Thinking about saving for your child's college education can be stressful.
Research showed a child with even modest college savings is 2.5 times more likely to attend and graduate college than those without.
“Who knows how much tuition is going to be 15, 16, 17 years from now,” said Amanda Anderson.
Amanda Anderson is saving up for her daughter’s college costs. She enrolled in the Florida Prepaid program when her daughter was just two years old.
“So when she does go off to college or whatever she decides to do, the funds will be there. It will be paid for,” Anderson said.
Though Anderson's daughter won’t be heading off to college until 2037, she wants to set her child up for success.
“Seeing people struggling with student loans and how much they have to pay in student loans and the interest rate, and how that affects everything moving forward,” Anderson said.
Florida Prepaid is the longest-running state-backed college savings program in the nation. With a prepaid plan, families are protected from college tuition increases. The younger the child, the cheaper the payments, so the sooner you start saving, the better.
“If you wait, you also aren’t locking in today’s prices. Our prices remain incredibly affordable. They start at $45 per month. I cannot get in and out of Target for less than $100,” said Shannon Smith with Florida Prepaid.
There are five tuition-based plans and a dormitory plan to cover housing. You can choose to pay monthly, over the course of five years or a lump sum.
“You really don’t have to know what they’re ultimately going to do. The plans are built for flexibility. You can use them nationwide, you can use them at trade school, you can use them at private institutions,” said Smith.
Smith said prepaid plans allow families to avoid inflation when it comes to saving for their child’s college education.
“If it does quadruple and we didn’t estimate properly how much it goes up, Florida Prepaid covers the difference. So, we are there to fill in that gap and manage the costs,” said Smith.
All prepaid plans are guaranteed by the state of Florida, so families will never lose their investment.
The deadline to enroll in Florida Prepaid is April 30.
