Paying For College: Seeking Out Student Sources

Buy this book »

I know that our country has laws against putting children to work these days, but that doesn't mean you can never count on your children contributing to their own college tuition bill. For most of you, the economics of financing college is a whole-family project, not one dependent only on the pods. In this section, I show you how your children can take some responsibility for their futures, not only in studying and in obtaining good grades but also in trying to ease some of the tuition burden. Working to earn their own money and keeping their grades up to win awards and scholarship can help defray future college expenses, which means you have to save even less.

Begin discussions about college tuition with your children early. Their weekly allowance, which they'd probably rather spend on a new high-powered squirt gun or movie tickets, may never add up to an Ivy League education. But discussing college finances with your children and encouraging them to save their money raises their awareness of what things cost, including their eventual college education. These early discussions and the encouragement you give your children to save their money may pave their way to future sound financial decisions. As they get older, they may consider stashing a portion of any money that comes their way into savings accounts, hopefully for later college expenses.

Working Part-Time And Summer Jobs

You can't send your elementary student to work at the factory after school. As she enters middle and high school, however, her potential to make money to help defray college costs increases significantly. So start encouraging your college hopeful to get off the couch and get a job. Young teens can begin earning their own money with timeless neighborhood jobs such as babysitting, working as a mother's helper, lawn mowing, and snow shoveling. But your child can tap into even greater college money potential by working for an employer who

• Provides a tuition-reimbursement program: One of the most prized fringe benefits today is the tuition reimbursement plan, meaning that your employer essentially pays for some or all of the employee's tuition. Generally, larger employers (including many large retailers and fast-food restaurants) offer these plans, and usually the plans cover only education expenses that apply to the employee's current job or that improve the employee's general job skills.

  Other restrictions may also apply, such as limiting participation to full-time employees or to employees who have completed a certain period of service. However, if your child works for such an employer and meets all the requirements, she may be able to have her employer pay for at least a portion of tuition at a local college or university. Although the number of students who qualify for tuition reimbursement plans is small, if you (or your child) fall into this category, you could offset a significant portion of the eventual cost in this way.

• Offers discounts: Working for discount or retail stores may not sound glamorous, let alone lucrative, but most places offer discounts of some kind. Just think about all of the stuff that college kids need — school supplies, dorm outfittings, those crazy Yaffa blocks that seem to find their way into every college student's room, and so on. When you add up how much you can blow on the small stuff, remember that the money has to come from somewhere. And no matter who's paying the bill, you can reduce it significantly by getting it all on discount.

• Teaches a marketable skill: I began to work as a bookkeeper the summer I turned 13, my sister worked after school for my uncle the dentist, and my other sister worked during vacations for a jeweler. Beyond the fast-food restaurants and discount and convenience stores, teens can find summer or part-time jobs that provide them with a marketable skill or with experience in a field they may otherwise not have considered. Even working at jobs like lifeguarding can give teens skills and an experience that lasts much longer than a summer — your teens may have an easier time finding a job at school because of their experience or skill. In addition, if they can keep working while in school, they can further defray incidental and everyday costs that otherwise you or their college savings plans would have to fund.

Yes, nepotism is a dirty word — strictly defined, nepotism is when a relative is shown favoritism in getting a desirable position. However, I seriously doubt that most people consider typing up commercials at Uncle Dave's AM radio station a desirable position. So when it comes to getting your kids started earning money, it's a who-you-know-not-what-you-know kind of world, and asking your family and friends about any possible openings is a great way for your kids to find work.