CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - September is National College Savings Month and there are some simple steps families can take now to prepare for the future.

The earlier parents can start saving for their child's education, the better, and there are many ways to do that.

One option is a 529 plan, which is a tax-advantaged savings account that can help pay for college, trade schools and even K-12 private schools.

Martha Kortiak Mert of Saving For College talked more about the 529 plan accounts.

"You can save your earnings or tax defer when you withdraw the money," she said. "It's tax-free on a federal level as long as the money is being used for qualified education expenses, which includes things like tuition and fees, room and board, computers, books, things like that. So it's a really good benefit because that can actually save you thousands of dollars in taxes."

For parents of high-schoolers, it may be time to consider federal student aid.

There were issues that arose last year with the overhaul of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. There were delays in the new form's release, and once it came out, there were processing errors that impacted students' ability to submit on time.

Mert said she is hopeful that once the issues are ironed out, the changes to the form will make for a better overall experience.

"They removed a lot of the questions," she said of the new FAFSA form. "A lot of the information is pulled directly from the IRS, from your tax returns, so you don't have to go and dig those out and put that information in. So it makes the whole application process a lot faster and easier."

As for this year, the US Department of Education said the FAFSA form will be released to a limited set of students and institutions on Oct. 1. It will be available to everyone on or before Dec. 1.

The department said the process will allow it "to test and resolve issues before making the form available to all students and contributors."