We have one but are investing money outside of it as well for her. My grandfather's estate will be used for his grandchildren and great grandchildrens education but we don't want to rely on that so we are saving on our own as well.
My husband and I went to college mostly on scholarships but everything else was paid for by our parents. not having student loans has made a massive difference in our lives. If we are in the position to do that for our kids we definitely want to do so.
Post by speckledfrog on Oct 5, 2015 13:10:47 GMT -5
Paying for your child's college education always bring out a range of reactions.
Each of our parents paid for our education. Mine paid for school only, MH's paid for school and living expenses. I went to the cheapest state school, he went to a $$$ school. Neither of us are entitled assholes because we weren't raised to be entitled assholes and it's not our inherent personalities to be entitles assholes. We want to pay for our children's education because it's an incredible gift and we are fortunate enough to be able to do so.
Post by badtzmaru22 on Oct 5, 2015 13:15:07 GMT -5
We have them, and don't really contribute. My parents opened up their own 529s for our kids in their state, so they can get their own tax benefit. SCRU the next generation. I promise I am not an asshole.
In talking with my financial advisor, I decided to open an UGMA acct for now instead of a 529, mainly for the flexibility, both from an investment and usage perspective. We'll have to figure out what to do about it before he turns 18, but we can always transfer a portion or all of it to a 529 later on.
Yes, I have a Utah one. I think the chances that my DD will not go to college are pretty slim. I contribute to it once per year using the $5k reimbursement for daycare expenses from my dependent care FSA, plus some of my annual bonus if I feel like contributing more. I also gave the account information to family so they can contribute.
I'm glad we didn't start one. Her future path is iffy and college is a possibility but it may not be the right fit for her we won't know for a while. but we didn't know that until she was 3 and it could've tied up money we needed for her therapy. We are keeping it in savings until the new special needs saving accounts come online fully since she can use that for school or care depending on where she lands.
We have one for DS. We are contributing based on the estimates to fully fund a 4yr, public degree. If he wants to do something more expensive than that, he will likely have to foot that bill. If we have another kid, we'll likely have to adjust to pay for most-but-not-all of 2 tuitions. I'm desperately hoping that something gives and the current estimates prove to be drastically higher than reality, but we shall see.
No. It's not right for us. Though I hope both go to college for the experience and opportunities it affords, we are (relatively) low earners, and there is a real possibility of one or both kids taking another path. The people I know in a trade (my H and my brother) both received on-the-job training and reimbursement for schooling from their employers/their union, so I'm not sure that funds would be necessary for pursuing a trade.
If there is a large tax benefit and little to no chance that your kid won't attend college (both of which seem true for misotiny), it makes more sense.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Oct 5, 2015 13:51:32 GMT -5
We can afford to save $250/mo. When DS is not in full time daycare, we can do $500.
I hope to help him most of all by explaining loans and helping him make smart choices.
I was on my own with a pamphlet about the FAFSA, so it's a miracle I didn't get into major trouble with loans. I was saved by the almost 0% interest rates.
Yes. For many reasons, one of which is that it's easy and tax friendly and over-engineering alternative savings methods with marginally better returns is not remotely worth my time.
And my parents paid for college, but I paid for law school so I'm only an asshole half of the time.
Yes, each kid has their own 529 account, and their own savings account. We started a savings account for each child right away when they were born and we have automatic deposits going into them a couple times a month. We just started the 529 accounts this year and the grandparents have all asked for the link for e-gifts. I am very happy about this, I would rather see them put some of the $$$$$$ they used to spend on toys into the 529s.
If the kids don't go to college, then I am not sure what we will do.
What our generation was able to do to pay for college may no longer be feasible for our children, given the rate of inflation of college tuition and fees.
There're many forms of overindulging your kid, but helping them avoid a crippling debt at the onset of their adult life is hardly one of them.
I believe that young people should participate in paying for their own higher education. Disagree all you want, but I stand on that principle. This does not make me an asshole.
I fully realize that people will continue to pay for full rides for their kids. Go ahead with that if it is what you want to do. I disagree that it is good for the child. That's all.
