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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2015 12:34:38 GMT -5
Thinking about this more ... my goal is just general savings. I'm not specifically saving for college. I'll likely have enough to pay 100% for both kids but what if I don't want to? What if one kid goes for the pricy school instead of the state U that would provide the same education for what I consider a frivolous reason, like because friends go there? Then maybe I'd have the money to pay for the fancy school but would only want to pay the state school price? Who knows? So I'll just save all the money for myself and decide when the time comes. Keeping my options open, which does not mean that I don't value education! You can still do that with a 529, it's still YOUR money. My kids start heading down a path I'm not thrilled with I'm using it towards a cabin on the lake. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
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quince
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Post by quince on Oct 20, 2015 12:58:18 GMT -5
No specific savings for college. We'll save, and we'll have money later with which to do whatever we need. Retirement first, obviously. The offspring will be clued in before the start of high school that he needs to figure out where things are going, because his parents are not funding whatever the hell he decides to do after he graduates. We may(almost definitely will) help, to whatever degree we can or desire to help, but the primary responsibility will be his. (We will also help him research his options and figure out what he can do to make things easier BEFORE he graduates, of course.)
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Oct 20, 2015 13:16:49 GMT -5
Thinking about this more ... my goal is just general savings. I'm not specifically saving for college. I'll likely have enough to pay 100% for both kids but what if I don't want to? What if one kid goes for the pricy school instead of the state U that would provide the same education for what I consider a frivolous reason, like because friends go there? Then maybe I'd have the money to pay for the fancy school but would only want to pay the state school price? Who knows? So I'll just save all the money for myself and decide when the time comes. Keeping my options open, which does not mean that I don't value education! You can still do that with a 529, it's still YOUR money. My kids start heading down a path I'm not thrilled with I'm using it towards a cabin on the lake. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) Well I'm gambling against the 529 but who knows what will be the right thing to do. My state doesn't offer perks so all I'd get is the tax free growth. I'd rather try to Roth my money.
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debthaven
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Post by debthaven on Oct 20, 2015 17:38:30 GMT -5
College is cheaper here in Europe but it is not always free like everybody thinks. At this point it's the price of state schools in the US. DH saved part of his inheritance for DS3's education. At the time (15 years ago) DH thought that money would cover DS3's Bachelors and Masters in the UK, both tuition and accommodation. At this point it will cover about 80% of his Bachelor's tuition and accommodation, and we will cash flow the difference. I'm not worrying about his Masters degree. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) We will help him if we can, but like some others, although I feel it is our responsibility to get our kids through college loan-free (which we can do only because we're in Europe) I don't feel the same way about grad school. My ex's wealthy family paid for both DS1's and DS2's Bachelors and Masters degrees. Despite not having loans, both DS1 and DS2 are successful and productive members of society who got jobs as soon as they graduated (in fact DS1 was hired PT while doing his Masters.) Alas the ex's family's largesse stopped at DD. So we told DD she could either go away to a school where education was free, and we'd pay her room and board, or she could go to a private college in Paris, and live at home. She chose to live at home, because she got into a good school, and because she wanted to be near her (then) boyfriend. But she sometimes resented the fact that her brothers got a "free ride" and she didn't. I paid about 65% of her tuition (some of it with my inheritance) and the grandparents (initially begrudgingly) helped with the rest. DD didn't continue on for a Masters (which was certainly wise) and she is working now too. DS3 (HS senior) is the last kid and I will be relieved when this "college business" is over lol. He wanted to go to the US for college, but he didn't do great on his SATs (he does math in French), it's far, and none of us could justify the expense of private college in the US compared to the UK. In the end DS3 opted to go to college in the UK, so that's where he has applied for now, but he will probably apply to Canada too. He is fervently hoping to go to the US for his Masters instead. We will certainly help him if we can, but I know we won't feel the need to have him graduate loan-free with his Masters like we do for his Bachelors.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 20, 2015 20:07:28 GMT -5
My son announced that his goal was to get into Georgetown...and I threw up a little in my mouth. He is only 11 - maybe he will get into drugs or have a serious head injury or something like that. The tuition bill just went up from 120k to 250k ![](//images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/shocked.png) Actually - it went from $50k to $250k. Our state schools are high quality and we would have in-sate tuition.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Oct 21, 2015 5:26:45 GMT -5
The tuition bill just went up from 120k to 250k ![](//images.proboards.com/v5/smiley/shocked.png) Actually - it went from $50k to $250k. Our state schools are high quality and we would have in-sate tuition. Good thing you started to save early ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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luckyme
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Post by luckyme on Oct 21, 2015 8:37:02 GMT -5
We had no savings for college. DH went through a long period of under/unemployment when the kids were young. I was working part time depending on his schedules, so nothing extra to set aside for school.
