Average college savings for children

[disykat]

Check the plans available to you but the plan my parents bought allows for these situations - the money comes back to the kids at the amount paid in plus interest. You lose the extra paid up value of the tuition but still get your money back.

ETA - they were also told that the people who give the grants (The FAFSA people) are not allowed to take these plans into consideration when deciding how much money they are eligible for in grants and loans. It probably varies by state and plan but this is what they were told.

I think it's not that they don't take the plans into consideration, it's that they are considered the same as other parental savings.

For example, if you have 40K in the plans they don't assume you will spend that entire amount on college, only a percentage - as if it was your regular savings.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I was lucky in that my parents paid for my undergrad, and I paid for my graduate school.

As for my own, I have three boys currently in 11th, 9th and 6th. I have about $100k for each of them at the moment, and they know they need to choose an affordable school, or do something to contribute to a more expensive school. DS16 who is a junior and looking now, is very practical and his first choice is a state school. He wants to go for a PharmD, so we are looking at 6-8 years of school (if he adds a JD it will be the higher end), and he knows he does not want to graduate with too much debt.

I plan to help them out as much as possible provided they are doing well and are focussed on their goals. I'm not funding four years of partying and goofing off, but at the same time, I do think college is a once in a lifetime total experience and living in the dorms, meeting new people, getting involved, learning how to balance school work with a part time job with the responsibilities of living away for the first time is all part of learning to grow up. I can't imagine cutting off my kids at 18 and telling them to figure it out.

I am curious, for those of you expecting or currently having your children pay for school on their own, how are they managing? I know many of the older posters on here did it that way 20 or so years ago, but for those who have done this more recently, it just seems to me that the cost of education has skyrocketed and the ability to obtain loans, etc. has fallen. I'm wondering HOW an 18 year old today can afford to put himself through a school at $20-30,000 a year (and that's a generously low number).

 

[ManyMinnie]

This is not as easy as it once was. Tuition/room/board at one of our state U's runs between $20,000 and $35,000/year. Community college is obviously less.

In terms of getting a summer job to pay for that, it is not likely. First of all, the job market sucks right now. Many teens can't even get hired, and if they do, it is for part time work. Even with a full time job, you're probably looking at $4,000 at most over the summer. That would barely make a dent in college costs, and the numbers above don't include books or spending money.

That may be how the job market for teens is by you ~ the job market for teens is booming where we live.

Also, our state universities are much less than $20,000-$35,000 a year.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

That may be how the job market for teens is by you ~ the job market for teens is booming where we live.

Also, our state universities are much less than $20,000-$35,000 a year.

You are lucky - where do you live? Here the job market is bad and the cost of living is so high that the college graduate jobs are being taken by adults who have been laid off, the recent grads are taking the college jobs, the college kids have grabbed what the high schoolers used to do and the high school kids are volunteering to get into college

Seriously though, I don't know of any part time job a high school or college kid could get on Long Island that would cover the cost of college along with transportation, books, housing, etc.

 

[ManyMinnie]

You are lucky - where do you live? Here the job market is bad and the cost of living is so high that the college graduate jobs are being taken by adults who have been laid off, the recent grads are taking the college jobs, the college kids have grabbed what the high schoolers used to do and the high school kids are volunteering to get into college

Seriously though, I don't know of any part time job a high school or college kid could get on Long Island that would cover the cost of college along with transportation, books, housing, etc.

We live where the cost of living is reasonable.

 

[4greatboys]

That may be how the job market for teens is by you ~ the job market for teens is booming where we live.

Also, our state universities are much less than $20,000-$35,000 a year.

You are lucky - where do you live? Here the job market is bad and the cost of living is so high that the college graduate jobs are being taken by adults who have been laid off, the recent grads are taking the college jobs, the college kids have grabbed what the high schoolers used to do and the high school kids are volunteering to get into college

Seriously though, I don't know of any part time job a high school or college kid could get on Long Island that would cover the cost of college along with transportation, books, housing, etc.

http://collegestats.org/colleges/wisconsin/lowest-instate-tuition

 

[momto3gr8boys]

http://collegestats.org/colleges/wisconsin/lowest-instate-tuition

I'm not totally sure why the PP posted this link, but looks can be deceiving. On this list, my son's first choice school is listed at $5,375. That's a bargain - until you add in fees, room and board, books, meal plan, etc etc etc. Then you are looking at $19,000 and change. Big difference. Still a bargain compared to a private university. And this would be for his first two years. Once he moves on to the PharmD program, the tuition doubles. So I am still left wondering how an 18 year old can manage to swing all this by themselves, even if the option is to come out at the age of 22 or 26 with the equivalent of a mortgage payment.

 

[4greatboys]

I posted it because you guys were discussing tuition in her state. That link shows some of the rates.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I posted it because you guys were discussing tuition in her state. That link shows some of the rates.

Ah, got it...thanks. I didn't know where she lived so I was confused.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[ManyMinnie]

Ah, got it...thanks. I didn't know where she lived so I was confused.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

That poster doesn't know where I live, either. Like I said, we live where the COL is reasonable.

