mirkwood Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 51 minutes ago, MormonGator said: Hey, those degrees offered in the back of Rolling Stone magazine are expensive! ...and as useful as an English degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, mirkwood said: ...and as useful as an English degree. More so actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 On 6/30/2018 at 3:27 PM, Fether said: I hear about this concept all the time on TV and Dave Ramsey has it part of his total money make over, but I have never met anyone whose parents saved for their college not any parent that had a college fund for their children. Do people save money for their children’s college? Is that a good idea? It's standard Filipino practice to pay for children's colleges. I call this "Retirement Investment" - the cycle of life, ya know... parents pay for the kids' education (and harp at them to get straight A's) to jump-start their careers and the successful children take care of their elderly parents. We carried this tradition over to my 2 kids even as I didn't avail of my parents' generosity and worked my way through college so they can concentrate all their resources on my older brother who went to med school. My husband's military parents could barely afford a roof over their heads, let alone save up for college so my husband worked his way through. On 7/1/2018 at 4:02 PM, Pressing Forward said: Yep 529 with TRowPrice. Parents never paid a dime of my college, but my inlaws paid some of my brides. Utah Educational Savings Plan run by Vanguard is the best 529 among all the states. It is what we have for our kids. A note on colleges in today's world: TRADE SCHOOLS have a lot going for them more so than Universities. A 529 can be used for accredited trade schools too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 My parents didn't have a college fund for me I got a soccer scholarship. I will have a college fund for my kids, that is part of being a parent is paying for your kids education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday21 Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 Commercial message: There are some deals out there. State schools can be inexpensive. Some Ivy League schools seem to have a quota for low income earning families. seashmore 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 Start saving now, average cost of 4yr university in state school is around 20k/yr. So just a 4yr degree runs about 80k. You can save, do a couple of years at community college, and live at home so maybe you can cut that in half. The reality is that most kids aren't going to earn 40-80k working summer jobs. Starting real life looking up at a mountain of debt is no way to go. seashmore 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Lee said: My parents didn't have a college fund for me I got a soccer scholarship. I will have a college fund for my kids, that is part of being a parent is paying for your kids education. I don't consider a college degree as a necessary part of "paying for your kids' education". A college degree is optional. If your kid graduated from high school without a single marketable skill, something went wrong. If you are faced with the choice of paying for college for your kids or saving for your retirement, you save for your retirement. It is not a guarantee that your kid will get out of college successful enough to be able to take care of you in your old age. Edited July 3, 2018 by anatess2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 3 hours ago, omegaseamaster75 said: Start saving now, average cost of 4yr university in state school is around 20k/yr. So just a 4yr degree runs about 80k. You can save, do a couple of years at community college, and live at home so maybe you can cut that in half. The reality is that most kids aren't going to earn 40-80k working summer jobs. Starting real life looking up at a mountain of debt is no way to go. My husband graduated with a Bachelor's degree at the University by working full-time at $35K/yr and taking 12 credits a semester. No debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pressing Forward Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 4 hours ago, anatess2 said: Utah Educational Savings Plan run by Vanguard is the best 529 among all the states. It is what we have for our kids. A note on colleges in today's world: TRADE SCHOOLS have a lot going for them more so than Universities. A 529 can be used for accredited trade schools too. Anything that starts with ewwwtah is strictly forbidden in our home. NeuroTypical and Backroads 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 3 hours ago, anatess2 said: I don't consider a college degree as a necessary part of "paying for your kids' education". A college degree is optional. If your kid graduated from high school without a single marketable skill, something went wrong. If you are faced with the choice of paying for college for your kids or saving for your retirement, you save for your retirement. It is not a guarantee that your kid will get out of college successful enough to be able to take care of you in your old age. If I raise my child and they decide they want to be a Lawyer like myself or a Doctor or go into academia like their mother, then my wife and I would support them financially as best we could. I would always put my kids first, I am young and having my first child so hopefully after I put them through college I will still have time