In the ideal world you would have a college fund for each of your children. But how many of us actually live in an ideal world? If your a parent then your life is full of bills for braces, day care, music lesson, tutors, summer camp etc. and it can be hard to find any money to put toward that far away place called college. So you rack your brains thinking where to find money for college? Okay, here is where to find money for college:

There really are a variety of financial aid programs that your student may qualify for. Before you even start looking for financial aid, decide what schools your child wants to apply to. I say this because many schools have generous financial aid programs and you may not have to look for additional money after you see what the school can offer.

Have your child apply to all the schools he or she is really interested in even if you think you can not afford the tuition. Here is where so many people go wrong – they think they can not afford to send their child to expensive private school because they can’t pay the tuition. But actually some of the private schools are very well funded and can offer generous financial aid to your child and in the end you may put out less money for your child to attend the expensive private school than the cheaper state school.

The first step in where to find money for college is to fill out your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The deadline is June 30 but you want to get yours in as soon as you can because some aid is given out on a first come first serve basis. This means you will have to do your tax return early because FAFSA is mostly based on income level, but it is worth it because it may get your student extra money for college. If you just can’t do the tax return give your best estimate based on last years return.

When you apply for the FAFSA, make sure you have the following documents on hand:
1. Your social security card
2. Your parents’ social security cards, if you are a dependent
3. Your driver’s license
4. Your previous year’s tax documents
5. Information concerning any untaxed income

Another where to find money for college is the college itself. Many schools have scholarship funds, merit and need based, and they usually have endowments which allows them to give quite a bit of money to qualified students. Endowments are large amounts of money that people have given to the institution either as an alumni or for tax write offs or just because they want to help kids get a college education.

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We know we should eat together as a family but it is so difficult to find the time. Is it so important? What are the benefits of family meals? Studies have shown that children who regularly interact with their parents around the dinner table have larger vocabularies, make better grades in school and are less likely to experiment with drugs or premarital sex.

Even though it seems our kids are only interested in what their peers have to say child development experts agree that, even during the teen years, the voice kids most want to hear is that of their parents. One of the benefits of family meals are that they are a great way to foster parent/child communication.

One of the reasons eating together does so much to help us talk with our kids is that is uses what psychologist call a peripheral activity. In plain English, this means that buttering a slice of bread or putting dressing on your salad, relieves some of the pressure of talking, making it easier to open up in conversations.

Okay so you can’t manage dinner together as a family seven or even five nights a week but maybe you could do three. Here is more incentive … a study found that one common theme in the lives of National Honor Society Scholars in this country is that most of them grew up in homes where families ate dinner together three or more nights a week.

Here are some tips on helping to make it happen so you can enjoy the benefits of family meals:

Keep it simple – If the most you can manage is sharing take-out or gathering in a booth at a restaurant or fast food place that is okay – the important thing is the time together.

Delay the dinner hour if you need - if you work late, provide healthy snacks to tide the rest of the family over until they get home.

Grill meat, chicken or fish not your kids – Keep family meals stress-free, relaxed and fun. Don’t nag about school grades or chores.

No electronics - no cell phones or hand held video devices at the table. Shut off the TV and don’t answer phones.

Teamwork - Take turns with chores like setting and clearing the table and washing the dishes so the burden doesn’t fall on one person.

Ask open-ended questions - Share your day with your kids then ask open-ended questions to get them talking about theirs.

Practice active listening - know when to talk and when to zip it and let your kids lead the conversation.

Family time anytime - it doesn’t have to be the evening meal you share. Plan a Saturday brunch or Sunday lunch together.

Want a quick easy recipe for your first family meal? See our post =>
Easy Soup Recipes – Spinach Tortellini Soup

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Parents of teens – listen up. College kids will be coming home next week so if your teen wants a job have them start looking now. Here are some tips that were published in the business section of our local paper:

Ask friends, teachers, family, neighbors, people at your church, any one you know. Also go out and look for help wanted signs. Many stores post them in their windows.

Talk to the high school guidance counselor. Employers and alumni often contact them when they have teen-appropriate job openings.

Visit an employment counselor. Make a few phone calls and see if any handle teen employment.

Be creative. Don’t just look at fast-food restaurants, restaurants and theme parks. Small businesses may need help with filing, data entry and answering phones. If your teen is good in a particular subject perhaps they can tutor younger children during the summer privately or at one of the tutoring centers in town. Kumon Math And Reading employees teens as tutors in our area. Lifeguard jobs are usually plentiful for those with certification. Lawns need to mowed more frequently and parents need babysitters more often. 

Surf the web. Sites recommended by our paper are: SnagAjob.com, RileyGuide.com/teen.html. Also mentioned are monster.com, craigslist.org/ and careerbuilder.com

Dress nicely when you go to interview. Khaki pants and button down shirt for guys and for girls nice pants or skirt suit. No dangling jewelry and no earrings for guys.

Be prepared. Bring a resume whenever you apply for a job. If  you don’t have much work experience talk about your volunteer work, church activities, school activities, honor societies and outside of school activities. Think about all your experiences – hobbies, sports and interests count as well as baby sitting experience. Some employers hiring teen camp counselors require only an interest in children.

Be agressive and persistent. It will work in your favor in this situation. Send a thank you note – it is always a nice touch and people really appreciate it.

Have a good attitude and be enthusiastic.

Sometimes teens need volunteer hours for honor societies or other organizations they belong to. See our post on Part-time-jobs-for-teens-volunteer

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The article in my paper also said that according to Sarah Gish, publisher of The Summer Book: A Guide to Houston’s Day Camps and Classes for Kids and Teens, many camps have extended their programs to teens because of interest from the parents. Younger teens may attend camp or become a junior camp counselor. I know the Girl Scouts offer the junior counselor or camp aide option to the older Girl Scouts in their day camp program. I hope this post will get you thinking because some of these volunteer opportunities fill up fast.

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Visit us fasthowto.com and teach your teen how to make their own pizza Quick-and-Easy-Homemade-Pizza

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