As every parent knows kids grow up really fast. One minute you’re taking them to their first day of kindergarten and the next you’re signing financial forms and exploring college campuses. There is so much involved with getting your young adult ready for college life. Here are some great ideas from Family Financial to get you started!

Start Early!

It’s never too early to start talking to your child about the educational options available for their life after high school. If higher education is important to your family you can start talking to your kids in elementary school about your expectations and how the education system works. Even at a young age you can get them excited for college by introducing them to your favorite collegiate sports teams, take them to museums or events held at local college campuses, or if you attended college yourself you can talk about some of the fun class options available that they can look forward to.

In addition to exposing kids to the fun part of college life, don’t forget to emphasize the importance that having a higher education will have on their future job options and finances. A study at Georgetown University found that, on average, college graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetime than people with only a high school diploma. Another study by the Pew Research Center found that the current median yearly income gap between high school and college graduates is around $17,500. That’s a significant difference!

Giving your children the vision of the importance of a higher education and the need to prepare financially and socially for that opportunity is an important first step to getting them ready for their future.

Give Them Some Tools

While it’s not a bad idea to add a small hammer and screw driver set to your kid’s college bags, the tools they really need are solid life management and financial planning skills.

College kids are expected to live fairly independently and that means there is no longer a parent ‘maid’ or ‘secretary’ around to take care of things like cooking, laundry and organization. Start teaching your kids while they’re young how to care for themselves, their clothing and other personal items, how to prepare basic healthy meals, and how to organize and manage a personal schedule. Below is a list of 15 things all young adults should know by the time they reach the end of high school.

• Basic first aid and how to care for themselves when they are sick
• Personal safety on and off campus
• Safety on social media and the internet
• How to do their laundry
• How to grocery shop on a budget
• How to make a variety of basic meals using safe food preparation and storage
• Basic home and vehicle repair, cleaning and maintenance
• How to use public transit systems
• Proper study and time management skills
• Ways to manage stress and self-care
• Basic social etiquette and conversation skills
• How to make a professional phone call, letter or email, and apply for a job
• How to budget, save, and pay bills
• How to use credit appropriately
• A basic understanding of adult financial skills like paying taxes, buying insurance, and the importance of investments like retirement savings

So many kids on college and university campuses these days are missing one or many of these vital skills to survive in the adult world. Many colleges have even begun offering classes on these basic life skills just to help unprepared students cope with their new living situation and fill that gap in their education. With a little time and preparation your child doesn’t have to be one of those . Here is a link to another great article on preparing kids with basic adulting skills. www.grownandflown.com/33-life-skills-college-kids-adult/

Paying for higher education

College Savings Plans: College is expensive and the costs over the last decade are outpacing yearly inflation percentages, sometimes by double. It is very important, if college is in your child’s future, to start saving now. Even if your child decides not to attend college, having that savings account will be a great help to get them launched into their adult life. Here is some great information on the pros and cons of available college savings plans. www.ffef.org/ffefblog/cost-good-education/

Pay in Cash: Saving is important but sometimes it just won’t cover all of the costs, so before you borrow, budget. Often times money for college can be found by cutting back an existing budget, or by adding a part time job to the mix for a few extra dollars. Maybe there are items that can be sold to raise funds to pay for tuition. Consider having your student live at home while attending a closer college campus to save dorm costs. The college student should also find a way to work part or even full time while attending school to help defray the costs. Students who work for what they get appreciate it more. Here are some tips for saving extra money for those big ticket items like college. www.ffef.org/financetips/money-and-budget/

Free Money Options: Before taking out loans apply for any and all grants, work-study programs, company education benefit matches, and scholarships that may be available for your student. If your student does earn a scholarship make sure that they understand the terms associated with continuing the funding. It takes hard work to keep most scholarships and nothing is worse than losing one after counting on the funding. Here is more information on grants and scholarships. studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships

Student Loans: If you decide you still have to go the student loan route, do your homework and don’t just take the first offer. You should compare all available financing options, loan rates, fees, and repayment terms before you sign on the dotted line. You should also only take out the bare minimum needed to complete the education. Understand that the money doesn’t have to be taken out all at once. For instance, you can apply for a loan to cover two years of a 4-year education and then if more is needed down the road apply again. Get more information on student loan options here. www.ffef.org/ffefblog/everything-need-know-student-loans-grants/

Consider the interest involved in taking out a loan instead of using savings and other funding options. If you take out a $30,000 loan at 6% interest to cover 4-year college costs and pay that back over a typical 10-year payment program you will be paying close to $330 per month for a decade – and almost $10,000 more for your college education in interest to the loan provider. If the loan has a variable interest rate that amount can be much higher. That is a lot of money your young adult could be using to start their life post college. Saving for college costs should be part of every family’s budget.

There are other great articles on preparing kids for financial responsibility as they become independent adults available on our website, www.ffef.org/ffefblog/articles-kids/