Average college savings for children

[MrsPete]

Best thing I did to pay for college - took at a job at the state U. I work 20 hours per week, my kids get half price tuition at any of the schools in my state system, and we have some good schools.

Middle child got a big scholarship from a foundation, which she can use at any university. The first semester she went to community college, the scholarship covered it all. Because I get the tuition discount, DH and I cover tuition. Kids have to cover room and board, because they do have some choices in that. Our U has BEAUTIFUL off campus apartments, the kind with granite counter tops, top of the line stainless appliances, pools, hot tubs, beautiful gyms, etc, for $1350 per month per student. Since they are paying for their own my kids have opted not to pick those apartments, though many of their friends did.

DS had a bad first year, we made him move home and go to CC until he was able to prove he could do it. He paid for that.

make sure your kids can swim, lifeguard is a job they can get on any campus!

I did something similar for myself: I was an RA. That gave me a free private room in the dorms, 1/2 my meal plan paid, 1/2 my in-state tuition paid, and my phone paid. It was genuinely the best thing I did financially during my college years.

I can't understand what college student can afford apartments like that! My daughter's talking about an apartment for her junior year, and she's looking at prices less than half what you're talking about. Plus, what's to look forward to after graduation?

 

[Colleen27]

I'd be terrified to take that chance. My daughter is really bright, but she is flaky and really I don't know if she could have a ninth grade meltdown on grades due to just being her. I know a lot of really bright people, and most of them didn't get the scholarships there parents had counted on. Good for you that yours did, that's great!

He's a troll.

 

[3boymthr]

I hate to be a nay sayer to college planning but also as a PP mentioned, consider vocational HS or post HS vocational training. Not everyone is cut out for a college education or a job that requires a college education. Middle DS is in middle school and he has some pretty severe learning disabilities - learns by pictures and doing and HATES anything that involves writing as it is extremely difficult for him. While many say that this is no impediment to college, and it's not if you have a highly motivated child, some kids aren't motivated to study/just aren't cut out for studying, as a result, we have started strongly encouraging him to think about what vocation he would like to pursue. We're not saying what he has to do but saying, hey, you have to start thinking and planning now. Do you want to be a carpenter, plumber, farmer, mechanic, military, welder, etc (He's very very mechanically minded)? We will help you get there and help you figure it out, but you're not going to go to college, drop out after a semester and end up working as a cashier or stock boy for the rest of your life.

 

[cakiesmom]

Wow, Great to hear what everyone is doing. Everyone has a different situation and money does not seem to go as far. So here is my little program.

1) We started a program for each child as young as possible but one of our children's programs was started later than the other because money was tighter for awhile. We started $50 a month for each then set it up to automatically increase $50 a year on the anniversary date. It's like paying yourself first. It comes out of our checking before we spend it on other things.
2) we invested in a book at B&N and spent a few hours learning a little. Knowledge is usually power. Each child has a 529 plan. There are also many good free web sites that offer information. Research this information because some states offer a tax break if you contribute. ( some even if you contribute to other states plan)
3) we use tools that give us a little kickback. We happen to use "upromise" but I'm sure there must be others. We have received several thousands over the years by doing things we normally do- buy online, buy certain groceries. Many companies participate. The best part is, grandparents and relatives can register their grocery cards as well and contribute.
4) Sorry Disney- we vary fortunate to visit you but only every few years and we always look for discounts . Her's hoping for a late summer EDP!
5) Give yourself credit for asking the question and trying to find out!!
6) Don't forget to write to the people in power who have oversight on these issues. We want them to know that we notice and we just want o educate our children.

 

[scbelleatheart]

We set aside nothing. We paid the first year of college then they were adults and they hade to figure it out themselves.
Our parents did the same for me and DH.
So far it works well. 1 engineer, 1 accountant, 1 almost finished with her doctorate. Youngest is 24 so it is in real time, not the cheap prices we paid for college.
No student loans left to pay but they each did it their own way. They all worked thru college to offset costs and then after they graduated, paid the loans off quickly by various methods.

 

[cvjw]

I guess we are very lucky. Dh's parents have given our boys money every year since they were little, and they have enough money to cover their college expenses. Even though we could fund out of state tuition, we are encouraging our 17 year old to choose an in-state college to take advantage of Georgia's Hope Scholarship. We have told him that if he uses his money wisely, there will be money left over to help him get started in his real life after college. Since we didn't have to save for college, we have saved extra for retirement.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

We saved for 18 years for my son's college and after the 2008 downturn, we ended up with 100K for tuition. It is now gone in paying $50K each year for the last 2 years. He is taking out loans for Junior year while we regroup to save up for his last year. He is in a major that will pay very well, so we are not worried about his student loan.

 

[DawnM]

True DISer!

Never saved. Both of my children are "gifties" and had full rides to multiple prestigious universities.

 

[imsayin]

Many won't agree with this.

