If you have small children and haven't been told how much a college education is going to cost in 15 years, then you should make sure you're sitting down when you read this. Conservative estimates put four years at a public (yes, public) university in 15 years at about $100,000 or more. Try this calculator to find out how much it will be for other time periods.

You may never have thought you could get excited about big sums of money you won't be spending on yourself until you read about this new college savings plan. The 529 plan may well be the best thing in college savings plans since... well, anything. This plan offers the most painless way to save money for higher education to date. And if the child decides not to go to college, you can roll it over to someone else in the family that does want to go, including yourself! The benefits of this plan far outweigh any drawbacks it may have -- which aren't many. Let's look at how it works.