How much do you save for your kids' college?

[DisneygirlTeacher]

Wow, the Florida Prepaid has been great so far, however, we did purchase it when our daughter was a few months old and now she's almost 19. I paid $35 a month until she was 18 and now all her tuition is paid for except for some fees that total about $33 a class. She buys her own books (works two jobs trying to save for a new car and extra expenses) and I have never seen her so happy as she is in college! Now, if she only knew what she wanted to be...lol

 

[lillygator]

Wow, the Florida Prepaid has been great so far, however, we did purchase it when our daughter was a few months old and now she's almost 19. I paid $35 a month until she was 18 and now all her tuition is paid for except for some fees that total about $33 a class. She buys her own books (works two jobs trying to save for a new car and extra expenses) and I have never seen her so happy as she is in college! Now, if she only knew what she wanted to be...lol

you and my 2 girls are grandfathered in regarding"other"fees. I chose the 4 yr university plan to pay off in 5 yrs....did not ant to go the 18 yr route.

 

[DisneygirlTeacher]

That is so good that you will have it paid off so quickly! With only one girl and such a low payment, I am glad we did it that way. The most wonderful thing is when they register for classes and so much is taken off because of having the prepaid plan. It's been a blessing for us. Good luck to your girls!

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Wow, the Florida Prepaid has been great so far, however, we did purchase it when our daughter was a few months old and now she's almost 19. I paid $35 a month until she was 18 and now all her tuition is paid for except for some fees that total about $33 a class. She buys her own books (works two jobs trying to save for a new car and extra expenses) and I have never seen her so happy as she is in college! Now, if she only knew what she wanted to be...lol

19 years ago it was a great deal. You aren't locked into current tuition prices anymore and pay a calculated inflation price of 3.95%. If it was the same as it was back when I was younger we'd do it for sure, but seems a traditional 529 may be better now. It's almost $300/month for the 4 year university plan, and that's starting at newborn! The 2+2 is $200/month starting at newborn.

 

[LisaR]

Wow! Great to see so many people are saving. Without being political, I can't help but feel that something will be done to make college more affordable before my kids go.

I met one of my girlfriends when her oldest was three. The first day we met, we had a conversation about education and she said she was sure something would be done about the ridiculous costs of college before her oldest started. Her oldest is starting at the University of Michigan in a week and she is looking at the bills like this

I'd love to believe something will be done by the time my kids have kids but I'm not counting on it.

 

[scdufek]

Nothing. Maybe later on will try to help a little. Getting out of my own debt and saving for retirement is first. I put myself through college with my own hard work and so did hubby. If they want it bad enough, they'll get there mostly on their own two feet. I tried harder, appreciated where my money went, and felt so good when I made my school payment with my own money, and had no loans.

 

[lisaross]

i have some mutual savings accounts earmarked for my kids college. I have a VERY SMALL 529 account only 25 every quarter so pretty much nothing but my brother told me not to have a 529 because u will get less financial aid - not sure if its true or not but i put 50.00 per month in a mutual fund i have been putting money into mutual funds for many many years before we had kids. My mortgage will be paid off right before my son starts college so that will free up money i could use. I would love to pay for their 4 years of an instate college but we'll see. I would hate them to come out of college with hugh debt so i'll do the best i can.

 

[mousefan73]

I hope those who can afford hundreds a month per kid from birth on, are also doing the same for their own retirement or to get out of debt. From a financial planning point of you, you need to be selfish and put yourself first here. Our kids have the benefit of time, we dont.


Worse case you sacrifice your retirement while your kids get a full ride, they graduate and move back home beacause either the market is bad, they majored in something with no job outlook, or (and this happens alot) they have become spoiled and think why stop now with the free ride.


Dont get me wrong, if you can afford it support your kids. But if you have debts and an underfunded retirement fund, put that money to you first.


You think your kids will be giving you a couple hundred a month at 60, when you need it???

 

[crisi]

I hope those who can afford hundreds a month per kid from birth on, are also doing the same for their own retirement or to get out of debt. From a financial planning point of you, you need to be selfish and put yourself first here. Our kids have the benefit of time, we dont.


Worse case you sacrifice your retirement while your kids get a full ride, they graduate and move back home beacause either the market is bad, they majored in something with no job outlook, or (and this happens alot) they have become spoiled and think why stop now with the free ride.


Dont get me wrong, if you can afford it support your kids. But if you have debts and an underfunded retirement fund, put that money to you first.


You think your kids will be giving you a couple hundred a month at 60, when you need it???

No debt. I do have a mortgage, but have enough in short term investments to pay it off, when the mortgage is at 4% and I can get that on stock dividends, I'm not paying off my mortgage. 401k is funded at max, plus there is a deferred compensation plan, and two children have four years of private school education paid for.

