Yet any savings a family has will reduce the portion of college costs that needs to be paid out of income or financed. If such savings are in the parents' name, standard family contribution formulas would expect the parents to contribute only a small percentage of the balance of savings each year. Even families that may have saved a substantial amount of money for education expenses may find it advantageous to maximize those resources by using low-cost financing for some portion of college costs. The return on their savings or investments may well offset some or all of the expense of financing, allowing their dollars to go much farther.
Savers are always ahead of the game.