One of the first things we invested in for our boys-not long after we bought the strollers, the bouncy thing, and all their other, “Must haves,” was a GET account. What’s a GET account? GET stands for, “Guaranteed Education Tuition,” and it’s a program that lets you buy college units now, at today’s prices, to be used when your child is ready. 
I know it seems like a funny thing to think about when your kiddos are little, but that’s Exactly the time you want to do it. You see, college tuition prices are going up (and up and up and up) just about every year. When you become a GET family you’re locking in today’s prices. It’s easy to imagine how you’ll save big compared to what the rates will be in 18 years or so! Wouldn’t it be great if you could lock in today’s price on milk or gas or bread?
I can tell you it has given us the best rate of return of Any investment we have made, and we are so thrilled to know that our boys will be able to go to college without being saddled with a huge pile of debt (Did you know student loan debt in this country has passed One Trillion dollars)? Gulp!
Do I sometimes wonder what we’re thinking when I watch Henry walk by with a box on his head? ‘Um….yeah. But, I know his GET account can be used at nearly any public or private college, university, or technical school, so he has lots of options. He currently wants to work for Lego, run a skateboard shop, and help elephants, so he may need to go somewhere where he can design his own major!
Now, you’ll probably have lots of questions about the program, and every once in a while misinformation goes around. Know that the folks running the program are glad to help answer any questions you have; in fact, they’ve likely already covered them on the website!
You should also know that this isn’t a new program-infact, this is its 17th year, and since 1999, 39,000 Washington students have been able to use more than a half a billion dollars towards their higher education expenses. Awesome, right? The GET program is currently funded at 106% and has an A rating. You can’t get much better than that!
Now, I want to make it clear that I’m not a financial expert (You knew that, right?), but I can tell you that saving any amount is a smart idea. Don’t be overwhelmed thinking of the total cost, or because you can only afford to set aside a little. When it comes to saving for college, time really is on your side if you start when your kiddos are small. Even a modest amount will give you a huge savings when they’re ready. GET is only open for enrollment at certain times of the year. It just opened again November 1st. You can learn lots more about the program at their website, and it’s super easy to enroll online!