Today, oldest has worked part time, taken out loans, some fed & state grants and lives at home and commutes. IF she doesn't mess up she should graduate in spring w/ a PTA degree. She will have about $16K in loans to pay back.
DS18 is a high stats kid. None of the PA schools offered the ECE degree he wants. Penn State & Pitt had the programs but he only was offered around $5K in scholarship money. I had a hard time finding something affordable nearby & that meant within a 6 hour drive. He got a full tuition scholarship & engineering scholarships to college, a 15 hour drive away. VEry far, and he won't be home much, but he had to go where it was affordable for a degree. He will graduate w/ the $27K in federal loans at the worst.
Youngest is middle ground w/ the grades. With the money we are paying out to help the older two, there will be even less available for her. I have told her she needs to get good grades if she wants choices. Otherwise she will be doing the 2 yr tract at a local school and working part time. She isn't happy about it, but again, she has to do what is affordable.
I think college has become way overpriced, and it has taken a lot of research & time to find affordable options for higher education. But there are still ways to achieve it, but it isn't easy on anyone involved. So if you are high income, you have many more options, and don't have to go broke doing it.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Oct 21, 2015 8:36:44 GMT -5
My DD's dream school from childhood was always Columbia. I wasn't scared though. I was pretty sure no child of mine would be able to get in. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) We didn't have much money when DD was little. It is only recently that we started making good money. So all our savings, what there was of it, went into our taxable accounts and IRA's. There were some years there were no extra funds to save. I just felt happy that we were able to keep us indoors and not riding a bike to work. It kind of became a double wammy though. We didn't make enough when she was young to save. Then we did right before she went off to college. Financial aid is mostly based on income not savings. So our aid is based on what we make now. DD is taking loans but not because we want her to have skin in the game. I am not convinced that having a kid take out loans actually registers then. The parents I know can't wrap their heads around $25K a year for four years worth of parent plus loans. Why would I think a 17 year old would register that for ten years after graduation they are going to be paying that loan and not doing some things they want because of it. In my mind it is just too abstract. I even see it with adults who are otherwise smart. They will spend more using a credit card than with cash. I don't know why, it just is. So the short answer is we saved a little and are cash flowing about half and taking out some plus loans as well as DD taking out the max on federal loans. Dd worked in HS and has a PT job during school and the summers. That pays for her gas and extras including school supplies and textbooks as well as pizza and a movie once in a while. It isn't ideal but our life has never been ideal. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png) ETA we did actually save what at the time I thought was a good amount for her. It was $12K. Knowing what I know now it isn't even close to what I thought it was for college costs. My mind was still in the 90's when you could go to a state school for $5K-$8k a year. So in my head I thought it would get her close to half of her college education not half of one year. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/doh.gif)
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luckyme
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Post by luckyme on Oct 21, 2015 8:47:03 GMT -5
As I posted above, the kids had to take the most affordable option.
That meant no school loans for us, DH's job is iffy and w/ some health issues I have developed in the past year or so, my plan for working more when they were in college did not happen.
Also, though there are schools that gave great financial aid based on income, I avoided them. Those awards can change too dramatically from year to year. Always go w/ merit aid. DS is guaranteed full tuition over the next 4 years, even when it goes up, it will still be covered.
