You might feel like you need a degree to figure out the best way to save for your child's college education.

Never mind an extra income.

But there are different options -- for nearly every budget -- that can help amass at least some of the money it will cost to pay for an education years from now.

In addition to prepaid plans that let you lock in current tuition prices, a variety of investments are designed to make your money grow.

Investments, interest rates and fees vary in these plans, so you will need to do some research before you choose one of them.

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS

Aside from prepaid tuition plans, many states offer 529 savings plans, named after a portion of the federal tax code. A 529 plan can refer to a prepaid program in which the tuition is guaranteed to be covered, like the kind Florida has, or college savings plans, in which investors manage their own accounts and there is no guarantee of the plan's value at the time a child is ready to go to school. Florida has one of those, too: the Florida Investment Plan.

Many advisors recommend using one of these plans along with a prepaid tuition plan. The money from the savings plan can be used for college expenses beyond tuition, such as textbooks.

And if there's money left in the plan when the student finishes his or her undergraduate education, it can be used toward a graduate degree, said Cathy Pareto, a certified financial planner in Coral Gables.

Nearly every state offers at least one of these plans, and no matter where you live, you can choose any plan you feel comfortable with, said Todd Battaglia, president of Meg Green & Associates, a wealth management firm, in North Miami Beach.

But you should take some time before picking a plan.

Just as when you choose other investments, you'll have to be mindful of fees associated with the plans, the composition of the portfolio and how risky the investments are.

``You have to be very diligent in managing that money,'' he said. ``Making a mistake there can be very costly.''

Even if you buy into a plan when your child is a newborn, you don't have a lifetime to wait for the investment to pay off -- or make up for volatility in the markets.

The U.S. Treasury said families with these plans lost $25 billion from the end of 2007 to the end of 2008, as the stock market slid downward. So Battaglia recommends plans that have a mix of assets that become less risky over time -- the closer your child is to going to college.

``That puts it on autopilot, so you don't have to become a portfolio manager,'' he said.

Unlike some other college savings options, he said, these plans allow big contributions per year -- $13,000 per year per parent or $26,000 for a married couple per child, he said, and the maximum contributions are allowed regardless of income.

COVERDELL EDUCATION

SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

Coverdell accounts work like IRAs: You make an annual contribution to an investment account and the investment grows free of federal taxes. Like 529s, the withdrawals are tax free if the money is spent on education. But the annual contribution limit is just $2,000.

``Maybe that will make a dent,'' Pareto said, ``but the other programs are so much more superior.''

These accounts can also be used to pay for private elementary and secondary school, however, not just college -- at least through 2010, unless Congress extends that provision. A married couple who files joint tax returns can have an income of no more than $190,000 to contribute the full $2,000 to a Coverdell account. A single filer can't earn more than $95,000.

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