• Emma Bayer of Georgia has been applying for scholarships since 9th grade.
• She's secured a lot of in funding, enough to pay for two years of college.
• When her dad died unexpectedly, the scholarship funds gave her peace of mind.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with college student Emma Bayer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was never worried about paying for college. I'm an only child, and was the only grandchild until I was 15. I knew that my extended family would help me pay for college. My parents and extended family felt that college was important in order to have a career, not just a job.

Yet, I've always been someone who is driven. I like doing things that are worth my time and effort. I realized early on that applying for scholarships would pay off — both figuratively and literally.

Today, I've secured more than 20 scholarships, which is enough to pay for at least my first two years of college. I'm studying equine barn design and farming infrastructure, and just finished up my freshman year. Although I'm now working toward my degree, I'm still applying for scholarships and hoping to get more.

I started applying in the 9th grade

Early on I knew that scholarships would be available through organizations that I was part of, like Girl Scouts and H4. Once that was on my radar I started joining organizations that had scholarship opportunities, like the National Society of High School Scholars.

I won my first scholarships my freshman year of high school, through a local youth organization. They were worth $300 and $500 — not the biggest sum, but those little amounts added up.

Receiving those scholarships upped my motivation. When you see yourself succeed and know that's an investment in your future, it makes you want to apply yourself.

I spent hundreds of hours applying for scholarships

Throughout high school I applied for more and more scholarships, reaching a peak my junior and senior years.

Senior year, I applied for more than 70 scholarships; during my freshman year of college I applied for about 40 more. I have a spreadsheet with deadlines, reward amounts, and application requirements.

I've spent hundreds of hours applying for scholarships. Sometimes that impacted the time I spend with friends. Still, the sacrifice was worth it. I really saw the value in what I was doing.

By the time I started my freshman year at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, I had enough scholarship funding to cover tuition, plus room and board.

That removed so much pressure; I didn't have to worry about finding a job or cutting costs because I had already put in the work.

Scholarships gave me peace of mind after my dad died

During my freshman year, my dad died unexpectedly. It was devastating. I decided to transfer to Kennesaw State University and live at home for my sophomore year. It was just too hard being away from my family after my dad died.

Amid my grief, my scholarships gave me huge peace of mind. It was a massive weight off my shoulders, knowing that my first year of school without him will be paid for. I can focus on education, my horses, and healing, without having to fight to keep my opportunity for a college education.

The funding has been a confidence booster

Getting so many scholarships has boosted my confidence. It's not about my ego, but more about the fact that people are recognizing the work I'm doing in my communities.

It was especially meaningful when I received an athletic scholarship. As an equestrian, it was great to see my sport recognized when it's often overlooked for more mainstream sports.

I've realized there's a scholarship for everybody, especially if you're involved in your community. Applying takes work, but it's worth it. Student loans are such a burden, and for me, scholarships have meant that I don't need to dig myself a financial hole when I'm really trying to give myself a leg up by securing a college education.

• We started our family young and quickly realized the importance of planning for our child's future.
• Despite more immediate financial pressures, we prioritize our child's 529 savings plan.
• We are now committed to long-term financial planning and legacy building.

In 2021, my husband and I were only one year into postgraduate life and very new to marriage. At the time, our financial literacy left a lot to be desired, and being new parents only complicated all of this.

As our son grew month after month, we started thinking more seriously about his future and that of our family.

The phrase heard so often, "The days are long, but the years are short," started to feel very real as we navigated the first year with our son. We knew that while the day-to-day may feel overwhelming, many years from now, we'll look back and wonder if we had made the most of the years that flashed before us in a blink.

That's when I knew it was time to start saving for my son's future.

We chose a 529 plan

Our knowledge of financial planning for the future was limited. Being a researcher by nature, I scoured the internet, listened to podcasts, and spent more time than I'd like to admit playing with projection calculators. This carried on for months, and when our son was nearly a year old, I opened a 529 account in his name.

I chose this route for a few reasons: tax-free growth and withdrawals, the freedom to apply the funds to trade schools and more alternative paths of education, and the ability to use the funds for his K-12 schooling.

We've contributed to our now four-year-old son's 529 college savings plan every month since, even when it's not been easy. It's not a flashy or exciting decision, and it's not one that we made because we simply have piles of extra money lying around.

Like most parents of young kids, we're juggling the usual financial pressures: a mortgage and costs of homeownership, a car payment and vehicle maintenance, high grocery costs, and the real, ongoing expense of raising a child in today's economy.

But this particular choice to invest regularly in our child's future, even when other needs compete for our dollars, has become a cornerstone of our family's financial mindset.

Our small contributions still add up

At first, the contributions were small — $25 here, $50 there —whatever we could manage in those early months.

But gradually, I stopped seeing it as a "nice-to-have" and started treating it like a non-negotiable. Today, it's baked into our monthly budget, right alongside the mortgage and the utility bills.

