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College Tuition: When Should You Start Saving?

College Tuition: When Should You Start Saving?

My children are still very young, some not even in school yet, but I’ve been thinking about college lately. No, not about my kids heading away from the nest, but a more concrete worry: paying for it.

I have three boys, all close together in age. When the time comes, I’ll have three children going to college at one time. I can already feel the hair graying and falling out of my head as I type these words. College costs are monumental and, over the next decade or two, will only grow.

I don’t want my children to shoulder the brunt of their college costs, because I know how difficult it can be in the beginning. I also don’t know what or how much to save for. There are programs where you can lock in a tuition cost now for certain state schools, but who knows how long those will be available, given the economic times.

I decided to simply start a savings account for each of them and put a little in every month. It’s the best I can do until that modeling contract comes or I write the great American literary masterpiece and become the next J.K. Rowling. My hope is to have at least $ 15,000 saved per child by the time they graduate. It may not sound like much, but for people of limited means, it may be the best we can do.

If they get scholarships that pay for everything — football is already in my eldest’s hands — then great. They can use that money for buying a car after graduation or putting a down payment on a house. It may not be much, but it can go to their first year’s tuition, and maybe when they graduate the debt load won’t be as heavy as it was on their parents. My advice is to start saving for your child’s college education while they are still in the womb.

It doesn’t matter if they go ivy league or community college, the truth is that it’s going to be expensive, and it’s our duty to try and provide all we can to make their lives easier when they become adults. Who knows, the gratitude may come back when they’re picking our nursing home. Bocci ball anyone?

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Jump Start Your Weight Loss

It’s time now to clear out the holiday sludge, get your appetite back under control, and kick your metabolism into gear.  There is no better way to do this than my favorite quick weight loss plan, a modified diet plan that is high in quality protein and fiber.

Crash diets are detrimental to your health as they cause leptin to go into “starvation mode” which means you will gain back all the weight you lose as soon as you start eating more.  My plan enables you to rapidly get back on track without inducing a leptin problem – to the contrary – you’ll get leptin pointed in the right direction.

In addition to losing weight this program helps shrink the size of your stomach and get you out of a metabolic rut.  This plan is simple and easy to follow.

The Plan – Phase 1

Your basic meal is 1 ½ scoops of one of our protein powders (Daily Protein Plus or Daily Protein), mixed with 1 heaping tablespoon of either of our fiber products (Fiber Helper or LeptiFiber).  These are mixed in the beverage of your choice, such as 2% milk, rice milk, almond milk, vegetable juice, or 50% fruit juice/50% water (stay away from soy milk as it slows down your metabolism).  This is your meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

You may blend a serving of fruit into your drink or mix it with a spoon and have the piece of fruit afterwards.  You may have coffee or tea with breakfast and lunch, but not dinner.  You may have cream or half and half in your coffee or tea.  You may not have any sweetener in your coffee or tea, natural or otherwise.
Ideally, this is all you eat for the first three days.  There is NO SNACKING of any kind between meals or at night.  The first day or two is always the hardest, especially at night.  Use your willpower, after several days you will be amazed that most of your cravings are totally gone.

On your fourth day, have a dinner.  Your dinner can be in the range of 400 to 500 calories.  Eat one 4 – 6 ounce portion of any lean protein or 2% cottage cheese.  Two servings of vegetables.  One serving of complex carbohydrate.  One bite of dessert (or none).

You should now notice that you get a full signal eating this amount of food.  If not, get away from the table and go do something, paying attention to your watch to see how long it takes for the full signal to come (without eating more).  How long it takes to get a full signal is exactly how bad leptin is still whacked out in you.  This means do another four days, and repeat the test on the forth day.  Once you get a normal full signal eating a normal amount of food, then you are ready to move on.

Phase 2

Decide how much weight you want to lose and the rate you want to go.  You can either do two protein/fiber drinks per day, usually breakfast and lunch, and then eat a 400 to 500 calorie dinner or you can do the three protein/fiber drinks and eat a dinner every other day or every third day. 

If you have a social event coming up then plan your meal day to coincide with that event.  If you end up eating more than the 400 to 500 calories, then exercise more the following day.  Do not get off track.

Phase 3

Once you’ve done this for three to four weeks then either continue Phase 2 as long as you wish, or go to one protein/fiber drink at breakfast and two meals per day. 

You should notice that you feel full and energized on the 400 to 500 calorie meals, you have no desire to snack or eat after dinner at night, and you continue to lose weight if weight loss is needed.  If you find yourself back in a bad eating pattern, go back to Phase 2 – or if needed Phase 1.

Exercise, Sleep, Stress, Cravings, Immunity, and Other Needed Vitamins

The absolute minimum amount of vitamins you need in addition to the protein and fiber is a multiple vitamin (Daily Energy Multiple Vitamin, 2-4 per day) and a high quality essential fatty acid with other anti-inflammatory nutrients (Leptinal, 2-4 per day).  You can take as many other vitamins as you like and more may make the program easier for you, such as the entire Leptin Control Pack

Exercise at least 4 hours per week, more is better, do what you can.  If you like, you can use extra nutrients to support fat burning during exercise (like Q10, CardioHelper, MuscleMag, Pantethine – the supplements I recommend to burn fat while running).

You must get at least seven hours of sleep, preferably eight.  As needed, use Sleep Helper, RelaxaMag, and Melatonin.

Stress is always a monkey wrench in any weight loss program.  You will be amazed, if you consume enough fiber, that you can process stress without getting a craving to eat while you are on this program.  As needed, use Stress Helper or any other nutrients that help you combat stress.  Use Pine Nut Oil or LeptiSlim if you are getting food cravings from stress, or anytime between any meals.

Do not start the program if you are sick.  If you start catching a bug while you are on this program cut back on exercise and boost immune support nutrients (like Super Immune Booster).  If needed, suspend the program and try it again later when you are well.

Why This Program Works

This program brings leptin and other metabolic signals back in balance, while boosting your energy and muscle function, while eating less food.  It is worth your time to read my two feature articles that explain in depth why this approach is the fastest and safest way for just about anyone to drop a few pounds and get back into a healthy eating pattern.

Feature Articles:
How Protein Helps Weight Loss
Fiber, Leptin, and Weight Loss

Don’t wait until the spring to dread the summer.  Get on top of your weight issues now.  Be consistent over the next three to four months and when next summer comes you will be one happy camper.  If you have not yet read the Leptin Diet, get a copy and do so.  It is the owner’s manual for your body and explains your relationship with food and how you can stay in charge.

START NOW >>

 

Weight Loss Tips by Byron J. Richards

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