Asking this important question can help you avoid many headaches. As with any budget, when calculating the costs of college, make sure to include even the smallest of costs, and to add a percentage for “Unexpected” costs, or as my friend says, for “Nothing.” This “Nothing” covers all surprises that make you ask “But how? I didn’t spend on anything unnecessary…” And then you see the bills for Starbucks, that nice pen on sale at Office Depot, that book that was 40% off that you could not walk away from at Barnes & Noble…and the list goes on and on.
