Catch Up to College Savings

And you could always help your kid make the loan payments. Just know that, in theory, those payments are gifts to your kid, reminds Spiegelman. And you can only give $12,000 a year per person at this time to get a gift-tax exclusion.

Then don't forget about hitting up grandma and grandpa. And if they're feeling especially generous, they could pay the college directly, and then the payment won't cut into their annual gift-tax exclusion of $12,000 each. Tuition is a freebie when the check goes right to the school.

Grandma and grandpa, along with Aunt Milly and Cousin Joe, can also help with something else: Upromise. It's free money, and while it may not amount to much, again, every little bit helps, Hurley notes.

Here's how it works: Companies like Exxon Mobil(XOM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr), Bed Bath & Beyond(BBBY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and the Sharper Image (SHRP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) sign up with Upromise and will give you a percentage -- or rebate -- for every dollar you spend.

For instance, if you order $300 worth of sweaters from Eddie Bauer this winter, you'll get 3%, or $9, deposited into your Upromise account. It may not sound like much, but a percentage also will be added each time you buy products like Tide detergent, Huggies diapers (had I known!) and Fujifilm. Check upromise.com for a complete list of participating companies.

All in all, try not to feel guilty that your little extraterrestrial may have a college bill to pay. You'll do what you can and, fingers crossed, he'll come out with a good job and be able to pay the loans himself.

Truthfully, you should be more worried about the fact that he'll be going to fraternity parties, eating pizza for breakfast and often forgetting to, uh, phone home.