 

[meddockian]

We contribute $75 per month to each of our children's 529. Our son is 4, daughter is 1 - by the time they get to college, it's highly unlikely they will have enough to cover 4 years of college. Honestly though, I don't save for them to pay 100% of college. I had to take out loans ($55k) to finish my BS. They will have to make choices and decisions on their own.

 

[angierae]

It has changed so much. My freshman year at Michigan State, a 30 credit year was $3,750 for tuition. That number is now $12,600 plus another $8k for room and board plus books, fees, etc.

Tuition at a state school like MSU has quadrupled in 20 years. Incomes for most families have not paced that. My total out of pocket for that year was around $4k after Stafford loans and a bit of finaid through the school for my grades/act score.

We will probably pay close to 4k for my daughter's freshman year at a community college, living at home.

Working part time and over the summer is not going to earn a young adult the $17k or so they'll need _after_ loans to go away to a state school like we could as youngsters.

 

[goofyredraider]

We are working on saving for it - contributing what we can, when we can. Also, DH transferred his Post 9-11 GI Bill to our daughter, which will cover about 70% of hers. I think that's the # we are going with - 70% - and they will be responsible for the rest (via scholarships, loans, working to pay for it, etc.). I will likely return full-time to the workforce in the next several years (when they are a bit older and can stay home by themselves when sick...) to really start putting away $$ for it.

 

[tzolkin]

Usually I feel pretty good reading posts about savings, etc. here on the BUDGET board - as dh and I are in a decent position in terms of retirement, savings, debt, etc.

I believe this is the FIRST time I've read a thread like this and felt so far behind so many of the other posters! And I just told dh that he and I need to be adopted! Many of the posts here where everyone is all set or pretty much set either have kids who got scholarships (no way to predict that right now) or have generous grandparents or other relatives/inheritence opportunities that helped. And I will say I'm jealous! Between dh and my moms - our inheritence will equal about a pack of gum! Now I love them both dearly and will hate to see them pass - but both were widowed moms with young kids...and neither of them has much money and will have nothing when debts are paid. My mom gives my kids a $20 gift on birthdays but she babysits for FREE very frequently so I do get a deal there. So I'm trying to focus on that even though I am jealous in a similar way to when my coworker tells me about her parents bringing her family of 5 to Disney or an Mexico All Inclusive every year and when I ask about the costs - she has no idea.

We did not start out as aggressively as we should have when they were younger - I can admit that now. I will be SURE with any grandkids I have that college accounts are started on their day of birth. We have about $23,000 each saved so far and they are 9 and 11 years old. I have been increasing what we put into the 529's as much as I can each year - for about 10 months that has been $340 per month each child. And I plan to work additional hours starting in September when they're both in Middle School - so will increase it at that time again. But honestly I can't see increasing it past $400 per month each - we also will need a new vehicle next year - so some of my new salary will go toward a car payment.

Luckily - our mortgage will be paid right as the first one goes to college...So that will free up a lot at that time.

Oh and we never intended to pay 100% of college - I think it's good for them to be invested. But I'd be happy if we can pay 75% but looking likely unless they get a bunch of scholarships...it might be 50%.

I was thinking the same thing.

It's good for people to share their experiences/suggestions/etc, but I really don't think the OP can take any of these responses as the AVERAGE college savings.

DH meets with families every day who are majorly in debt and have absolutely nothing set up for their retirement. They certainly don't have a plan in place to have $100K+ to fund their children's educations.

I think $400/month per kid is fantastic (Although reading this thread it seems painfully insufficient.)-- most people I know couldn't afford a fraction of that. I have three kids and $1200 is my entire monthly income. DH's income pays for everything else.


There's also the matter of taking into account when people had their children. Many wait until they are in their 40s, so they may already be advanced in their career and have a substantial amount saved for their own retirement. Some have children when they are in their teens so they have decades less time to become financially secure.

 

[CaptainObvi]

That poster doesn't know where I live, either. Like I said, we live where the COL is reasonable.

Good one Sassyat30...Oops, I mean SaraJayne...Oops, sorry, I mean ManyMinnie.

 

[MagicallyDelicious]

Good one Sassyat30...Oops, I mean SaraJayne...Oops, sorry, I mean ManyMinnie.

This thread is confusing.

 

[FLCyndi]

We live where the cost of living is reasonable.

Laying low I guess.

 

[mom2rtk]

If your kids study hard and get good grades, there is money out there. Many of the small private universities compete hard to get good students.

If your kid wants to go to a top tier private school away from home, sure it's going to cost $40 to $50K per year. But that doesn't mean there aren't other more affordable options. But it does require a minimum GPA, class rank and test score. That doesn't mean they have to be the class valedictorian. There is money out there for other decent students.

 

[ManyMinnie]

This thread is confusing.

A case of mistaken identity. Guess I should have put my name in my signature.

 

[Sonya Lee]

A case of mistaken identity. Guess I should have put my name in my signature.

Meh, I don't know. Lots of similarities. Traverse, multiple trips to Disney, hatred of RFID, husband doing masters, talk of renovations that never actually happen, ages of kids...I can see how there might be reason to believe you are posting under another name.