School Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

How we’ve saved $130,000 for our children’s education fund in 9 years

Last Updated: December 6, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

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Do you have children? Do you think you might have children someday? If the answer is yes, then you may be wondering about college costs. Here’s an article from a reader who has saved $130,000 for their children’s education fund in 9 years. Enjoy!

College education keeps getting more and more expensive. Many (not all) higher paying jobs require a post-secondary education of some sort.

Saving money for your kids will give them a great head start in life. It will also reduce the burden on you when it comes time to help them out!

Today, I am going to tell you how we’ve saved $130k for our children’s education fund in 9 years.

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About Mr Fundamental

I am 39 years old and a computer engineer. My wife, Mrs Fundamental, and I live in Canada with our three lovely children.

We have a 9 year-old daughter, and 7 year-old boy/girl twins. My wife is an amazing stay-at-home mom. As a result, this has saved us huge amounts in day-care expenses over the years. [Read more…]

21 Ways You Can Learn How To Save Money In College

Last Updated: August 2, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 5 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Looking to learn how to save money in college? With ever rising college costs, it can really help your current and future finances if you learn how to save money.

Tuition for an in-state public college averages around $25,290. Private college tuition costs twice as much, at an average of $50,900, according to Value Penguin. If you want to go to an elite, four-year university, the cost jumps to $68,000 per year.

And, if you’re going to college for something like medicine or law, you may end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years that you are in school.

As you can see, college can be very expensive.

However, I want you to know that you can learn how to save money in college so you can get a valuable college degree on a realistic budget. [Read more…]

9 Ways To Successfully Balance School And Work

Last Updated: August 2, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

More and more people are choosing to attend college and work at the same time. This can be those who are going straight from high school to college or adults going back to college. Whichever applies to you, balancing school and work will be an important part of how successful you will be.

Whether you are working a part-time or full-time job, balancing school and work can be tough. There are many working students in college who are able to manage both, but there are also many who aren’t able to.

If you don’t balance them both well, it may lead to stress, lower grades, low-quality work being produced, and more.

No one wants that and I’m sure you don’t either.

This is supposed to be the time of your life where you are growing and changing, not feeling like you are drowning in everything that is going on around you. [Read more…]

I Thought I Was Too Good For Community College

Last Updated: November 9, 2020 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 76 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Whether you are about to head to college (no matter what your age may be), if you have a child who is about to attend college, or if you know someone who is about to experience this, then this article is for you.

When I was around 17, I applied to several different colleges, but one mistake I made was that I didn’t even give community college a thought.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to going to community college, like thinking it is for those that can’t get into a “regular” college, for those that don’t have enough money, or for those that have no other options. When, in fact, these are all far from the truth.

And, sadly, I bought into these myths and thought I was too good for community college. If you want to save money in college, community college is a great way to do that.

The stigma about going to community college is absolutely ridiculous. [Read more…]

Credible Review – Refinance Your Student Loans And Save Money

Last Updated: April 13, 2021 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 11 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking to refinance your student loans? Student loan debt can easily become overwhelming to think about, especially as it can loom in the tens of thousands of dollars, some well over $100,000.

On average, a graduate of the class of 2015 has slightly over $35,000 in student loan debt.

And, if you have a law or medical degree, you may find yourself with an average of around $150,000 or $200,000 in student loan debt, respectively.

That’s a lot of money!

One thing I haven’t talked about much here on Making Sense of Cents is that there are many options for paying off your debt. One of these options is refinancing your student loans, which I’m going to explain further in this Credible review. [Read more…]

Ways To Save Money On College Costs

Last Updated: August 12, 2019 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Making Sense of Cents and College Ave Student Loans have partnered on a series of blog posts on what to expect when it comes to planning for college…especially when it comes to time to pay. Through the series, we hope families gain a little more insight on how to tackle the next four or more years ahead with a stronger financial footing. All opinions are 100% my own. To learn more, please visit: https://www.collegeavestudentloans.com.

College costs are one of the largest “purchases” a person will ever make. The other big purchase would most likely be a house that a person buys. However, sometimes a house may cost LESS than a college degree!

The cost of college can vary significantly, as you can see. Tuition for an in-state public college averages around $28,000 and a more expensive private college tuition is double that amount at an average of $59,000. For a four year elite university, the cost jumps to $68,000. Lastly, if your child (or you) is enrolled in higher education for something like medicine or law, college costs may reach hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. [Read more…]

Should you get an MBA if you want to start your own business?

Last Updated: July 28, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 34 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The path to owning my own business started around 10 years ago. I graduated from high school and went on to college for business. I graduated, got a job as a financial analyst, and then around five years ago, completed my MBA with an emphasis in Finance.

It seemed like a logical path – graduate from high school, go to college, get a job in that field, and then get my MBA to further my career opportunities.

It was the path I fell into, and I never really gave it a second thought. For my MBA, I figured I needed it in order to be successful in the corporate finance world.

However, I’m now a full-time blogger.

One of the questions I’m often asked is if I regret going to school for so many college degrees (3). After all, it took a lot of time and led to a significant amount of debt.

I definitely did not learn a thing about blogging back in college, and an MBA isn’t 100% focused on the topic of starting your own specific business, especially a niche one. Plus, I did not get my MBA thinking that I would be starting my own business. I went for it to better my career opportunities. [Read more…]