It’s never too early to begin thinking about college for your children. Starting early gives your kids a good head start in their educational pursuit and prevents unnecessary heartaches down the road.
Planning for college for your kids can be somewhat daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. With the proper preparation, a bit of creativity, and the right scholarship application management service–it can become simple.
That said, let’s have a look at some of the basic steps for college planning with your kids.
Start Early
When we say to start early, how early are we really talking? While there are no set rules, it’s always recommended that you start as early as kindergarten.
Yes–that early. At that stage, your kid may not fully grasp the idea of college, but you would be seeding the thought of going to college in their subconscious.
You may be wondering how to bring up the topic at such a young age.
If you attended college, telling your kids about your experience is a great way to get them thinking about it. Weave in stories about your college days into bedtime stories. Narrate how awesome your college days were and the fun, exciting things you did.
For middle and high schoolers, take them to visit college campuses. Additionally, get college brochures for your kids, as doing so will help spark their interest in attending college.
Show Your School Spirit
To keep the anticipation and excitement up with your kids, you will need to give them a sneak-peek into school team spirit.
Need some ideas to go about that?
One way to show your spirit is to take them on a campus tour of your alma mater or a local campus. Alternatively, get them T-shirts or other swag.
Sporting events like football games would also be a fun way to show off your school spirit to your children.
Talk about Money Basics
Going to college will cost money, and so you’ll need to plan for it properly. This is why getting your kids involved in the financial planning stage for their college education is a good thing.
By doing this, you would be teaching them money management principles that will surely help them in the future.
We know this topic can be boring for kids. So, how do you teach them about money management while keeping their attention?
You may be already doing this, but making them earn their weekly allowance is a great way to instill good financial practices. Make a rule of only giving them an allowance when they complete their house chores.
Better yet, make them work for whatever new toy or video game they’ve been begging for rather than shelling out the money instantly. That way, they will learn the true value of money.
You can make things more interesting by encouraging your kids to save their allowances with an online or offline piggy bank.
Teach Budgeting Skills Early
Teaching your kids budgeting is equally as important as talking about money basics to them.
You can start by teaching your toddler how to keep money away in a piggy bank or a savings jar. Explain to them why it’s a good practice. Encourage them to take out money from their savings when they want to get new toys.
For middle and high schoolers, take them along when going grocery shopping. Take things further by encouraging them to record their spending. This will certainly help your kids to figure out how their money is being spent.
Conclusion
When it comes time to send your kids off to college, Scholar’s App is the best resource to connect them with the right scholarships. Easily create a profile, search for scholarships, and submit applications online.
