About this calculator
College costs rise faster than general inflation, so the target keeps moving. This calculator projects future tuition for your child's start year and works backward to the monthly savings — and expected growth — needed to get there without scrambling at the last minute.
What it shows you
- Projected total college cost adjusted for tuition inflation
- The monthly savings required to fully fund it
- Growth of a 529 or investment account over time
- The gap between your current pace and the goal
- How a lump-sum head start reduces monthly savings
What you'll enter
- Years until college starts
- Current annual tuition or cost of attendance, and tuition inflation
- Current education savings and annual family contribution
- Expected investment return
When to use it
- Saving for a child's college
- Finding how much more to save to close the gap
Why it matters
Parents feel college costs as a vague dread. Converting that into a specific monthly number they can act on is the kind of clarity that makes an advisor indispensable to the whole family.
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