This week and next many public school students go back to school here on the East Coast, my daughters included. And here’s a stat about my own kids that is hard to fathom–my eldest heads off to college in four years.

Like most parents my husband and I have thought about saving to pay for her college education since the day she was born–and her sister, too. And, for the most part, we’ve been pretty good about putting money aside for both of our kids. All birthday, holiday and special-occasion gift money goes right into their college savings account. Additionally, through our state, we have $25 taken out of our bank account monthly and put into a state-run college-savings account we’ve set up for our daughters.

Seems that in all we do, we are the exception, rather than the rule. According to a national study from Sallie Mae and Gallup, four out of 10 parents with children under age 18 have not started saving for college.

With the arrival of the back-to-school season and September as National College Savings month (as well as National Coupon Month, as we learned in yesterday’s blog posting), here are three tips to get you back on track for saving for college–assuming that’s something on your “to do” list:

1. Estimate the full cost of a college degree.
Sallie Mae’s Education Investment Planner is a free tool that can help families estimate future college costs based on school type they envision their child attending. This way you can freak out upfront at how expensive college has become and then, once you’ve calmed down, plan to save accordingly.

2. Open a 529 plan.
529 college savings plans enable families to open accounts to save for higher education expenses while their earnings grow free of federal income taxes. Savings can be used at any eligible two- or four-year college, vocational school or technical institution around the country.  Many states offer incentives to residents ranging from state tax deductions or tax credits to matching grants, and most have low contribution minimums. We’ve had 529 plans for both of our girls since their first year of life.

3. Earn free money.
Register at Upromise.com to start earning up to 25% on purchases for college. (Upromise is that program with the logo of a “U” wearing a mortarboard with a tassel.) Members can receive money back while making eligible purchases such as gas and groceries, dining out, and back-to-school supplies. Rewards accumulate in a member’s Upromise account and can be transferred into a 529 college savings plan account administered by Upromise Investments or used to repay eligible Sallie Mae-serviced student loans–good to know if your kids are already out of college.

How are you saving for college? Post a comment to let us know.