When your son or daughter applies for educational aid from the government you first have to fill out the FAFSA, a free application which helps determine how much money you as a parent should be able to contribute towards their education. In most cases the dollar amount that you are expected to put towards his or her future is easily way more than you can actually provide.

The Wall Street Journal took a look at one of the additional expenses of sending your child off to college this fall; spending money. It's hard to believe that you'll need more money after you've already covered room and board but students realistically will need some funds to get by. The amounts which several colleges recommend students have for personal expenses are rather large, especially if all of the money comes from mom and dad. The estimates are different for every school but can go above $2,000 in some locations.

The article also looks at whether the student or the parents should be the ones footing the bill for incidentals at school. One concern they raised is that some colleges suggest students do not work their first semester in order to adjust to college life. Personally I think students should get a J-O-B; there are plenty of student jobs on campus that typically provide low hours and the ability to work around class and sports schedules while still providing spending money.

When I was applying for college/going through the financial aid process, i ran into a major injustice: the FAFSA formula essentially penalized me for saving dutifully as I spent my summers working, deducting my personal savings from the amount of financial aid I could receive.

I was livid: I had worked hard and scrimped on entertainment/clothing/car expenses, and it was all for nil. I would have been better off not working and spending my summers playing Playstation, and that's wrong.

So I was delighted when I saw an article in today's Springfield Republican about a program offered by the Springfield Partners for Community Action. Lower-income students who work there, save $1 thousand, and complete an eight hour course on money management are eligible to receive an additional $2 thousand in grant money for college.

This is a brilliant program, and it's amazing that nothing like this is done on a large scale. Rather than penalizing ambitious students who save, we should be rewarding them like Springfield Partners does.

One idea: every high school student should be able to save $4 thousand toward college. Those who fail to do that should receive reduced financial aid, as they have not made the commitment they are requesting of others. Students who work hard and save should not have to subsidize couch potatoes.