20 unusual ways to save money: Buy a condo for your college kid

Buy a condo for my college kid? Even my husband thought I was crazy. But, every summer for the last nine years we have moved one or more of our kids from one dump to another on their college campuses. Complete with slanting floors in the kitchens and bathrooms you could not fit a rug in, each apartment seemed worse than the last one and rented for $1500 to $2500. So when my daughter announced she was applying to the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and would be spending another four to five years in MadCity, I thought there must be a better way.

I saw that a new condo complex was breaking ground just down the street. Even before she was accepted at the school, I put down a deposit on a one bedroom condo with a den. Located just a block from State Street and the Capital square, it is prime real estate with the city in walking distance. With the pre-construction price break we were able to add a number of upgrades including granite in the kitchen and bathroom, a whirlpool tub, a two sided fireplace and hardwood floors.