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Oct 21, 2015 8:51:30 GMT -5
My DD's dream school from childhood was always Columbia. I wasn't scared though. I was pretty sure no child of mine would be able to get in. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png) We didn't have much money when DD was little. It is only recently that we started making good money. So all our savings, what there was of it, went into our taxable accounts and IRA's. There were some years there were no extra funds to save. I just felt happy that we were able to keep us indoors and not riding a bike to work. It kind of became a double wammy though. We didn't make enough when she was young to save. Then we did right before she went off to college. Financial aid is mostly based on income not savings. So our aid is based on what we make now. DD is taking loans but not because we want her to have skin in the game. I am not convinced that having a kid take out loans actually registers then. The parents I know can't wrap their heads around $25K a year for four years worth of parent plus loans. Why would I think a 17 year old would register that for ten years after graduation they are going to be paying that loan and not doing some things they want because of it. In my mind it is just too abstract. I even see it with adults who are otherwise smart. They will spend more using a credit card than with cash. I don't know why, it just is. So the short answer is we saved a little and are cash flowing about half and taking out some plus loans as well as DD taking out the max on federal loans. Dd worked in HS and has a PT job during school and the summers. That pays for her gas and extras including school supplies and textbooks as well as pizza and a movie once in a while. It isn't ideal but our life has never been ideal. ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/grin.png) ETA we did actually save what at the time I thought was a good amount for her. It was $12K. Knowing what I know now it isn't even close to what I thought it was for college costs. My mind was still in the 90's when you could go to a state school for $5K-$8k a year. So in my head I thought it would get her close to half of her college education not half of one year. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/doh.gif) This is an important point. I knew I was taking out loans but I did not think about them in terms of how much the payments would be compared to my future salary, or anything really. It was just something everyone did!
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 21, 2015 8:53:55 GMT -5
We had no savings for college. DH went through a long period of under/unemployment when the kids were young. I was working part time depending on his schedules, so nothing extra to set aside for school. Today, oldest has worked part time, taken out loans, some fed & state grants and lives at home and commutes. IF she doesn't mess up she should graduate in spring w/ a PTA degree. She will have about $16K in loans to pay back. DS18 is a high stats kid. None of the PA schools offered the ECE degree he wants. Penn State & Pitt had the programs but he only was offered around $5K in scholarship money. I had a hard time finding something affordable nearby & that meant within a 6 hour drive. He got a full tuition scholarship & engineering scholarships to college, a 15 hour drive away. VEry far, and he won't be home much, but he had to go where it was affordable for a degree. He will graduate w/ the $27K in federal loans at the worst. Youngest is middle ground w/ the grades. With the money we are paying out to help the older two, there will be even less available for her. I have told her she needs to get good grades if she wants choices. Otherwise she will be doing the 2 yr tract at a local school and working part time. She isn't happy about it, but again, she has to do what is affordable. I think college has become way overpriced, and it has taken a lot of research & time to find affordable options for higher education. But there are still ways to achieve it, but it isn't easy on anyone involved. So if you are high income, you have many more options, and don't have to go broke doing it. Poor kid. Because of birth order she will get less help than the older siblings. Sucks to be her. Why not make the older two take out some private loans so each gets an equal amount of assistance from the parents? I have a friend who spent most of child #2's college money paying legal fee's for child #1 who screwed up royally. There is a lot of resentment there and I can't blame #2 at all. Our children don't ask to be born, and when parents play favorites it hurts.
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Oct 21, 2015 8:58:23 GMT -5
woah, I don't think we can criticize how parents spend their money. I have no idea how I would react if my oldest screwed up, or was in jail or just needed way more help for whatever reason than my second. However, I would hope to have an open enough relationship with both of them to discuss whatever my reasons were and minimize the strain on my kids relationships with each other.
ETA - I would much rather be able to stand on my own than necessitate the help of my parents for the rest of my life. I would not be jealous of a sibling who was unfortunate enough to be in that position, I would feel bad for them.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2015 9:09:47 GMT -5
See, this is part of the reason I prefer separate accounts for each kid. If older son needs bail money there's no way I would get by the psychological "this is wrong" barrier to take it from younger's 529, even if it was technically my money to do with as I choose.
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luckyme
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Post by luckyme on Oct 21, 2015 9:12:47 GMT -5
I see your point Captain, but the older two are going to have significant loans to pay back as it is.
Oldest needed a car to commute, so that is a car loan we now have. It is a long commute often on country roads so couldn't be a beater. She will probably end up costing us the most when I actually think about the numbers.
DS18 is a great kid. He really put in the effort to get the stats to qualify for the significant awards. I was determined to make the numbers work for him. Luckily, he will probably end up costing us the least.
