The New York Times’ Rob Lieber has a good article on saving for your children’s education. In his reporting, he talked with fellow Wisconsinite Kevin McKinley of Eau Claire-based McKinley Money:
Mr. McKinley suggests an approach he calls “20-20-20.” Take the current average cost of attending four years at a public university: roughly $60,000. Save $20,000 before your child begins college by putting aside $50 a month starting at birth and assuming a 6 percent annual return. Then, pay $20,000 out of current income while the student is in college. Finally, have your child take out $20,000 in federal student loans over four years. The $200 monthly payments afterward are not a horrible burden for people in their 20s to bear, and they’ll be debt free once the 10-year payback period is over.
This is a great example of someone packaging a solution to problem in a way that everyone to understand and act on. Now, I just need to open those bank accounts…