My parents saved about $600 for my education. That's right $600. What it made me do was be a self sufficient person. I paid my way little by little. It made me careful about making sure I took the right classes. Should I learn a trade instead? Is that a better investment? Things like that. Most of the kids I grew up with that had college money given to them didn't care about attending the classes or passing. Many took 6 plus years to finish a 4 year program or dropped out eventually. I feel that IF you save for a college education be open to your child going to trade school, using the money for a home, use it to start a business, etc. Whatever you do don't force your child into college.

I disagree . I had to pay 100% of my college. I hated my college experience, it took a long time and was disorganized. I had to work so many hours I didn't have time to study. If I had parental support, it would have been a different story. My oldest is a freshman in college. We are paying for her school. She did extremely well first semester while having the time of her life. We made it a priority to save for college, no regrets.

 

[MrsPete]

I disagree . I had to pay 100% of my college. I hated my college experience, it took a long time and was disorganized. I had to work so many hours I didn't have time to study. If I had parental support, it would have been a different story. My oldest is a freshman in college. We are paying for her school. She did extremely well first semester while having the time of her life. We made it a priority to save for college, no regrets.

I didn't HATE my college experience, but my experience was similar to yours: I worked too many hours, which cut into my studying. I felt very betrayed that my parents did NOTHING to help me -- wouldn't even allow me to live at home during my college years, wouldn't help me borrow to buy a car, wouldn't help me in any way to launch out of their house. It was a tough row to hoe as an 18-year old.

I don't expect to hand everything to my girls on a silver platter, but I do not want them to struggle as hard as I did during their college years.

In retospect, if I had it to do again, I'd join the military. I never even considered it at age 18 because it's not what quiet, academically-minded girls did, but it would've been better for me financially.

 

[HM]

I didn't HATE my college experience, but my experience was similar to yours: I worked too many hours, which cut into my studying. I felt very betrayed that my parents did NOTHING to help me -- wouldn't even allow me to live at home during my college years, wouldn't help me borrow to buy a car, wouldn't help me in any way to launch out of their house. It was a tough row to hoe as an 18-year old.

I don't expect to hand everything to my girls on a silver platter, but I do not want them to struggle as hard as I did during their college years.

In retospect, if I had it to do again, I'd join the military. I never even considered it at age 18 because it's not what quiet, academically-minded girls did, but it would've been better for me financially.

Wow, MrsPete! It's hard to believe that people that brought kids into the world and raised them for 18 years would just toss them out to sink or swim. It hurts my heart thinking about it.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

My DD is only 5 months old, but she's had a 529 plan since her SSN got issued. Her grandparents made a generous contribution to it already, and I expect to match their donation this year. However, I don't think I can make that sort of monetary commitment every year, so I'm going to have to figure out how much to donate annually to make sure she's set for undergrad, at least. Preferably before she gets to high school.

DH and I both had our undergraduate degrees paid for (me by my parents, him through a Pell grant). We did, however, have to pay our own way through law school; and we'll continue paying for that for some time still. It's very important to us, and to DD's grandparents, that she not have to worry about paying to get, at least, a basic 4 year degree.

 

[2disneyboys]

my boys are 13 & 10 , so college is coming up a lot faster then I thought it would! lol. Anyway, we have some saved, we also use Upromise. DH & our #1 goal is maxing our our retirements. We are inline to have our home fully paid for in 4-5 year so our mortgage payment will be available to help offset college costs. Also, they go to private school, that that's $ that we already have in our budget on a montly basis.. we'll just change who we write the check to! While I am going to push my boys to work hard for scholarships, and will pay what we can towards the expenses, I know they will have to contribute some, and I'm ok with that. As long as they are in school (and serious about it), we will be willing to continure to support them and help them in every way we can. I dont' want my boys to graduate with a lot of student debt if possible.

Dual Enrollment, and excellent local Community Colleges are plentiful here so hopefully they will allow them to get the "basis" down at some savings so the big $'s will come when they start on their majors. I willa lso encourage them to work @ the school of thier choice also as I know that helps. We are prepared for tight years, and as long as my sons are seriously applying themselves, we will stand behind them 100% and do all we can. they have time to "party party" though, then that means they have time to work work! lol

 

[crisi]

I didn't HATE my college experience, but my experience was similar to yours: I worked too many hours, which cut into my studying. I felt very betrayed that my parents did NOTHING to help me -- wouldn't even allow me to live at home during my college years, wouldn't help me borrow to buy a car, wouldn't help me in any way to launch out of their house. It was a tough row to hoe as an 18-year old.

I don't expect to hand everything to my girls on a silver platter, but I do not want them to struggle as hard as I did during their college years.

In retospect, if I had it to do again, I'd join the military. I never even considered it at age 18 because it's not what quiet, academically-minded girls did, but it would've been better for me financially.

My husband can still work up resentment towards his father. His parents were divorced and as soon as they turned eighteen, their father pulled all support. He didn't even help with books. All the while buying sailboats and flying ultra lights.

