I play a game with myself to help me save more in my kids' college funds. When I'm going to spend money on a kid but don't for some reason, I put the money not spent into their college fund. The money not spent is money actually saved.
Every dollar that gets saved for college now is a dollar that we don't have to borrow later. So I also try to be aware of when my kids make money-saving decisions and reward them for it by putting money in their college funds.
Last fall, I was going to take two of my kids to the store for new winter jackets. One looked unhappy and said, "But I like my jacket and it still fits." She was 13. Not typical, I know. The other one said, "Mine fits too." Hunh. So we didn't go shopping, and I put the money in their college funds instead. This fall, they both actually needed new jackets, and I managed to find them jackets they liked on sale. Then the money that I had budgeted for jackets that didn't get spent (because of the sale) also went into their college funds.
I also match money that my kids give me that they have earned from babysitting or whatever. If they give me $5, I put $10 in savings, and so on.
What are ways you can squeeze some money out of your expenses to put into college savings?
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