It’s all over the news wherever you go: layaway programs, the system that lets you set an item to the side until you can pay for it, are back in style thanks to the sagging economy. What might surprise you is that layaway programs aren’t just for department stores anymore — they can be for college too!

Thanks to the recent creation of the Texas Tuition Promise Fund, residents of Texas can start paying now for whatever Texas college or out-of-state institution their children wish to attend in the future. The perks are simple and hard to pass up: parents get to lock in today’s tuition rates and can start paying now rather than waiting for higher costs to hit them when high school graduation rolls around.

The prepaid college tuition program also has provisions for scenarios in which students earn scholarships (your payments are put into a 529 college savings plan and can be put towards graduate school or other college expenses), your child chooses a college outside of Texas (your payments still go towards the school though you’ll have to pay out-of-pocket for the difference between your locked-in-rate and the school’s tuition), or you need funds for another child (you can transfer your payments).

Enrollment for the program will generally extend from September through March, except in the case of younger children. Make sure to visit “Every Chance, Every Texan” to learn more and get enrolled.

– Genevieve M. Blaber