Ride box includes two activities, a book and a snack, and extras.  A recent Surprise Ride with a polar bears theme included the supplies to make a polar bear habitat and a polar bear coaster, a Magic Treehouse polar bear book and ice cream snack, and polar bear bracelet and snowflake game. All activities are designed for kids 5 and up.  You can get the monthly subscription or pay for 6 months upfront for a $40 savings, or 12 months upfront for a $60 savings.

Foodstirs

Perfect for your little food enthusiast, aged 5 to 12 years.  Each month, Foodstirs will send a kit to bake a sweet treat.  The ingredients are organic and do not contain artificial dyes or flavors.  Some kits available at the holiday season include the Very Merry Gingerbread Cookie Kit and Holiday Tree Brownie Kit.  Kits are shipped for free, and when you subscribe for a 3, 6, or 12 month box, you can receive up to 28% off the retail price.

Pley

How much fun would it be to get a new toy to play with every month?  That’s the premise behind Pley.  You choose a toy for your child from 500+ toys available for children from 0-12 years old.  Your child plays with the toy for a month; then you send it back and get a new one!  Avoid toy clutter in your home, and your child won’t bore of his toys!

Little Passports

Little Passports offers four different subscriptions: Early Explorers (ages 3 to 5), World Edition (ages 6 to 10), USA Edition (ages 7 to 12), and Science Expeditions (ages 9+).  The first three subscriptions focus on geography, and the latter on science.  The geography subscriptions include stickers for your child’s passport, souvenirs, photos, letters from the travelers, and online games.  Subscriptions are available for a variety of months and are cheaper when you commit to a 12 month subscription.

Kiwi Crate

Kiwi Crate offers monthly subscriptions for five levels, from ages 0 to 16.  Choose the crate that you would like.  For instance, in the Doodle Crate, for ages 9 to 16, your child can learn how and build their own clock with the supplies given!  A Tinker Crate for ages 9 to 16 offers a STEM project like creating a hydraulic claw.  Kiwi Crate offers subscriptions monthly, for 3 months, for 6 months, and for 12 months again, with the biggest discount going to the longest subscription.

Do your kids subscribe to any subscription services?  If so, which one is your favorite?

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Children, Married Money Tagged With: gifts, kids

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