Savings Story: The Goss Family

Here’s a great testimonial from one of our CollegeAdvantage families:

I was working as a mechanical engineer for FirstEnergy in Akron, Ohio, when I first heard about the CollegeAdvantage Savings Program. With three young daughters, I knew I needed to get serious about saving for their college educations, but with the usual expenses of a growing family it was difficult to do. I had tried using US Savings Bonds, but without much success. The CollegeAdvantage Savings Program seemed to be just what I was looking for and after some investigation I eventually enrolled all of my daughters in the plan.

Although I was proud of the fact that I had paid entirely for my own college education, I also remembered the stress of wondering where my next meal was coming from or how I was going to buy my books. Consequently, I vowed that my children would not face the same situation when they attended college. But I still felt that it would be important for them to contribute to their education in some form – either by scholarships or part-time work. (We appreciate things much more when we have some skin in the game.) Using the CollegeAdvantage Savings Program, I was able to meet my goal of paying for much of their costs, but still holding them responsible in part. Today all of my daughters are successful professionals working in the medical field. 

My oldest daughter graduated from the Kent State College of Nursing in 2000 with a B.S. in Nursing. She is currently employed as a Registered Nurse at the Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, Ohio, in the Emergency Dept. My middle daughter graduated from Belmont Technical College in 2003 with an Associate Degree in Nursing. She is currently employed as a Practical Nurse at the Ohio Veteran’s Home in Sandusky, Ohio. My youngest daughter graduated from Fortis College in 2011 with an Associate Degree in Nursing. She is currently employed as a Registered Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit of Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

My tips for using the savings plan are to start early and then keep it slow and steady. Again, young parents don’t have a lot of extra cash, but the CollegeAdvantage Savings Program forced me to put a little aside on a consistent basis.

Stephen Goss​
Vermilion, Ohio

This Saving Story originally posted Feb. 27, 2015.