It’s never too early to start thinking about saving money for your child’s college fund. After all, it’s typically a pretty hefty bill, and you’ll want to be plenty prepared by the time it comes around. Generally speaking, it’s easier to save over a longer period of time, so starting at birth isn’t a bad idea! These tips will help you start and continue a college fund for your child!

1. Start Now: As mentioned before, you want to start as soon as possible. This gives you a leg up and will allow you to save smaller amounts at a time over a longer period of time to amount to a larger total. Finances can be tight with newborns and toddlers as you’ll be spending a large chunk of your money on diapers so if you have to, start small and work up when you can afford it.

2. Even the Smallest Contribution Counts: If you only have $5.00 a month to put towards your child’s college fund from the beginning, don’t worry. It’s not a useless contribution, and it will add up anyway! Just contribute what you can afford and be consistent with your deposits so that you get in a good habit of saving the money. You don’t want to get in a habit of spending the money and not contributing anything to the college fund.

3. Set a Plan in Motion and a Final Goal: This is important. You’ll want to set a final goal for how much you want to save. Note: this doesn’t have to be exact, but set a ballpark range so you know about how much you need to be saving every year. If you break it down, and realize you need to save $500 every year, set a plan to do it. If you know you have extra expenses in a certain month, plan to save less that month and more the rest of the year. It’s all about setting realistic goals so you’re able to meet them!

4. Open a Designated Account: Open an account for the college fund that you either <strong>can’t</strong> touch, or know you won’t. That way, once you put the funds in there, they’re in there for good and you won’t be tempted to spend them on something else. It’s also a good idea to find a savings account with a high interest rate so you’ll gain interest on the money that’s sitting in there for a while.

Regardless of what you decide, as long as you have some kind of system to save for the college fund in motion, you’re doing great! Did you start a college fund for your child, or will you after reading this article? Let me know in the comments below!