Take a peek at college costs

I love online calculators.

Plug in some numbers, and just like that, I know how much to save for a vacation, retirement or to pay off my mortgage early. Plug in a different set of numbers from the fantasy world where I save more, and the future gets even brighter.

The only online calculators I've avoided are those that estimate the cost of college. Just the thought of seeing how far I am from where I need to be to pay for my son's college education scares the living daylights out of me.

Finally, this week I screwed up my courage and gave the College Board's calculator a whirl. Find it at collegeboard.com .

I started by plugging in $17,424, the current cost for tuition, fees, room and board, books, etc. listed on UNC-Chapel Hill's Web site (though there's no guarantee that's where he'll end up despite my years of brainwashing). Then I filled in the rest of the blanks: current savings, monthly savings, years until college and the like and clicked calculate. The results weren't pretty: annual cost had jumped to $24,517 (projecting only a 5percent annual increase) or $105,985 for four years.

According to the College Board, most parents pay for 35 percent of college through savings and the rest through current income and borrowing. The calculations showed that by the time he's ready, I'd need to have almost $40,000 saved to make that 35 percent. I need to do better, or else I'll be borrowing more.

Borrowing, of course, brings its own headaches. Excedrin headache No. 1 - or so I've been told - is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms, aka FAFSA.

FAFSA forms must be completed to be considered for all federal and most state financial aid, including scholarships and grants, and this is the time high school seniors and their parents need to fill them out. It's also the time of year when you can get help navigating the form from people who understand it.

FAFSA Day is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. In the Triangle, help will be available at N.C. State University, St. Augustine's College and Wake Tech in Raleigh, N.C. Central University in Durham, Johnston Community College in Smithfield, and at State Employees' Credit Unions in Orange County.

For the list of sites go to CFNC.org/fafsaday or call 866-866-2362. Once you find a site, register.

Now for the homework. Parents will need to bring federal 1040 tax forms for 2009 for themselves and their child (if you haven't gotten around to doing your taxes yet, bring the W-2s); and a Personal Identification Number. You'll need a PIN for at least one parent and for the student. You can get those in advance from the U.S. Department of Education Web site, www.pin.ed.gov.

You also need to fill out as much as you can of the FAFSA Web Worksheet at www.fafsa.gov.

FAFSA Day is sponsored by the College Foundation of North Carolina, the N.C. Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the State Employees' Credit Union.

While I'm talking freebies, you can also get help with your 2009 taxes courtesy of accounting students in NCSU's College of Management. They've been certified by the IRS. They'll be available every Saturday to those whose household income doesn't top $49,000.

Find out more at www.mgt.ncsu.edu.

If you meet the income requirements but can't get to NCSU, you can also get free help at the IRS office in Raleigh (4405 Bland Road) on Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In either case, bring a valid driver's license or photo ID for yourself and spouse; Social Security cards for you and anyone else listed on your return, date of birth for everyone listed, all income statements and any documents that show taxes were withheld, last year's tax return if available, and proof that you have an account at a bank or credit union if you want any refund directly deposited.