I always wanted a big family. Always, always, always. Even when I was a little girl, I
would tell my mom and dad that I wanted to have ”7 kids someday!” As I got older
and was in high school and even in college… my dream of having a big family never
went away. I always just really dreamt of having many kids. The one thing that also
never changed throughout the course of my life when I told people how many kids I
wanted to have was this one question, “How are you going to pay for their college?”
Well, fast forward many years later… and I have my large family. I don’t have 7 kids,
but I do have 5 kids and it’s my dream come true. As you can imagine, not much has
changed throughout the course of my motherhood years with people still asking me
and my husband the same question, “How are you going to pay for their college?”

I’m going to be honest with you it definitely crosses my mind. My husband and I are
both college graduates and the expense was quite a bit for our parents. It’s just that
my philosophy was that I didn’t want the pending‐college‐tuition‐someday to
determine whether or not I had a couple of kids or 5 kids. As my children are
getting older, they are 2, 7, 8, 10 and 11… I am definitely thinking about the future
and just exactly what college tuition will be like in just a few years! And here’s
another one for you – my 4 sons will ALL be in college together at the same time for
one year!

Saving for college is a scary thing to think about right now because we’re just
starting to get all of our ducks in a row financially. Me and my husband work hard
and we do our best to provide for our family and experience fun things together like
vacations and excursions and family activities. Saving for college… oh, yes. It’s that
“thing” that’s on the back of my mind because I don’t want my children to not go
where they want to go someday because of financial reasons. I know I really need to
be smart and start now.

The best part is that there are places out there to help and walk you (me!) through
these stages and steps and truly, the whole process.

T. Rowe Price knows that saving for college can be scary, confusing, and that parents
have a lot on their plates so finding time to do the research about how to save can be
difficult. I’m ALL about finding these resources and plans that are out there and can
teach me and help me. The T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan is an affordable,
flexible 529 plan that puts over 75 years of investment expertise on your side so you
can know you’re making the right decision for your child. This is truly something
that is priceless, especially for parents with children that are on the younger side
because you can really start prepping now. Don’t get overwhelmed by the cost of
college and feeling you can’t save for it all. That’s where my mind goes sometimes. I
also need to refocus and remember that the most important thing is to just get
started, save what you can and do it as soon as possible to allow more time for
growth potential.

T. Rowe Price makes it easy to get you started. With enrollment based portfolios
where you can just choose the year your child will likely enter college and then they
automatically adjust to be more conservative as the date approaches. This gives you
the ability to save as little as $50 per month or just a lump sum contribution of $250,
or – another great benefit, the ability for gift contributions so that others can help. I
know that I have 2 sets of grandparents that would love to contribute and help with
the expense of college! They say it takes a village and sometimes, it really does!

What’s great about the 529 college savings plan is that it has unique benefits like
tax‐free earnings potential that make them the best way to save for college. Not to
mention, 529 plans offer access to your money, regardless of the use. If your child
doesn’t go to college, you can transfer it to a family member of the beneficiary with
no penalties, or, if you need to use the money for unqualified education expenses for
any reason, your contributions are always tax and penalty free. Any earnings would
be subject to a penalty and taxes. Also, note that you can use savings at nearly any
college in the country regardless of what 529 plan you save in. And they can be used
for vocational, technical and graduate school. Including tuition, fees, room, board
books and some supplies. That’s pretty incredible to know and to have in the back if
your head.

I’m very happy to share this information with my readers. It’s a topic of
conversation that isn’t always fun to have come up, but it does have to come up. I
love being able to share these different plans and to have you know that there are
great and helpful options out there to help you and your children’s future(s).

Disclosure: This is a sponsored posting. All opinions are 100% my own.

The T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan is offered by the Education Trust of Alaska. You
should compare this Plan with any 529 college savings plan offered by your home state or
your beneficiary’s home state and consider, before investing, any state tax or other benefits
that are only available for investments in the home state’s plan. Please read and carefully
consider the Plan Disclosure Document, which includes investment objectives, risks, fees,
charges and expenses, and other information. T. Rowe Price Investment.