Youngest is too fickle. She does well when she wants to, then decides she isn't going to invest in it and her grades drop. She's been like this since elementary school. So until she changes, I am not willing to invest extra in her education.
We try to treat our kids fairly, that doesn't mean equally.
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yogiii
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Post by yogiii on Oct 21, 2015 9:15:19 GMT -5
See, this is part of the reason I prefer separate accounts for each kid. If older son needs bail money there's no way I would get by the psychological "this is wrong" barrier to take it from younger's 529, even if it was technically my money to do with as I choose. Another + in your 529 column ![](http://images.proboards.com/new/tongue.png)
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 21, 2015 9:20:07 GMT -5
woah, I don't think we can criticize how parents spend their money. I have no idea how I would react if my oldest screwed up, or was in jail or just needed way more help for whatever reason than my second. However, I would hope to have an open enough relationship with both of them to discuss whatever my reasons were and minimize the strain on my kids relationships with each other.
ETA - I would much rather be able to stand on my own than necessitate the help of my parents for the rest of my life. I would not be jealous of a sibling who was unfortunate enough to be in that position, I would feel bad for them. I'm just stating my feelings and what I've seen happening with my friend. The poster I quoted has told their youngest that they plan on spending more on the two oldest and having less available to help them for college. Of course it's their money and they can do what they wish, but don't delude yourself if you thinking the youngest is going to be happy about it. In fact, the OP has already stated that's the case, but seems to be ok with the hurt feelings. Sounds like favorites to me, and like I said, it sucks. Kids don't ask to be born. That's the parents choice, and how the parents treat their children is also their choice.
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The Captain
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Post by The Captain on Oct 21, 2015 9:26:25 GMT -5
I see your point Captain, but the older two are going to have significant loans to pay back as it is. Oldest needed a car to commute, so that is a car loan we now have. It is a long commute often on country roads so couldn't be a beater. She will probably end up costing us the most when I actually think about the numbers. DS18 is a great kid. He really put in the effort to get the stats to qualify for the significant awards. I was determined to make the numbers work for him. Luckily, he will probably end up costing us the least. Youngest is too fickle. She does well when she wants to, then decides she isn't going to invest in it and her grades drop. She's been like this since elementary school. So until she changes, I am not willing to invest extra in her education. We try to treat our kids fairly, that doesn't mean equally. Ok, now I get it. When you said the youngest was the middle with grades I didn't get this. For some reason my mind read it as if she was in middle school still pulling in good grades. If the two oldest have consistently gotten good grades, and the youngest hasn't, then yea - I'd make sure the ones who always had good grades would be able to go to college. Still - in this case the birth order does suck because she could totally get her act together and be where the two oldest is by the time schools starts. Usually it's the other way around, where there are fewer resources for the older kids and more for the younger kid. I hope it works out for all of them. (Yet another reason I'm very glad I stopped at one).
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Oct 21, 2015 21:36:22 GMT -5
I see your point Captain, but the older two are going to have significant loans to pay back as it is. Oldest needed a car to commute, so that is a car loan we now have. It is a long commute often on country roads so couldn't be a beater. She will probably end up costing us the most when I actually think about the numbers. DS18 is a great kid. He really put in the effort to get the stats to qualify for the significant awards. I was determined to make the numbers work for him. Luckily, he will probably end up costing us the least. Youngest is too fickle. She does well when she wants to, then decides she isn't going to invest in it and her grades drop. She's been like this since elementary school. So until she changes, I am not willing to invest extra in her education. We try to treat our kids fairly, that doesn't mean equally. Ok, now I get it. When you said the youngest was the middle with grades I didn't get this. For some reason my mind read it as if she was in middle school still pulling in good grades. If the two oldest have consistently gotten good grades, and the youngest hasn't, then yea - I'd make sure the ones who always had good grades would be able to go to college. Still - in this case the birth order does suck because she could totally get her act together and be where the two oldest is by the time schools starts. Usually it's the other way around, where there are fewer resources for the older kids and more for the younger kid. I hope it works out for all of them. (Yet another reason I'm very glad I stopped at one). I'm more concerned that there will be fewer resources for our youngest, compared to the older ones. The FAFSA definitely favors larger family size, and DS5 is a good number of years behind the others. I've been running the numbers for years, and projecting out for him it does not look like it will be easy to qualify for the same aid his older siblings got. DH and I are trying to make up for lost time in the retirement savings arena, and the formulas have definitely taken some big steps backwards over the years. At the current trend, even a modest EF will be fair game for EFC in the near future. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/headbang.gif)
