College

I've been reminiscing a lot about college lately; I just loved San Luis Obispo and miss the days of fun, friendship and spontaneity. I have also been thinking a lot about how I want Gracie to not only have the college experience (of course I would LOVE for her to go to my alma mater for obvious reasons!) where she chooses but I want her to have some financial help along the way. It can be a huge financial burden to take out loans and pay them years later. So, I have been thinking of ways I can prepare now so that it's easier for her in the future. The one thing I have started to do since her birth is put money away each month in a savings account for her.  But, I have a feeling this isn't going to be enough. I read an alarming article that I link to below about the huge costs of college in 2030 ( yeah, I know, that is crazy to think about but it will be here sooner or later). Here is the highlight of the story I want to get across:

What Will College Tuition Cost in 2030?

Congratulations! You are a new parent. It is time you are baptized into the world of diaper changes and midnight feedings. You also might want to brush up on your financial calculator skills.

Assuming junior is going to opt for a value education from a public school, you’ll want to know what the cost of college will be in 2030. According to the US Department of Education, the average annual cost of public school increased 6.5 percent each year over the last decade. That means that by 2030, annual public tuition will be $44,047. The total cost for a four-year degree will be more than $205,000.

 http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2012/07/25/how-much-will-you-need-to-send-your-child-to-college-in-2030

Basically... I better get to winning the lottery. Since that's probably not going to happen I was looking around and found these two options, super curious about what other parents think and if they are doing any other pro-active planning...

The Gift Plan and Gerber Life. Both of these look pretty valid from skimming through. I just want my money to grow the most amount but I'm still fairly conservative that I don't want to chance losing any either. So many decisions!