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Paying for a child's college education is one of the biggest expenses that parents will face in their lifetime, other than perhaps buying a home. Because of this, parents should take action early on and begin planning and saving when their children are newborns in order to make the most of their savings as well as eliminate any excess financial burdens from waiting until the last minute. There is a time scale of planning that parent's should follow from 15 years until college until the day of college. This plan is very helpful and should be followed if at all possible.

When there are 15 years or more until college, then parents should open an Education IRA to save for their children's college. This IRA has special restrictions and rules, so it is best to talk to your banking representative about the implications involved in this type of account. Also, when there are 15 years or more until college you may consider investing in some more aggressive funds. Aggressive investments should be reserved for this time period only because as the time for college nears you will want to ensure that the money is carefully guarded and not at risk.

When there are 10-15 years until college parents should start looking into prepaid college tuition plans. More and more colleges are offering this type of plan because the cost of tuition is rising exorbitantly and colleges want to offer parents an option for paying college expenses over a longer period of time. If you are not interested in this, then you could simply look into different savings plans supported by your state. This is a great help to many parents and should not be overlooked. In addition to this, during this time period you will want to ensure that any risky or aggressive investments are transferred to more conservative and secure investments.

When college is only five years away, you will want to make sure your investments correspond to the cost of college and that everything is stable and on the right track. If this is not the case, then you can either begin saving more aggressively during this time or rely on student loans to get your child through college.

When your child begins college if you realize you can pay for some of his or her education, but not all, then take out parent or student loans to make up the rest. However, take out the least amount of money in loans as possible. Although student loan interest rates are low, you will not want to be in more debt than necessary.

Finally, make sure you begin saving early and more than likely you will be able to meet your child's education needs with little or no extra support like loans.