Paying for College

What Does College Cost? One Family’s First Three Years of Expenses and How We’re Paying Cash for College.

May 22, 2013
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We’ve set a goal to pay cash for our daughter’s college education, and because I’m such a big numbers nerd, I’ve been keeping track of our costs down to the very last dollar. Since her junior year is now in the books, it’s time for a update. The Exact Breakdown Tuition/Room & Board/Books: $10,143 Tuition = [...]

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Take a Student Loan Quiz and Enter to Win a $50 Prepaid Mastercard

April 12, 2013

I’ve written before about our goal to pay for our kids’ college without using debt. See: What Does College Cost? One Family’s First Year Expenses and One Family’s Second Year Expenses Our daughter is about to finish her junior year so we’re nearly halfway there. But since our son is still in the process of deciding where [...]

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Upromise As a Source of Found Money

April 9, 2013

Part of my next found money update will include a check from Upromise. If you’re a parent, chances are you’ve heard of Upromise, because it’s marketed as a way to earn money for college.  Although the money can really be used for any purpose you like, as you’ll see below. There are several ways to [...]

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Have a child under 12? Get $1000 free for college.

March 11, 2013
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This is something I really wish was around (or I knew about) when my kids were younger. Citizens Bank is offering a $1000 bonus when you open a CollegeSaver savings account with them before your child turns 12 and you deposit a minimum monthly amount between that time and the time your child turns 18. [...]

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How to Pay for College and Save for Retirement at the Same Time

February 23, 2013

Midlife is a tricky time of life, financially speaking. If you have kids, it’s expensive. Especially if you choose to pay for all or part of their college educations. It’s also a time when you realize that you don’t have decades and decades to save for retirement. Like an object in a rearview mirror, retirement [...]

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Weekend Reading: Sending Your Kids to College

September 28, 2012
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I’ve written a lot about our experience of paying for college for our daughter. She’s just begun her junior year and I think we just about have it figured out. But my son is entering his junior year of high school, so we’re starting from scratch with college visits, ACT testing, and the rest. And [...]

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Six Things I Want My Kids to Know About College

September 14, 2012
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Next month I get to help judge the 11th annual Back-to-School Essay Contest being sponsored by American Century Investments. The contest asks 7th and 8th graders to write about the goals they have for after high school and what steps they’re taking today to reach those goals. I’m especially excited to do this because American [...]

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Giving Income Streams New Jobs

August 22, 2012
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I’m a huge numbers nerd. That’s part of the reason The Family CEO came into being. I love check registers and calculators and spreadsheets. I’ve worked as a bookkeeper, a credit analyst and a business manager. My college major was business and finance was my favorite class. And I just bought this new toy because I hate [...]

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College without Debt: A Non-Traditional Approach

June 16, 2012
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Julie’s Note: The following is a guest post by Cheri Frame. Cheri is a mother of college-aged children and when I read about her family’s non-traditional approach to paying for college, I asked her if she would write about it for The Family CEO. She graciously agreed. You can read more about it at Cheri’s [...]

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What Does College Cost? One Family’s Second Year Expenses

May 1, 2012

Our goal is to pay cash for our kids’ college educations, so that neither they — nor we — have to take out loans. But we didn’t have a big education nest egg going in, so we’re doing it out of earned income or cash-flow. Last year I broke down our daughter’s freshman year expenses [...]

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