Helping your child pay for college is a wonderful gift, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of your own financial goals. With careful planning, you can navigate the journey of helping your kid pay for college while also saving for your own retirement and paying off debt.

Key Takeaways

According to the 2025 How America Pays for College survey, parents paid 49% of the average student’s college costs, while grants and scholarships covered about 27%. Some parents, however, have to stretch too far to pay for their kids’ college costs and end up making big sacrifices in other areas, such as taking money out of their own retirement accounts.

Instead of overborrowing and getting financially stressed, parents can plan ahead and have open conversations with their child about paying for college. This can include exploring options like in-state tuition at public universities, which can be significantly cheaper than private universities.

Strategies for Affordable College

Consider the following strategies to make college more affordable for you and your child: go public instead of private, shave off some college time with free summer classes, look beyond private tuition sticker price, search for grants and scholarships, have your child earn college credits while still in high school, start with community college, and think strategically about your child’s career path.

By taking a thoughtful and informed approach to paying for college, you can help your child achieve their educational goals without compromising your own financial stability.

Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.