College Cost HERO

Cost HERO is a free calculator that guides you through the

design of a four-year college budget using your rules.

It is best used as a high level view of what is affordable for you.

Once you have a budget that works, you are ready to begin the

college search. Consider our List HERO software for your search.

Please share this tool with your financial advisor and

any others who might benefit. Be a HERO to them!

Note: We do not sell or share your information.

When you are finished, click submit to save your work.

Thanks for your interest in Cost HERO.

	Cost HERO

	Enter data in the blue cells. Don't leave any blanks. If you don't have anything to report, enter "0." Click on Your Plan above to see results.


Enter account balance and percent (0-100%) you want to use for this student		Balance	% to use
1	Coverdell & 529 Savings (Total for all students)
2	Additional Parent Investments For College
3	Student Savings & Investments
4	Anticipated gifts from relatives or others
5	Total
6
7	For the following, enter monthly amounts
8	Total Monthly Income From All Sources
9	Housing costs (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) or Rent
10	Auto Loan or Lease Payments (all)
11	Any other payments on loans, credit cards, tax liens,RVs etc.
12	Contributions to 529 or other College Savings Plan
13
14	If willing to suspend all or part of Line 12 above, enter amount per month
15	* Monthly cost reduction for food, gas, utilities, etc. (see note below).
16	Enter an amount you expect student to earn (suggest $2,500 minimum)
17	Private high school tuition & other costs no longer incurred each month
18	Any additional monthly income you can use for college
19	Total

	* Now that your son or daughter is in college, they don't create the costs
	you've been absorbing for the past 18 years! For example, your electric bill
	will be reduced. Your grocery bill will go down. You will be putting fuel in your
	vehicles much less frequently. And more. Do some math and arrive at a figure
	that works for you. However, a minimum amount would be $300 per month.


	Your College Budget Example

Sources of Money For College	Amount	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Year 4	Total
From Parent Income
From Savings
From Student Earnings
From Federal Student Loan? (enter Y or N)
From Federal Tax Credit (AOTC)
Total For This Plan by Year- No Parent Debt



To add a Parent loan, enter amount in blue cell¹
Less Loan Payments (10 year payment plan)²
Total For This Plan by Year- With Parent Debt

Note 1: Based on Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
Note2: This is the standard 10-year repayment plan. Current interest rate is 8.09%.

		Buy College Like You Are Buying a Home
		The "Rule of 36/43" is the debt to income (DTI) ratio that lenders use to assess how much you can afford for a home mortgage and other debt. Mortgage bankers prefer that your monthly mortgage costs (principal, interest, property taxes and homeowners insurance) should not exceed 36% of your gross monthly income. They also want your total monthly debt payments (mortgage, auto, credit cards, education loan payments, etc.)to be less than 43% of your gross monthly income. We apply this rule to borrowing for college in order to prevent you from getting overextended. The calculation below does the math for you using data you've already entered. If you entered a parent loan in Your Plan, you'll see the payment after four years factored in.











		Gross Monthly Income From All Sources
		Monthly Mortgage Payment (PITI)
		Monthly Auto Payment(s) - All
		Other Monthly Payments
		Fourth Year College Loan Payment from Your Plan

		Current Debt to Income (DTI) Ratio
		Additionbal Borrowing Capacity %
		Additional Borrowing Capacity $ per month
		Additional Borrowing Capacity (Total $)

YES! Send me a copy of my college funding report.

If you want a copy of your plan, complete the information below.

If you prefer not to share your information, but want to save data,

use the print command. Otherwise, when you exit the tool

your data is permanently deleted.

First Name

Last Name

Student's year of H.S. graduation