Here's a reality check: If you have a 13-year-old child, and you decided on New Years Day 2009 that you were going to start saving money to cover 100 percent of typical college costs for that child, you would need $146,356 in the bank at the start of freshman year. That's monthly contributions of $1,258.

How can you figure that out? Use any number of online calculators. There's an easy one at SavingForCollege.com, published by Bankrate. Once you enter the basic information about your child, you can change the range of assumptions the calculator makes and come up with a figure that better reflects your reality.

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There are similar calculators at Sallie Mae, MSN, CNN and the College Board, to name a few.

Feel better? No? Then the best place to start putting away (a lot) of pennies is a 529 College Savings Plans.

Tax free, easy to manage and applicable to most accredited public and private universities and colleges in the U.S., 529 College Savings Plans are state-managed investment accounts. The money saved can be used for tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies. They are open to anyone, with no residency restrictions and no limits on income levels. (The Securities and Exchange Commission says that, with a few exceptions, the only way to keep your 529 money tax free is to make withdrawals for eligible college expenses.)

The College Savings Plans Network, published by the National Association of State Treasurers, offers the most thorough guide to 529s. The site will step you through the process of opening an account, from estimating your target savings to comparing programs state by state and identifying every institute of higher education eligible for the program. You can then link to each state agency administering the plan.

There are two kinds of 529s.

In a prepaid tuition plan, you are purchasing future tuition at today’s rate, in any amount you like, as a one-time lump sum or monthly installments payments. The program pools the money and makes investments, then pays tuition when it is needed.

Investment plans create an opportunity for participants to save money on behalf of a designated beneficiary, with contributions dependent on an individual's goals. The plans are based on stock or bond funds, with some guarantee a minimum rate of return. The main difference between the two plans is that the investment account money can be used for specified college expenses beyond tuition.