Five Easy Ways to Keep College Costs Down!

College costs are quadrupling every year, maybe even twice a year! I may be exaggerating but not really. You hear it in the news constantly that tuition is going up to attend college! Who has extra dough laying around when this happens? I sure don't! Here are five easy ways to keep college costs down!

• If your kid is still in high school, encourage them to take those Advanced Placement (AP) courses and even enroll in the local community college concurrently or take classes over the summer following 11th and 12th grade.  They can get a head start in earning credits needed for that college degree.  The costs for a class at the community college are substantially lower than the university and the cost for an Advanced Placement test is an exceptional value if your kid passes with a high enough score! I have personally known kids who finished college in three years because of their AP credits and community college credits.
• As a parent of a college kid, you will be purchasing a laptop, printer, or tablet and maybe all three! Buy the warranty and buy from a chain store with a location near your kid!  Spend the extra $20 in case something goes wrong, and your kid can go to the nearest store and get the problem taken care of.  In most cases, the store can look up your account and verify that a warranty has been purchased. Save your receipts too, because if the cost is high enough you may be able to claim an item on your insurance if it is stolen.
• Once your kid has declared a major, encourage them to join a study group preferably with students who are ahead of them.  This gives your child three advantages:  

           1) Your kid will receive invaluable advice/insight from their older friends on everything from which                  classes to take to which professors would be most suited to them.

           2) Instant tutors are now available to help them understand the material.

           3)These friends can pass down their notes, study guides, and most importantly BOOKS to your                       child. 

• Another money saving strategy is, if your kid chooses to live with roommates, they can take turns purchasing the basic needs such as toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, anything that all the roommates use and share the cost. Everyone benefits but you only pay once in awhile.  
• Finally, have your kid barter their services. Yes, back to the old trade and barter system. Every kid has something to negotiate with. Maybe your kid has the transportation and doesn't like to cook. In exchange for rides, your child gets home-cooked meals. Or maybe your kid is the one who does like to cook, everyone chips in a standard amount of $$  and he/she cooks 2-3 meals for the week and your kid doesn't pay anything.  Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

These were Five Easy Ways to Keep College Costs Down! I hope they help! Have a suggestion? Please share in the comments below!