Lol. Being committed to the principle of children paying for college does not make you an asshole.
The disdain and condescension dripping from your posts does, though.
We started one for our son. We aren't planning to fully fund college for any child but feel like it's a good start to tuck away some money now and not feel burdened.
Neither of our parents paid for our college and that doesn't make me as ass either. I hope to be able to put my son in a slightly better position than I was. College expenses have gone crazy since I graduated and if I can give each kid $10 or $20k, then it's better for them in the long run.
I believe that young people should participate in paying for their own higher education. Disagree all you want, but I stand on that principle. This does not make me an asshole.
I fully realize that people will continue to pay for full rides for their kids. Go ahead with that if it is what you want to do. I disagree that it is good for the child. That's all.
No. Calling them "preshus" does make you kind of an asshole, though. I am a fully functioning adult who makes good money; presumably having a paid-for education was just fine for me. Don't blame others and paint with a broad brush just because it didn't work out for you personally.
Exactly! It's not your opinion that makes you an asshole. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. It's the generalization that makes you kind of a jerk. How do you account for all the well-adjusted non-jerks who had their education paid for? How was that bad for them?
I'm not entitled, I just wish my parents had some of that money now in their retirement.
Word. We do have a 529 but it's not our major savings focus right now. I have no idea what the higher Ed landscape will look like in 17 years, etc. So we put most of our savings into general investments that we plan to use for retirement but could also be used for college if needed.
Ditto. We have them, but don't put huge amounts of money (at all) into them. Our main focus is setting ourselves up for a very comfortable retirement, and hope that we will be able to pay for a lot of, if not all, college costs. If we can't pay for all, that will be fine too.
I believe that young people should participate in paying for their own higher education. Disagree all you want, but I stand on that principle. This does not make me an asshole.
I fully realize that people will continue to pay for full rides for their kids. Go ahead with that if it is what you want to do. I disagree that it is good for the child. That's all.
Not good for the child is a pretty sweeping statement. A lot of things play into college and how it turns out "good" for kids. How it is funded is one part of the puzzle. You can rather easily pay for college without making your kids entitled asshats. You can pay for college without it being a negative for them, overall.
TBH, I think if it's paying for college that makes or breaks a person, someone fucked up long before that point at parenting. Now maybe you could argue the type of person willing and able to fund college for their kids is the type of person who is willing and able to spoil their kids and make them entitled jerks so the number of kids who turn out to be entitled jerks is higher among those who fund college. But it's not the funded college that makes them that way. It's the parenting up and until that point and beyond.
ETA: The tl;dr version of this is if you raised an entitled asshat, not paying for their college isn't going to change that outcome and make it all better.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Oct 5, 2015 15:18:12 GMT -5
We opted to skip the 529 because we felt it was too limiting and we opened a target money market account that's geared towards retirement but set to mature when she's 18. It's more liquid and more options for us if we need them.
We have the Canadian equivalent (RESP), fully funded by FIL, he does it for all the grand kids.
Not going to college is not an option in our family. :::hides:::
Well, I would make an exception if my child were a huge pop star or something crazy like that. LOL.
Of course this is a possibility, but I think it boils down to statistics. It doesn't make sense to structure your financial plan and investments around the outliers. I mean, you could win the lottery and not need to do any retirement savings at all.
I think it's safe to generally plan on your specific child going to college, and safe to generally plan for a world in which your child will not be an international superstar to the degree that post-secondary education is not applicable.
We have one for both kids. I'm banking on at least one of them going to college. If one doesn't use it, it will get transferred to the other kid. They will know that is what those funds are intended for so if they choose to skip college then they lose out on that money.
Now if both choose no college? Then we'll, I guess I'll go with H on a nice vacation!?
Well, I would make an exception if my child were a huge pop star or something crazy like that. LOL.
Of course this is a possibility, but I think it boils down to statistics. It doesn't make sense to structure your financial plan and investments around the outliers. I mean, you could win the lottery and not need to do any retirement savings at all.
I think it's safe to generally plan on your specific child going to college, and safe to generally plan for a world in which your child will not be an international superstar to the degree that post-secondary education is not applicable.