Financial prosperity

[Misshalfway]

You guys are funny!

I wish someone had warned me about student loans. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to quit school for a time ( which my father frowned upon) and earn the money rather than to take out the loan and suffer with payments for all those years!!

Here's a question: Do you guys feel it is the responsibility of the parents to pay for college? Or should the responsibility be given to the child? Shared responsibility? Or should the parents get the kids started, and then hand them the reigns?

[skalenfehl]

I think the reason I never finished school was the rising cost of tuition and text books. I felt seriously ripped off when the school bought my books back at a fraction of their worth. Misshalfway, that's a tough call. I think if parents are in a financial position it's a good idea. I think the better/bigger head start they can give to their kids, even into the college years, the quicker their children can get ahead in life and be able to take care of their parents in their elder years and the cycle should go on. That's just my opinion.

[Misshalfway]

I honestly can't decide. As a freshman, I would have died without help. My father paid for school but I was required to pay for my rent and food, etc. My scholarship (little one) helped with books for the first year. I want to teach my children that not everything in this world will be given to them on a silver platter. I hope that we are in a financial position to help. But I also want them to cherish their education and take adulthood seriously.....as they transition from my responsibility to their own. I saw my weathier friends make horrid choices and they were bailed out by their parents. It didn't seem to make a difference. They would just keep making bad choices. Guess I want to raise the bar with my own kids.

I like that Dave Ramsey guy. I like what he has to say about teaching kids about money. He starts them earning their own money and saving it for college really early.

[skalenfehl]

Perhaps this is where your tutelage comes in to play so that in the efforts of your children, they can earn full scholarships to universities. Encourage your kids to really become interested in their favorite subject so they can excel and make excellent grades and pursue scholarships. Time is just as important as money and if you can invest your time in their education, you won't have to invest (as much) money.