Manage My Budget

One day you will wake up and your children will be ‘grown’ and heading off to school. Have you thought about how you will finance their education? If you haven’t heard, the cost of a decent education is continually rising above and beyond what most ordinary people can afford.

If you have more than one child, you can expect a financial burden that might seem overwhelming. Did you know that within the next 10 years, the cost of an average education for a bachelor degree is expected to rise to $200,000 per year? Fortunately there is good news for parents of children that expect to attend college one day.

There are several things you can do to make sure you have enough money saved up by the time your kids will need it. Many smart parents know exactly what it takes to afford an education. Let’s take a look at their secrets:

Begin saving as early as you can. The sooner you start saving the less you will have to save. This has been proven over and over again. Some people don’t start saving until their children are grown up. The smart thing to do is to start saving when your child is born. For their first birthday present consider opening a savings account for college.

Investigate Primary Sources of Financial Aid. You can virtually finance an entire education using a combination of scholarships financial aid programs and loans. Even if you will have to pay interest on some of the loans, you can at least get your foot into college. Most scholarships you don’t have to pay back. You should investigate little known scholarship programs.

Open accounts that are tax deferred. You can take advantage of 529 savings plans and educational IRAs which will not be considered a family asset (schools usually inquire about family assets when they try to assess how much you can pay.

It is also advisable to encourage your child to attend in-state college programs, which are a lot more affordable than out-of-state programs.

Be prepared to meet some challenges as you look toward financing your child’s education. Start saving as early as possible.

If your state of residence does not offer good college programs, relocate early on, so that your kids will be able to qualify for in-state benefits.

And, if you can, try to trim extras from your budget, such as a cup of coffee from Starbucks every morning. Instead, give up your latte a couple of days a week and put that money in your child’s savings account.

Time is truly your best friend when it comes to your children’s education.

The more time you allow yourself to save, the less money you will have to come up with in a short period of time!

A small investment of $50 a month goes a long way over a period of 18 years. You can save for college and still enjoy life to the fullest!

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If you want to become debt free, participating in a debt consolidation program is a great option. There are various methods available to lower debt, including debt settlement. Debt settlement allows you to pay off your debts for a percentage of the total that you owe. Of course, you need money to be able to settle your debts. There are several ways to find the funds to become debt free.

Obviously, cutting expenses is an option that is available to everyone. If you are a person who winds up in debt, this is a practice you need to learn regardless. If you’re working on a budget, track the amount of cash you spend each week. You would be surprised with the number of expenses you can cut without totally changing your lifestyle. Cutting expenses can be as involved as you would like it be.

Another way to find the funds you need for debt settlement is to take advantage of your tax refunds. Depending on your situation, you could find a pretty substantial amount of money available once you file your taxes. Using this money to settle your debts is a pretty smart choice. The amount of money might not cover everything, but you could put aside a good amount to help get you started.

If you’re a homeowner, you have a couple of options to raise the funds you need. First, you can take out a home equity loan. This essentially amounts to a second mortgage. You get a sum of money that you can use to repay your debt, and the interest rates are generally favorable. You could also pursue cash out refinancing. This is the process of replacing your existing mortgage with a new mortgage for an amount greater than what you owe on the house. The difference in that amount is yours to keep in cash. You can apply that to your debt settlement plan to help you get debt free faster.

If you have a retirement plan, you might be able to take out a loan from it. Retirement plans such as a 401k allow a loan for up to half of the vested balance. The advantage here is that you are borrowing from yourself, which means you’re repaying yourself. On the downside, you are losing out on a lot of potential gains. Using your retirement funds is possible, but it isn’t a great option for everyone.

You could always ask your boss for a raise, or look for a second job. If you can increase your income in any way, you can use that money to help with your debt settlement program. This might not be a viable option for everyone, but it’s the best possible avenue to pursue. As a last option, consider selling some of your possessions. You could have a yard sale or sell something online. Ideally, you do not want to part with things that are important to you. However, the choice is there.

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Every year, thousands of College students head to exotic island hot spots for spring break. Unfortunately, the recent economic conditions and the rise in the price of tuition have now left many students on a tight budget. Many students cannot afford the usual spring break exotic vacation destinations. Fortunately, there are many things a student can do to plan the perfect spring break vacation while on a budget.

1. When planning a spring break vacation, you should figure out how much you can afford to spend. Once you know how much you can afford, you can plan a vacation that will not have serious financial consequences. You should set the amount of money aside and stick to your budget. Do not take more money than you can afford to spend as you will likely spend it. As well, you should plan how you will spend your money on things like, transportation, food, entertainment, and other expenses. Wherever possible, use cash to buy your items instead of a credit card. You do not want to return from your trip and find yourself saddled with high credit card debt that you cannot afford.

2. Selecting the right vacation destination is a key component to helping you stick with your budget. Decide where you want to go for spring break. If you cannot afford a traditional exotic beach vacation, you should consider a more local destination. Miami and Las Vegas are fun places to vacation. They can also be more affordable destinations. The internet is full of travel sites that offer special spring break packages. Once you have decided on your destination, make sure you book early to ensure you get the best and cheapest deal.

3. Traveling alone or with one person can be expensive. Plan your vacation with a group of friends. You can often get great travel and hotel discounts if you book as a group. If you are traveling by car, travel with a group of friends so that you can share fuel costs. You can also share a hotel room. Having about four people per room will significantly cut down on the cost of accommodations. It can also be really fun staying together.

4. Restaurant costs can really take a bite out of the budget. Instead of dining out every day, get a hotel room that has a kitchenette and buy your food from a supermarket. If you do dine out, look for restaurants where you can get a cheap meal such as a fast food franchise restaurant. By doing so, this will significantly cut down on food expenses.

After calculating how much money you will need and you discover you still cannot afford a vacation, there are many other options to take advantage of such as going on a road trip with friends for a few days, visit family or friends, or take a day trip to another city or fun attraction such as an amusement park. No matter what destination you choose, you should have fun, relax, stay safe, and enjoy the break from your studies.

Adriana Noton is a freelance writer who specializes in providing great financial information for Canadians. When searching online for debt counselling or credit counselling, one of the many resources available is Consolidated Credit; offering a variety of debt counselling services and financial planning tools to help Canadians get their debts under control.