FTC Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by the Ar529 college savings plan program, which I’ve been affiliated with as a client since 2014. All thoughts are 100% my own.
A quick update on my life
I haven’t been blogging very regularly lately, so unless you follow me on social media, you may have missed some BIG news: I became an aunt in 2015. And then again in 2017.
The kids hanging out on a fun Sunday afternoon at Chuck E Cheese
My nieces are two of the cutest, funniest, and loving kids I know – and that’s saying something since my son is also all three of those things. I truly enjoy every moment I get to spend with them. It’s been exciting watching them grow and develop their own unique personalities, preferences, and skills.
The oldest (we’ll call her A), is a girly girl. She loves all things princesses and fashion. She loves being pampered and wearing cute clothes. She is obsessed with the movie/TV show Trolls, anything involving Anna and Elsa, and is also quite the budding artist.
The youngest (let’s call her “J”) is a jokester and a spitfire. She loves to joke around and is more of the rough and tumble type. She seems shy when she meets new people, but when she’s comfortable with you she’s all smiles and mischief. She loves art, playing with dolls, and watching all kinds of cartoons.
They both love to eat and to play outdoors.
As I’ve watched them get older, I’ve wondered many of the same questions I wondered about my son.
“What will their voices sound like when they’re older?”
“How tall are they going to be?”
“Will they always be so happy to hang out with their geeky aunt?” Lol!
“What will they love doing next year? 5 years from now? 10 years from now?”
Now that my son is 9 years old, I realize more and more just how time flies by faster than you realize. Minutes become hours in the blink of an eye (my Netflix binges are proof of that). Days become weeks. Weeks blend into months. Before you know it, another year has passed. Then, just when you’re settled into parenthood, you realize that even though it FEELS like you just gave birth last year your child is halfway to 18 years old and you want to cry.
Just me?
Seriously, though – the future is closer than we think. So, it’s never too early to start preparing for it.
There are a lot of ways to help kids in your life prepare for the future.
Part of that is attending to their education.
My nieces are in daycare and pre-K right now. Christian is in 3rd grade. All three of them are learning and growing. We celebrate their schooling with back-to-school pictures and updates on what they’re learning.
Before we know it, we’ll be sharing their last 1st day of school pictures as kids and then they’ll be off on whichever path they choose to take as adults.
The question is – what can we do to make walking that path easier and less stressful?
The biggest mistake of my life
I don’t know about you, but I think my undergrad experience was MUCH less stressful than it was for a lot of my peers because I had a full honors scholarship. I didn’t have to worry about working a part-time or full-time job to pay tuition. There was no stress about losing housing because of money. My scholarship covered a full meal plan, so I didn’t need to worry about what I was going to eat. My only concern was making sure I had good grades. In other words, the only stressor I had was being a college student.
I appreciated that even more once I went to grad school and did NOT have any scholarships or grants to cover everything.
I didn’t apply for scholarships or grants for grad school – I took out student loans.
BIG MISTAKE. Honestly, I think it was the biggest mistake of my life.
Helping my son, nieces, and nephew avoid that mistake
And I want to help my son, my nieces, and my nephew (who hasn’t been born yet) to avoid the HUGE stressor that is student loan debt. That’s why I opened an Ar529 college savings plan for my son and will likely do the same for my nieces and my nephew. Doing what I can to set them up for success in the future is definitely something that I think is important.
How you can set up an Ar529 college savings plan
Have you considered opening an Ar529 college savings plan for the kids in your life (whether you’re their parent, foster parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, or godparent)? It’s never too early to get started and is pretty simple to set up! Others can also donate to their savings accounts so that there’s even more of a financial cushion for them.
Visit the Ar529 website to learn more about how you can help make getting a college education less stressful for the kids you love. You can open an Ar529 college savings plan in just 15 minutes and for as little as $25!
