Top Ten College Planning Mistakes

It seems like, at every workshop I teach, the majority of the people can tell me the two best accounts for saving for retirement (usually a 401k and a Roth IRA), or the best type of life insurance for the average person (term insurance as opposed to whole life). But, when it comes to which college account to use, or whether or not the government rewards you for saving for your child's college costs, most crowds fall silent.

That's not to say that most people aren't planning for their child's college education. Rather, most people are doing something, but are unsure if it's the best option for them. Perhaps they're using a plan offered through their employer. Or maybe their using that life insurance policy that Gerber mails us each of us right after our children are born. Either way, it seems most people have no idea whether or not they're using the best options available to them.

Before you take another step in managing your family's finances, I suggest you review my list of Top Ten College Planning Mistakes.

Here are the first few three mistakes on the list, which moves from counter-productive to downright tragic.

College Planning Mistake #10:
Raising Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

College Planning Mistake #9:
Not Watching Your Time Horizon

College Planning Mistake #8:
Not Using Your Educational Tax Breaks

Be sure to read the rest of my list of Top 10 College Planning Mistakes, which includes detailed explanations of each of these mistakes, as well as the Worst College Planning Mistake you can make.

Don't forget to sign up for our FREE weekly Saving for College newsletter, chocked full of useful college planning tips.