Nowadays, families in the United States are facing the facts that childcare and college costs are increasing from time to time. In fact, both of these costs are important for the family future. Therefore, parents have no choice but to keep the childcare cost and college funding balanced. Otherwise, the family’s finance will be at risks. However, as Megan Gorman, a contributor of Forbes, said in her post, parents still have so options to keep them balanced.

Recent Facts about Childcare and College Costs

In the last decade, childcare costs have been increasing dramatically. A survey conducted by Care.com this year found that almost 30% of the families spend 20% of their annual income for childcare. Of course, this is not a surprise. Statistic data shows that average nanny cost is about $580 a month, while the average cost for childcare is about $211. The case is even worse in metropolitan areas, where average families have to pay a monthly cost of $2.000 for either a baby sitter or childcare service.

Similarly, college funding shows a similar trend. A survey conducted this year found that a family would have to pay almost $368,739 for each family member during a 4-year period of study in a private college in 2031. The statistic data shows an increasing trend. Therefore, parents need to save earlier to prepare the college funds for their kids. Both are, of course, priorities for families, but managing them will not be an easy task. Parents need to take strategic actions to determine which one is the priority.

Dealing with the Increasing Child Care and College Costs

Megan Gorman suggests two ways to help parents balancing the increasing childcare costs and college funding.

Determining the Priority

First of all, you can determine which one is the priority based on the child’s age. For instance, if you child is 3 years old now, you will need the childcare costs for the next two years (until your child goes to school). When he/she is at full-time school, the childcare cost will decrease significantly. At this phase, you will need to re-allocate the child care costs to his/her education.

With the government regulation in education, the cost for full-time education is significantly lower. Therefore, parents are expected to be able to save the child care fund for the college funding.

Involving Family and Friends

The second way may sound funny, but it works. Parents can involve the extended family to contribute to the child’s education plan. For instance, parents can cut the money required for the kid’s birthday party if the extended family members participate in handling the party and buying the gifts. In other words, the money otherwise used for the party may add the saving account for education in the bank.

Alternatively, the family members contribute the money for education purpose rather than buying gifts for the child’s parties. There are many events for this. Instances include baby shower party, birthday paties, holiday gifts, Christmas gifts, and many more.

Of course, these work only if the parents have high commitment for the child’s education. Only highly disciplined parents will be successful in doing these.