In addition to the cost of health care, it appears that the cost of getting a college education continues to be a big expense that keeps increasing at a strong rate year after year after year. Here are the facts from Money magazine on how the costs of college keep going up:
Last academic year, the median annual tuition for a four-year private college crept up 5.7 percent to $16,950, according to an annual college cost survey by Peterson's. And that doesn't include room and board and other fees that can easily push the cost of a private college education above $22,000 a year.
Even students attending a public university in their home state paid 6.3 percent more for tuition in 2005-2006, or $4,224 per year.
Yep, there seems to be no end in sight to the increases. I think that by the time my kids get to college, I'll be looking at $100,000 a year! Yikes!
Ok, maybe it's not that bad -- but it seems like it is.
Wondering what you should do to prepare for college costs? I have two recommendations. First, start saving now. The longer you save, the longer the power of compounding will work for you. Second, develop a plan to keep college expenses as low as possible -- like working toward saving 50% off college costs.
Let me end with the suggestion that we all keep these costs on perspective. Yes, college is expensive (and getting more so every day it seems), but it's still very much worth the cost -- a degree can literally earn you an extra million dollars or more.
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