If you have children you may want consider the average cost of a four-year degree at a college abroad could cost as much as $100,000 in the next several years.And that’s just for a regular degree and doesn’t include housing and other costs.Right now, medical school at Canada’s Dalhousie University costs $75,000 for a degree for international students.The many scholarships available in Bermuda can help with the costs, but that kind of money is out of reach for many Bermudians.However, on a nurse and teacher’s salary, Lorraine Beasley was able to put all three of her children through college, almost all at the same time!One son is now a lawyer, the other is an officer in the RAF and captain in the Bermuda Regiment, and her daughter is a consultant for Deloitte.How did she and her husband do it?By starting to save for college almost as soon as their children were born, and putting the money in the reputable Heritage education fund.“We would never have been able to do it without the dividends paid back by Heritage,” Mrs Beasley said. “I would recommend Heritage to any parent.“Whether you are wealthy “Whether you are wealthyor not wealthy, it’s an extremely good way of saving.”She said her Heritage representative Gerry Swan had been invaluable over the years in guiding the family as to exactly how much to put into the fund to keep meeting their goals.“We had no spare pennies on our salaries and it was just such a comfort to know we had this fund to send our children away to university,” Mrs Beasley said.To date, Heritage Education Funds International has paid out almost $30 million in savings and educational assistance payments to support Bermuda’s children in pursuing college degrees.“The staggering reality is that our up and coming post secondary students are facing dramatically increasing costs” said Jason Maguire, president and CEO of Heritage Education Funds International. “Heritage has one premise to help families save for their children’s postsecondary education in a safe and affordable way that ensures that they can support their children’s educational dreams and aspirations”.Mr Maguire said education costs had skyrocketed as demand for further education and college degrees had spiked in the tough economy as the jobless head back to school to re-educate themselves.“There is a huge demand for vacancies and only so much supply,” he said.Mr Maguire said Heritage Funds had been in Bermuda for almost two and a half decades, offering high performing, safe and flexible education savings plans.He said Heritage Funds has:* Enrolled 8,000 Bermudian children to date* Paid out almost $30 million to date* And year to date, has paid out approximately $3.2 million in savings and educational assistance payments to just over 800 subscribers and beneficiaries.* Average return on investment for students this year was 7.7 percentWhat sets the Heritage plan apart, Mr Maguire said, was the assurance that it provided families of the safety of its subscribers’ contributions, he said.Those contributions are invested in US Dollar denominated US and Canadian government issued guaranteed and fixed-income securities.“The plan offers a great degree of flexibility as education solutions are designed around each subscriber’s suitability and affordability,” he said.“Another important highlight of the plan is that proceeds can to be used at any recognised college, university or other postsecondary institution worldwide, guaranteeing children the utmost in flexibility to seek out a variety of education pursuits. The average net return on investment for students who received their last scholarship this year was 7.7 percent.”Anyone wanting to set up a savings plan should meet with a representative to determine their financial position and goals and decide on the type of contributions- whether monthly, annual or one-time.The Heritage plan sponsored by the non-profit Heritage International Scholarship Trust Foundation.Those interested in more information about Heritage Education Funds International and education savings plans contact our Bermuda office at 296-8528 or 295-3868, or e-mail charles_jeffers[AT]heritageesp.com Visit our website at www.heritageesp.com