With the rising cost of education I thought this would be a good topic to kick around. I seen a post on consolidating student loans. With all the options available with grants and loans, should one start saving when a child is pre teen for college? I know it is always good to be prepared, but is it necessary? Especially if you are on a tight budget. I started doing the Upromise campaign about three years ago, it is pretty cool, you shop, you save, it has been accumulating on my groceries mainly. You can also put friends on it, so when they shop you save for your kid for college too.