4 Conversation-Starters to Kick Off the College Savings Talk

Tina Robinson struggled to pay her own way through college, working during the day and taking accounting and business courses at night.

So, when she had two children of her own, she used her experience as a conversation-starter for why she was prioritizing saving for their college educations. "It was just hard going to school and working, and trying to put myself through school," says Robinson, who lives in Fairfax, Virginia. "I told them, 'If I do nothing else, I want you to come out of college debt free.'"

Robinson invested in a combination of tax-advantaged college savings accounts, known as 529 plans. She chose Virginia's prepaid 529 plan -- which allowed her to prepay future tuition and mandatory fees -- and the Virginia529 inVest plan to cover room and board. In the spring, her oldest son, Sam Brott, graduated from the University of Virginia debt free.

Experts urge parents to talking to their children early and often about expectations for college, including what it will cost and who will pay for it. Here are four ways to work college savings into the conversation.

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-- "We drive an older car because..." Parents can use this starter to talk to their children about how they're prioritizing saving for college.

Stuart Ritter, financial planner and vice president of T. Rowe Price Investment Services, says parents can begin working these discussions about trade-offs into conversation when their children are as young as 5 years old, about the age when kids start becoming aware of money and what it can do. He used the example of explaining why parents may be waiting to make big new purchases.

One example might be telling the kids: "We drive an older car because we've decided saving for college is a bigger priority, and that's where we're putting our money," he says.

-- "What do you want to be when you grow up?" When parents talk to their kids about their dreams and goals, take it a step farther to talk to them about what sort of education it will take to get there.

Mary Morris, CEO of the Virginia529 College Savings Plan, says it can be pretty simple when a child is young. "What kind of education do you have to have? How much time does it take, and how might you get there?" she says to ask.

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As the child gets older, the conversation can evolve into more specifics. Does the career require a two-year degree or a four-year degree?

"Talk about what's realistic for your family in terms of how much you think you can save," she says.

-- "Time to go to the bank." Brott, now 22, says if he got money from a relative for Christmas or a birthday, he had to save some of it. Even when he was as young as 4 or 5 years old, his mom would take him and his younger brother to the bank to deposit their savings. They even got their own ledgers to keep track of the earnings.

Early lessons in delayed gratification are important. Parents can also bring their children along when they open a college savings account -- or if doing it online, share earnings information, experts say.

A piggy bank can also be helpful. Morris says some piggy banks have multiple slots to teach about saving for different goals. Families can designate one slot for short term goals, like a new toy, and one slot for long-term goals, like college savings.

Brott says his mother taught him to make sure that "when you have money you don't spend it all," he says. "If you spend it all now, then you don't have it later."

-- "Here's what we expect you to contribute." As children get older, experts suggest having more frank conversations about expectations for their contributions to college.

"Enlist the kids if they're old enough," Morris says. "If they're starting high school right now, then those families can be talking to their kids about what are they going to do to contribute to higher education."

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Even when children are young, families can go to college calculators to get a better handle on whether they will be likely to get free financial aid or a package of loans.

"I think that can be a real eye-opener to families to get started saving, when the reality hits that the free money is likely to not be there," Morris says.

Trying to save for college? Get tips and more in the U.S. News College Savings 101 center.

Deborah Ziff is a Chicago area-based freelance education reporter for U.S. News, covering college savings and 529 plans. You can follow her on Twitter.