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There is a general feeling going around in America that if you save diligently enough, you can certainly put aside enough money to go through college education. Or, if parents take the trouble of saving enough, they can give their children good college education.

According to some parents, pure savings can work for children, especially children who are good at academics. There are some who started putting money away towards education from the moment their child was born. Most parents are able to save about ten percent of their regular pay check, which for an average earner, works out to $8000 a year.

They invest in conservative mutual funds and in insured certificate of deposit. Of course, for this, it is important for the parent to lead a modest life. A lavish lifestyle will not support this kind of diligent saving.

Bill from Georgia for instance says that he did this to fund the education of his two girls. For this, the entire family lived frugally. His wife and he drove the same vehicle for the past ten years and they ensured that the kids worked and paid for their own cars.

Habitual savers like Bill’s family stand out among the crowd of parents who struggle to scale back plans in order to pay for the education of their children. Children who are fortunate enough to be a part of families like this graduate without any college debt.

On an average, most families just about manage to save around $30,000 towards college education. Most children graduate with the burden of six figure debts they have borrowed for tuition fees according to a Gallup poll.

Choice of savings is often confusing for families. By making the wrong choice, families face a shortfall in college savings. “529” savings plan is offered by most states with multiple options. The Gallup poll shows that more than fifty percent of families were not aware of the best savings plans.
Remember that you are allowed to choose the 529 plan from any state. So, do not restrict your options to your state alone. If you find costs lower and management conservative according to your preference in other states, you can go right ahead.

It is possible to bank any savings you make based on choice and fine tuning of lifestyle. For example, you can cut back on restaurant bills and sacrifice cable to save the difference.  
Did you know that you can make your savings work for you? A percentage of spending with certain credit cards and certain vendors are put aside towards college savings funds by Baby Mint and Upromise.  This way parents can save thousands of dollars for their children in due course of time.

Scholarships of course are the way to go if you are serious about college savings. If your child is good at academics, you can negotiate with colleges for tuition fee discounts. If your child is offered seats by other universities, most universities offer discounts.

Whichever savings program you choose, it is important to put in a lot of effort towards this. There are many ways to accumulate funds for college. The trick lies in making the right choices.