• Since I don't have children, I opened college savings accounts for my two nieces and one nephew.
• It's a college savings account, but I won't force them into college; they can do what they want.
• I hope the kids understand the true cost of college tuition.

I love sharing quality time and new experiences with people I love. Naturally, when I became an aunt, my new experiences included my two nieces and one nephew.

When my nephew expressed interest in football, I took him to a field where we practiced kicking field goals. When my niece wanted to make her Halloween costume, I spent an evening taking her store to store, finding the supplies she needed.

As an aunt, I see it as my mission to support their parents. The parents had already spent a full week feeding the kids, ensuring they were clean and properly dressed for school, and going to endless soccer practices. Their parents don't also need to spend their Saturday teaching a kid how to hold a tennis racket.

To further support their parents, I opened college savings accounts eight years ago for my nieces and nephew. My goal is to pay for one-third of their expenses — based on the cost of tuition and a dorm at the University of Minnesota.

My husband and I have two incomes and no kids. We have some extra money to tuck aside and help our nieces and nephew.

It took me 15 years to pay off my own student loans

I was lucky to have parents who helped and a low student loan interest rate. I also went to Western Washington University, a school frequently called a good value — and it was.

I graduated with less than $30,000 in student loans, which took me 15 years to pay off. It wasn't debilitating, but a monthly payment stung each month.

I hear horror stories from people whose loan balances are increasing despite making payments.

I don't want that for anyone — especially my nephew and nieces.

I want them to know they can go to school — if they want to

My nephew, the oldest, is 12, but he's already aware that the cost of a college education can be prohibitive. I don't want him to worry that he won't be able to go, but I don't want to force him, either. The money I saved for him will be his regardless of his higher education endeavors.

Admittedly, I haven't formulated how they will get the money out of their accounts if they don't use it for school. They might want the money to start a business, buy a home, or raise children. Withdrawing it for those reasons would come with a tax bill and penalty, which would come off the amount they receive.

I support them using the money for purposes like those — but they'll have to get their use approved since I control the accounts.

I'll probably require an age requirement for cash distributions because I know if I were given thousands of dollars at 18, I would have spent it on something frivolous.

I want them to understand the true cost of higher education

I believe that kids should contribute to their own higher education so they value it and the opportunities it offers.

It's really easy to spend someone else's money. But I want to invest in them and their futures, not sponsor their playtime. Sure, study abroad if you can. Take a few fun classes. But I want them to progress toward that degree because auntie's money won't last forever.

I also want them to know that different schools have different price tags. The kids will know their money will go further if they take advanced placement classes in high school or earn credits at a community college, but it won't go as far at a private university.

The choice is theirs to make, and I'll be there to support them every step of the way.