to save for my wife and myself's retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pressing Forward Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 50 minutes ago, Lee said: If I raise my child and they decide they want to be a Lawyer like myself or a Doctor or go into academia like their mother, then my wife and I would support them financially as best we could. I would always put my kids first, I am young and having my first child so hopefully after I put them through college I will still have time to save for my wife and myself's retirement. If you can only afford to save for retirement, then that’s what one should do first. You can’t borrow for retirement, but you can for College. Its nice if one has the resources to take care of their kids education. While we have had that ability, my kids will pay for one year of the four, and all past that. They have to have some skin in the game. It’s 100% more than I got from my parents and they definitely had the means available to them. seashmore 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 (edited) On 7/3/2018 at 5:50 PM, Lee said: If I raise my child and they decide they want to be a Lawyer like myself or a Doctor or go into academia like their mother, then my wife and I would support them financially as best we could. I would always put my kids first, I am young and having my first child so hopefully after I put them through college I will still have time to save for my wife and myself's retirement. This is your choice. It is not a necessity. Many lawyers and doctors paid their way through college and came out with very minimal, if any, debt. Saying you would always put your kids first is very noble. But it's not ideal. The balanced cycle of life is that you put your kids first until they are adults and the wheel turns such that the transition starts for the responsibility to transfer from the parents to the kids. This is what's necessary - that stage for the development of the kids into responsibility taking on more of the burden of the family - as it prepares them for parenting BEFORE they become parents. Then the wheel keep turning such that by the time the parents get older the kids fully take on the responsibility of the family which includes, not just their own children, but also the elderly. The culture of big families show this in stark relief. Children start to take on responsibility very early - taking over the care of the younger siblings including helping to pay for their education. As families become smaller, the culture started to shift such that parents treat their kids as special treasures that can't just be thrown to the world to fend for themselves because, if that kid fails, that's it. There's no other children to share the burden of the family. Unfortunately, this also causes children to not be sufficiently prepared for responsibility. But I'm talking ideological socio-cultural generalities. Not individual adaptation. You do you. Edited July 5, 2018 by anatess2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 7/3/2018 at 3:37 PM, Pressing Forward said: Anything that starts with ewwwtah is strictly forbidden in our home. Well, that's simply discrimination, not financial advice. Anyway, Clark Howard recommended UESP when I was researching for 529's. The only thing that beat UESP is your own State 529 if your kid plans to go to that state's unis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 On 7/3/2018 at 11:38 AM, anatess2 said: My husband graduated with a Bachelor's degree at the University by working full-time at $35K/yr and taking 12 credits a semester. No debt. Exception not the norm, but thanks for pointing out the exception again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 4 minutes ago, omegaseamaster75 said: Exception not the norm, but thanks for pointing out the exception again. If it is an Exception, that's only because only a few people chose to go that route, not that it is not possible or even completely doable. What can I say... these new-fangled kids are used to having everything handed to them on a silver platter otherwise it's... muh oppression, we need socialism now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 38 minutes ago, omegaseamaster75 said: On 7/3/2018 at 12:38 PM, anatess2 said: My husband graduated with a Bachelor's degree at the University by working full-time at $35K/yr and taking 12 credits a semester. No debt. Exception not the norm, but thanks for pointing out the exception again. I got my BS from the U of U while working part time, occasionally having pell grants, and having some help from parents. I'm thinking if you pile up all the "norm" and add in all the tons and tons of exceptions, it would be a pretty flat bell curve. (Translation - there are lots and lots of unique situations that don't fit "the norm" of going into tons of debt.