So my husband graduated with loans, which forced him into bankruptcy, and he got a late start to his financial life.

There is a certain amount of "yeah, my dad is a selfish git" acceptance at this point in time

Like you, when he graduated from high school, he was on his own. His mother had to sell the house per the divorce decree and didn't have room for him. She moved in with her boyfriend. And she had no money, once child support ended, she had a hard time caring for herself for a few years without the boyfriends help.

 

[bellaally]

I received a full 4 year scholarship to a private university. My mom was a single parent and I knew that I could not ask her for money for college. I worked hard in highschool applied for different scholarships and I am now a RN specializing in psychology. I have two boys that I am putting money away for but like me I am not giving them a free ride, I will not be paying for college if they are not serious and determined and know what they want. I remember in college how many people messed around with there studies cause they were partying. I had fun to but my studies where more serious to me because I had to keep my grades up and my mother and father were not financing my education. I will help them if they choose to be serious about there studies so they won't have to worry about working while going to school and things of that nature. If they want it like everythkng else they have to work for it.

 

[Pigeon]

We'll pay for 4 years at a state university or the equivalent. I absolutely consider paying for college my responsibility. If I wasn't prepared to do that, I wouldn't have had kids.

My parents paid for my college education as did dh's. It was absolutely the best gift they ever gave us. Neither of us goofed of or had a frivolous attitude about school. I think it's hard enough to start out in life. I don't want my kids to start off in the hole.

We have 529s and some other savings, and we continue to squirrel away everything we can. We are also fully funding our retirement. We maintain a very modest lifestyle in order to do this.

 

[SnowWhite2]

We've saved $10K/yr for our two kids each year since the 529 plan came into existence. My oldest is at a very expensive school that messed up her financial aid and I refuse to let her go into debt to the tune of $125K, nor am I going to put myself into a financial bind for her to attend a $60K/year school.

She is transferring next year to a school that is academically just as good as her current school but costs 1/2 of what the other school costs. She can get out of college with $0 debt. I want her to get the federal loan just so she has some skin in the game. DH doesn't agree but we'll have several more months of that fight.

My other DD has a full (even books) ride to a school that she is very happy attending. The money I saved for her was used to offset the expensive 1st year for DD1. DD2 is a junior so we have another year before she attends. I promised her a used car to take to school since it doesn't have much around the area and she'll need a car to get around town.

DD1 is really really unhappy but I know eventually she will be happy we didn't let her get in debt over her head.

 

[quirty30]

My ex and I bought prepaid state tuition plans for each of our kids before they turned 5. Fortunately the plan didn't go belly up like some other state plans. The plan covers tuition and fees at any public university in the state, or they can get the cash equivalent of the average tuition amount each year to use at any school they want. If they want to go to one of the schools that are commuting distance, they are free to live at home as long as they want. And if they choose to go away, we will help with expenses, room & board as much as we can. The kids are now 14 and 11 and both straight A students. We have encouraged them to work as hard as they possibly can to keep their grades up and explained that if they get scholarships, they can convert the prepaid tuition plan to cash and use it for room & board, etc.

Neither my ex or I graduated from college, nor did we have parents who offered us any assistance at all. He chose a blue collar job that he entered straight out of high school from the work program. 30 years later he works for that same company and has done very well. I went a few semesters to community college, while working full time, and ultimately preferred work to school. And I just happened to fall into a career that paid well and suited me perfectly. I think we were both very lucky to do so well without degrees. I had to convince him to purchase the prepaid tuition plans after meeting with substantial resistance. His logic: "We didn't go to college and we did just fine." My response: "Don't you want better opportunities for your kids than you had?" Not to mention how much more competitive things are nowadays. 10 years later, we both agree, it was the smartest move we could have made. And while we can't send them off to Ivy League schools with money to burn, at the very least, they can go to college in state and have their tuition and fees fully paid for. That's a really good start. But it's up to them to get good grades, use the plan wisely and contribute positively to their own education as well.

 

[lisaross]

My boys are 11 and 13! While i don't have a "college fund" named for them, i do have a couple of mutual funds that my husband and i have been contributing to since we moved into our house. I plan on using that money for their college....We will also have our Mortgage paid off a few months before my older son starts college - so we can use that money each month towards bills as well. I hope to be able to pay 4 years for each at a State school - hoping they get some scholarships......not to sure about Financial Aid - no screaming but what about if we put all our savings under the mattress - maybe easier to get financial aid?

 

[taraaplin]

Yea I've been stressing since I found my ex husband stopped putting into the boys' bright start account. (I made a deal with him that I wouldn't up child support- it would of tripled- if he put 200 per month in each child's acct. he agreed. Well I found out he stopped putting money in after only three months! So what should have over 3 grand each now only has 600. I am so mad. Not to mention I am getting no child support at all now. However, when I do half of it will go into a college fund!