College Resources & News from CFNC
The US News and World Report recently featured a Durham, NC grandfather who is helping his family save for college. Instead of giving physical gifts during the holiday season, he is contributing money to his grandson’s college savings plan each year. And, he’s not alone. According to the article, 84% of parents would prefer that their children receive money for college in place of physical gifts during the holidays.
Holiday giving can be tricky. Each year children receive a pile of wrapped items that they plow through quickly and inevitably forget after a brief period of time.
This holiday season, give your loved one a meaningful present that can be cherished for years to come — the gift of education. Most children receive trendy toys or clothes that will be lost, forgotten or outgrown within months or even weeks. Think outside the box and give a gift with true, lasting value.
With the cost of a college education rising every year, some parents are nervous about how to handle the expense of higher education for their children.But don’t throw up your hands. Many families find it possible to put at least some money away for college and to explore the variety of other financial aid options available to help with the rest.
Many families feel up to their ears in expenses, and stretching their paychecks to save for things such as retirement and college may seem less important than day-to-day needs. So, with a limited amount of discretionary income, how do you decide? It’s your choice about how much of that income to put away in savings and what your priorities will be.
Choosing which college to attend is one of the most important decisions you can make. This will influence more than just your future career – it may also impact who you meet, where you end up living and the opportunities presented to you. But with so many options out there, you might have trouble narrowing down your list.
Every year, National Grandparents Day falls on the first Sunday after Labor Day. In honor of this year’s special day, we’d like to thank our grandparents for everything they do. After all, grandparents make life grand, and we don’t know what we’d do without them.
Saving for college is an important aspect of planning for your family’s future. College Savings Month is a great time to inspire more parents to open college savings accounts or to commit to increasing their college savings goals in their existing accounts.
Dropping your child off on the first day of kindergarten will probably be emotional for both of you. The first day of school can be exciting, but your child may be nervous about being left there for the first time. At least you can reassure your child you’ll be together again at the end of the day and eager to talk about this new experience.
Marbles Kids Museum hosted it’s annual “Kickoff to Kindergarten” event, in partnership with the NC 529 Plan. There was information about how parents can use the NC 529 Plan to start saving for college for their rising kindergartners. This was the second event hosted by Marbles Museum aimed at getting kids ready to start school.