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Oct 21, 2015 22:05:07 GMT -5
Ok, now I get it. When you said the youngest was the middle with grades I didn't get this. For some reason my mind read it as if she was in middle school still pulling in good grades. If the two oldest have consistently gotten good grades, and the youngest hasn't, then yea - I'd make sure the ones who always had good grades would be able to go to college. Still - in this case the birth order does suck because she could totally get her act together and be where the two oldest is by the time schools starts. Usually it's the other way around, where there are fewer resources for the older kids and more for the younger kid. I hope it works out for all of them. (Yet another reason I'm very glad I stopped at one). I'm more concerned that there will be fewer resources for our youngest, compared to the older ones. The FAFSA definitely favors larger family size, and DS5 is a good number of years behind the others. I've been running the numbers for years, and projecting out for him it does not look like it will be easy to qualify for the same aid his older siblings got. DH and I are trying to make up for lost time in the retirement savings arena, and the formulas have definitely taken some big steps backwards over the years. At the current trend, even a modest EF will be fair game for EFC in the near future. ![](http://syonidv.hodginsmedia.com/vsmileys/headbang.gif) I think Captain meant that as the gets get older and parents see promotions/pay raises... Younger kids tend to benefit more from their parents increase in disposable income. Ex: my childhood vs my brother and sister childhood is night and day. My mom had me at 21, my brother and sister at 39 & 40. She can provide them With way more than she was able to provide me.
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Malarky
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Post by Malarky on Oct 21, 2015 22:13:41 GMT -5
I have two in community college right now.
My deal was always that I would pay $25,000 or one years' tuition, whichever came first.
DS went to one semester of college-$13,000-and did abysmally. He came to the realization that he wasn't ready and stepped out. Fast forward a year and a half, he's taking classes, paying for them himself, even though I would have.
DD didn't get into the college of her dreams because of her grades. She could have. She just made it a priority too late. Also taking classes at community college.
Right now I'm paying for DD. Kudos to her, she had the funds to pay, and was willing to do so.
We get absolutely no financial aid. The powers that be don't care that we only recently made this much money. They don't care about layoffs, retraining, workman's comp, student loans, surgeries not covered by workman's comp, and second mortgages taken just so we'd have a place to live. The powers that be think I can live on Kraft mac and cheese...
MY goals....Launched kids who don't have loans that strangle them into their 40's ....
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lurkyloo
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Post by lurkyloo on Oct 22, 2015 2:05:13 GMT -5
MD has a pretty good in-state prepaid tuition plan--good for any state college/university or equivalent value towards private or out of state. So we're planning $42K in the next year or so which will buy 4 years for DS. We also have 20-25K in a 529 for him (2 years old). DH and I were both fortunate enough to have our college paid for and we absolutely plan to do the same for DS.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Oct 22, 2015 7:27:52 GMT -5
We didn't have much money when DD was little. It is only recently that we started making good money. So all our savings, what there was of it, went into our taxable accounts and IRA's. There were some years there were no extra funds to save. I just felt happy that we were able to keep us indoors and not riding a bike to work. It kind of became a double wammy though. We didn't make enough when she was young to save. Then we did right before she went off to college. Financial aid is mostly based on income not savings. So our aid is based on what we make now. Yeah, Carl, I understand that, but we'll be in a version of the above situation. When DD1 started college we were a family of 7 living on a single income, so retirement savings were bare-bones. Now I'm working part-time, but it has taken a while for my income to get to even $10k and I'm aggressively funding retirement with my income and a larger portion of DH's to make up lost ground. Meanwhile college costs increase faster than inflation, aid increases are 1 step forward, 2 steps back, and EFC formulas are rapidly going backward. Due to the weird way FAFSA defines "dependents", at least some of the older kids count for FAFSA family size for a year or 2 after they graduate (as long as they don't go to grad school), helping aid for kids 3 and 4, but DS5 has a big enough gap that he is effectively an only child for FAFSA purposes, despite being raised in a family with the long term costs of 7 people. The biggest issue is retirement savings, and the fact that the FAFSA adds back retirement contributions, in effect saying that you should choose to prioritize college spending over retirement saving. With a single kid, you can take break for a few years and divert to college costs. Our kids span 14 years, add 4 years to complete the last degree and you are at 18 years, a long time to forgo retirement savings. When DS5 graduates, we will be 60/61.