We know we won't be able to cover every dollar of our son's future training and education, and that's OK. The point isn't perfection. It's preparation.

Now and as he grows, we will be intentional about modeling the value of hard work and financial stewardship. He'll know that while we've saved and planned ahead for him, he will also have a role to play in his education —through effort, responsibility, and ownership of his own goals.

Preparing for his future is part of our legacy

It's hard to think long-term when short-term costs are constantly staring you in the face. And yet, I believe that choosing to save for our child's future, even when it requires trade-offs today, is a powerful act.

More than a financial decision, it's one rooted in legacy. What does it really mean to raise kids while also building a life shaped by purpose, stewardship, and vision? For me, it looks like this: planning for the future while still being present, setting systems in place that reflect our values, and staying the course — even when things aren't perfect.

Of course, there are seasons when saving takes a backseat to survival. I know what it's like to weigh the cost of diapers against car repairs or a new HVAC system. But I've also learned that progress requires consistency and a willingness to begin, even if it's small.

So every month, we keep showing up for our future and that of our son. Quietly, steadily, and with a lot of heart.

One day, when he's old enough to ask why we made the choices we did, I hope he'll see that we believed in his potential, that we thought ahead, and that we made room for his future in the middle of our very full present.

Because to us, that's what legacy really is: not grand gestures, but intentional ones.

• Julie Beckham is a financial educator and mom of two.
• Her daughter is a high school senior, and her son is about to graduate from college.
• She's had honest conversations about the cost of college since they were young.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Julie Beckham, assistant vice president of financial education and development and strategy officer at Rockland Trust Bank. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in a middle-class family and was lucky to have my parents pay for my education at New York University. NYU was still expensive back in the 1990s, but it was the type of expensive that a middle-class family could still afford with a moderate amount of sacrifice.

Today, as a financial educator, I still consider myself middle class, but there's no way I could pay the entire cost of college education for my two kids, who are 18 and 21. That's true for many families, thanks to the skyrocketing cost of college.

Because of that, I've been very intentional about talking with my kids about paying for college — from the time they started high school.

Here's how we've planned together to manage the cost.

Choose more affordable schools

Schools with a lower profile yet more affordable tuition can offer a better return on investment for many families. Getting kids to consider these can be tricky since colleges are so good at marketing. Sometimes, going to a "name brand" school is less about the degree and more about the swag.

Ask your kids what they love about a well-known school. Then, provide alternatives that have that same characteristic, at a lower price point. Boston College is popular near where I live because of its football culture, but the same vibe can be found elsewhere for a much lower price.

I've told my kids to consider schools that may not be well-known or have all the swag but are nonetheless special. These schools can give talented students more financial aid and a chance to stand out.

Understand what you can afford, and tell your kids

As my kids approached college age, their dad and I talked about the amount that we could afford to pay toward their education. It's based on what works for each of our budgets.

My kids are expected to pay the difference between the cost of their college and what we're able to cover as their parents.

I recommend parents be very honest about what they can afford, so students can decide whether they're willing to take on student loan debt to cover other costs.

Ditch the guilt about what you can't cover

Sometimes I feel guilty that I can't pay for their whole education. But this is my reality and what I can reasonably afford.

Although I'm a financial educator, I didn't have the means to start saving for college until my kids were in their teens. When I did, it was very simple: transferring a small portion of each paycheck to a savings account I named "college." It wasn't a 529 college savings plan, it wasn't a lot of money, and it wasn't very sophisticated, but it was a start.

It's easy to criticize ourselves as parents, but we need to acknowledge we're often doing the best we can for our kids.

Apply for grants and scholarships

Small grants and scholarships might seem insignificant against the huge bill for college, but they add up. You think $500 isn't going to make a dent, but when you're paying $80 for a book, you realize $500 can be helpful.

I helped my kids apply by researching opportunities, reminding them of deadlines, and encouraging them to work on applications. Sometimes they weren't happy to write another essay, but I reminded them it would take an hour and they could get hundreds of dollars.

Ask for more financial aid

Once you've applied to schools and received your financial aid packages, you might notice significant differences in how much aid your student gets from each school. If that's the case, you can ask a school to match what a comparable school has provided.

I've tried this twice. Once, I called the financial aid office, and they said they couldn't make changes. But another time, I was asked to email the other offer, and they'd see if they could adjust the financial aid package. It never hurts to ask.

Consider graduating early

My son is about to graduate from college a year early, which is a huge savings for our family. He did it by taking advanced placement (AP) classes in high school and earning a few extra credits during college. It was hard work, but it will likely save our family thousands of dollars.

College brings up a lot of feelings for parents and kids. There's so much pressure to get this step right. It's helpful to remember that this is just the first of many steps. Although it feels important, it's the decisions we make every day that really impact our lives.