How to Instill a Spirit of Saving in Children

As parents, we understand the value of saving. We also know that the earlier one begins to stash money away, the better off one will be in the long run. Teaching children financial literacy concepts and encouraging them to save early is key. How, then, do we instill a spirit of saving in our children? I’ll share a few ideas that have helped my children learn—and get excited—about saving.

Happy New Year! Whether you’re a parent or student, a freshman or senior, January presents an opportunity for a fresh start. We polled our team of seasoned admissions and financial aid professionals for their resolution ideas to help you make 2019 a healthy, productive, rewarding year. Be sure to check out our podcast, Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, for even more tips.

Fall is once again around the corner, and that means back to school! In this week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, host Elizabeth Heaton addresses a topic that is sure to be on the minds of many parents who are getting ready to send their children off to college: how to let go. Also in this episode: your listener questions answered.

When I was a college Financial Aid Director, I saw MANY students taking longer to complete their degree than they—or their family—had planned. This cost the students and the parents additional time… and money.

As we make our way through the admission decision season, there is so much happy news to celebrate. Dreams are fulfilled, goals are achieved, all the hard work has finally paid off! But with this happy news there may also come some tough conversations about costs, debt, and compromise.

Many College Coach admissions advisors are also parents who have made it through the college selection process with their own teens. How did they survive? Through open communication and transparency with their children, not just in senior year, but early on. We hope their advice and insight is helpful to you, whether you’re currently debating financial aid offers for the fall, or just beginning the college conversation with your younger children.

If your child is headed off to college in the fall, you are probably worrying about a lot of things: What if he has a medical emergency while at school? What if he runs out of money? How will I know he is passing if I don’t see any of his school work?

There are documents pertaining to health, money, and college records that your child can sign to give you some peace of mind. Not all of these are required, but you may want to consider if you need them or not.

A Guest Post by Carolyn Romano, Vice President of Product, Torchlight.care

Perhaps you have been concerned about your child’s grades or school performance for a while now. Or maybe this year, new struggles have emerged that just weren’t present before. Where should you begin in order to first identify the reasons for your child’s difficulties, and then take action with the school to address them?

As parents, we understand the importance of literacy, and we encourage our children to be readers. Just as we introduce books early on, there is a great benefit to starting financial literacy conversations early in your child’s life. Although there are many ways of approaching financial literacy education, this article will highlight four basic steps to take to teach your kids how to manage money. The importance of parental influence and the value of ongoing and age-appropriate conversations cannot be understated.

Final Preparations for Sending Your Child to College

The past year has been chock full of college visits, college applications, waiting for admissions decisions, and finally, picking the college that my son would attend. His high school graduation and all the related celebrations are behind us now, and summer is coming to a close. All of a sudden, reality sets in, as does the panic of preparing for this next major milestone in our lives—sending him off to college. I wanted to share some practical points to think about as you prepare your child for their next step.

This is the final installment of our four-part series on the subject of overparenting, this post takes on how to let go of your college student and impart the skills they will need to make their own way in the world. Be sure to also check out our recently published posts on how to play an appropriate and empowering role in your middle schooler’s life, your child’s college admission process, and the college financing process.