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 https://ticas.org/sites/default/files/pub_files/Debt_Facts_and_Sources.pdf NeuroTypical 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeuroTypical Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 12 minutes ago, omegaseamaster75 said: https://ticas.org/sites/default/files/pub_files/Debt_Facts_and_Sources.pdf Key learnings: - Go to public college. - Don't do private loans. - Don't fall for the statistic that says poor people are undisciplined fools. If you qualify for a pell grant, know truths about money and borrowing. Other learnings: - Work your rear end off to not go into debt, and it's totally possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 Just now, NeuroTypical said: Key learnings: - Go to public college. - Don't do private loans. - Don't fall for the statistic that says poor people are undisciplined fools. If you qualify for a pell grant, know truths about money and borrowing. Other learnings: - Work your rear end off to not go into debt, and it's totally possible. The most eye opening and number one reason to save to put your kid through school is that on average 76% graduate with debt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 3 hours ago, anatess2 said: This is your choice. It is not a necessity. Many lawyers and doctors paid their way through college and came out with very minimal, if any, debt. Saying you would always put your kids first is very noble. But it's not ideal. The balanced cycle of life is that you put your kids first until they are adults and the wheel turns such that the transition starts for the responsibility to transfer from the parents to the kids. This is what's necessary - that stage for the development of the kids into responsibility taking on more of the burden of the family - as it prepares them for parenting BEFORE they become parents. Then the wheel keep turning such that by the time the parents get older the kids fully take on the responsibility of the family which includes, not just their own children, but also the elderly. The culture of big families show this in stark relief. Children start to take on responsibility very early - taking over the care of the younger siblings including helping to pay for their education. As families become smaller, the culture started to shift such that parents treat their kids as special treasures that can't just be thrown to the world to fend for themselves because, if that kid fails, that's it. There's no other children to share the burden of the family. Unfortunately, this also causes children to not be sufficiently prepared for responsibility. But I'm talking ideological socio-cultural generalities. Not individual adaptation. You do you. My parents never saved for me to go to college probably because they were uneducated and didn't value education. However, I still financially provide for them now they are retired. Even though, I had to put myself through college to be able to now provide for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anatess2 Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 2 hours ago, omegaseamaster75 said: The most eye opening and number one reason to save to put your kid through school is that on average 76% graduate with debt. The main reason parents teach their kids work ethic and a serviceable skill before graduating high school is so that they don't have to take on debt if they decide to proceed with higher education, or they can raise a family without having to set foot at university. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyg Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 My parents saved nothing for me, and told me when I was 15 or 16 that they were not paying for my education past High School...and they didn't. They did allow me to live at home, but I moved to Logan after just a few months to be closer to the University. After returning home from my mission in 2007 I took out one student loan of $5,500 to pay for my first semester, books, rent, etc... at Utah State University. I then began working 2 full-time jobs, and paid for every semester after that up front. I went to college to gain an education, not party or have a good time. I lived in a cheap apartment, drove an old beater, and only purchased used books. I graduated 4 years later with my Bachelor's degree, and my Master's Degree in 2014...and I have only ever had that first $5,500 in student debt. A student can make their own way through college if they are willing to put in the work and effort. I know many a kid who took out over $20,000 in student loans in their first year, only to party hearty and stay out late. They completely lived off of their loan rather than get a job. That is usually something only medical students do...as they will one day have a high paying job to take care of that debt. All these people have to show for it now is an Associate's Degree in a useless field like "general studies", "liberal arts", or "communications" that doesn't translate to a stable career in today's workplace. I was mad at my parents at the time for not saving for me...but it definitely gave me the opportunity to grow and become responsible with my time and money. I love his webinars, but this is one area that I disagree with Dave on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pressing Forward Posted July 5, 2018 Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 5 hours ago, anatess2 said: Well, that's simply discrimination, not financial advice. Anyway, Clark Howard recommended UESP when I was researching for 529's. The only thing that beat UESP is your own State 529 if your kid plans to go to that state's unis. Ha! I was being snarky, that and I don’t like ewwtah. The Alaska Savings Plan was top 5 when I started my kids plans. I like a lot of Clark Howard’s recommendations, and a lot of Dave Ramsey’s as well. Only thing that truly matters is that we, meaning you, others, and I, have been blessed to provide for our kids, and others. It’s good council to save....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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