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luckyme
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Post by luckyme on Oct 22, 2015 11:01:07 GMT -5
We get absolutely no financial aid. The powers that be don't care that we only recently made this much money. They don't care about layoffs, retraining, workman's comp, student loans, surgeries not covered by workman's comp, and second mortgages taken just so we'd have a place to live. The powers that be think I can live on Kraft mac and cheese... MY goals ....Launched kids who don't have loans that strangle them into their 40's .... This is our goal as well. Oldest should have about $16K, about half of what a full time job should pay w/ her degree right out of school. DS18 will have $27K. He's only a freshman and the pressure of finding internships/co-ops is very high. He doesn't want the 5 yr program. He thinks the engineering degree will enable him to find employment easily, but I am finding through another forum that isn't the case at all. I think he should still be able to manage that debt. We are going to talk when he is home for Christmas about some of this. DD15 has time, and her debt load is still to be determined, but I want it to be about half of her expected income. She has already been told this is how she is going to need to look at it. If all three manage to do as I hope, I will be very happy. Hopefully, they can fully appreciate this when they are a little older. I think the repayment is still very nebulous to them.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Oct 22, 2015 15:10:09 GMT -5
I will pay off the last of my student loans roughly 2 months before my 40th birthday.
Now, as I said before, our plan is only to have $10k saved specifically for Pop Tart's launch fund. That doesn't mean we won't offer other financial help. In my case, I took out $16k in undergrad student loans (graduated in 2000). I then deferred/forbore them for a few years, then consolidated them at 3.5%APR in 2003, put them in another forbearance/deferment (whichever one still charges interest on the unsubs). By the time I actually started making payments on a regular basis, the total had grown to over $20k. I then put them on a graduated repayment plan. Then, in 2006-2008, I took out another $37k in loans to pay for grad school. MIL passed in 2012, and C and I decided to use some of her life insurance money to pay off the grad school loans (which were in the 5-6% range).
As of today, I still owe $8,620 on the undergrad loans, 15.5 years after I graduated. However, I will be paying them off next week.
I do not regret one penny of my student loans. And while I made some dumb choices in the early stages, I have had no issues actually paying on my loans. I am only paying off the USL loans now for the emotional purpose of having paid off my student loans before 40.
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2girlsdad
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 16:11:56 GMT -5
Posts: 114
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Post by 2girlsdad on Oct 24, 2015 8:35:11 GMT -5
We have 2 girls. Sophomore in HS and 8th grade. We've promised them 2 years full boat at any college that they get into. The hook is that we've been discussing that if they choose their 2nd or 3rd choice, they might be able to get out with zero loans. We'll see, but we want them to understand the trade offs. We have nearly $95k for the older, 85K for the younger in 529's. We'll cash flow the rest and may pay off any loans (or assist) after the fact depending on need/our ability.
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wmpeon
Established Member
Joined: Mar 15, 2011 21:08:24 GMT -5
Posts: 344
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Post by wmpeon on Oct 24, 2015 9:22:03 GMT -5
FAFSA is a joke. I came from a low-income family with 4 kids, and sis and I were entering college at the same time (we're twins). We were told time and again how we'd be eligible for oodles of aid due to our situation, that is until the actual number crunching began. Sis and I were made ineligible for aid not because of our parents' income (of which there was little), but because we were ourselves each working a p/t minimum wage job and were "making too much money" to qualify. I guess that's what happens when you prioritize paying car insurance, gas, food, etc.
Sis and I were each considered very grown up for our age. Even so, it wasn't until graduation when I started paying back my student loans that I realized what kind of debt hole I got myself into. It took years of working two jobs to finally pay off appx 21K in loans. I can't begin to imagine how people handle it with the current price of tuition.
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