Now, I drive an ok, but not great car. My husband drives a really nice car bought used that is ten years old now. Our house is no great shakes. My husband and I have both worked demanding jobs and had our kids in daycare, afterschool care, and now as teens they've been latchkey kids for a few years . Our kids don't do a lot of expensive activities. We take a nice vacation every year, but not as nice as our income would imply. I'm a frugal shopper (generally, there are things we splurge on), my husband not so much. Because I know that my kids will not see as much as a subsidized loan on my husband's income alone.

 

[kinntj]

I wish we had more for them right now, but our retirement comes first. Healthcare needs to be supplemented and that's what we're worried about.

I'm just going back to school now to finish my accounting degree after caregiving for my mother these past 5 years. I don't regret taking care of her and she recently passed, so having that time with her was special.

My kids know education is priority,so we'll do whatever we can to help them.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

I hope those who can afford hundreds a month per kid from birth on, are also doing the same for their own retirement or to get out of debt. From a financial planning point of you, you need to be selfish and put yourself first here. Our kids have the benefit of time, we dont.


Worse case you sacrifice your retirement while your kids get a full ride, they graduate and move back home beacause either the market is bad, they majored in something with no job outlook, or (and this happens alot) they have become spoiled and think why stop now with the free ride.


Dont get me wrong, if you can afford it support your kids. But if you have debts and an underfunded retirement fund, put that money to you first.


You think your kids will be giving you a couple hundred a month at 60, when you need it???

My husband is military so he has a pensioned retirement system, still pays into TSP fund and also will have healthcare when he moves onto his next job. They also both have some of his GI Bill transferred to help pay for college. I know this is not the norm in the civilian sector though.

 

[punkin]

I hope those who can afford hundreds a month per kid from birth on, are also doing the same for their own retirement or to get out of debt. From a financial planning point of you, you need to be selfish and put yourself first here. Our kids have the benefit of time, we dont.


Worse case you sacrifice your retirement while your kids get a full ride, they graduate and move back home beacause either the market is bad, they majored in something with no job outlook, or (and this happens alot) they have become spoiled and think why stop now with the free ride.


Dont get me wrong, if you can afford it support your kids. But if you have debts and an underfunded retirement fund, put that money to you first.


You think your kids will be giving you a couple hundred a month at 60, when you need it???

Our retirement is being funded up to employer match (this is not perfect but it is good enough for now. I am 45; DH is 46). Our only debt is our mortgage (currently at 2.5%) and I will not pay that off before I sell the house.

My DD19 is currently in college getting a "free ride" from me. I can afford it (with belt tightening and difficulty). I can assure you she is not spoiled, nor does she take advantage. Hopefully the same will be true with my little one.

God willing I will never have to rely on my children for money, but if I do, I am fairly certain they were raised in such a way that they would help me in my old age if need be.

 

[MomToOne]

they graduate and move back home beacause either the market is bad, they majored in something with no job outlook, or (and this happens alot) they have become spoiled and think why stop now with the free ride.

Wow - so just because parents pay for college, you think the kids will be moochers all their lives???? Glad my parents didn't think that way - they paid for all 5 of us to go to college, 2 even to graduate school. Some of us graduated with degrees that would be considered to have a good job outlooks, others didn't. But we all got jobs - in our field or not - right after college and moved out. Even my brother with the worst job outlook (Bachelors in Zoology anyone??) got temporary jobs until he found a job in his field.

You can teach your children to be responsible, while still giving them a leg up with a college education. In fact, it's much easier for children to be responsible and get started out on their own when they don't have huge student loans hanging around their necks. That's why lots of kids have had to move home - making it with temporary jobs isn't enough to cover their student loans. If they didn't have those, they might be able to make it on their own!

And yes, had my parents needed several hundreds a month at 60, I would have paid it. Just as my father actually did for his parents once they were older. But my father saved for retirement, just as he did our college - and as part of teaching us how to be responsible, taught us to do the same. We wore hand me downs, didn't go on grand vacations and didn't live in a huge house (we kids actually shared bedrooms - the shame!) - we lived a life many would consider to be "below our means" today, so that he could save for retirement and college. That example was the best teaching I could ever have in life. And I model that same behavior now for my daughter, so she will be able to make it on her own one day as well, even though I plan to pay completely for her college education.

 

[tajz90]

The less money you have the more financial aid you will get. We saved and feel totally screwed! Our son was accepted into a private college. He earned several scholarships, but even after that, the bill was going to be close to 100,000. A friends child had the same thing happen. She told me to wait for the finaid package and everything would be fine. Well, because we saved and did the right thing, he didn't receive any financial help. So save, but be prepared. Btw, we saved $150 a pay day from birth.

 

[LisaR]

The less money you have the more financial aid you will get. We saved and feel totally screwed! Our son was accepted into a private college. He earned several scholarships, but even after that, the bill was going to be close to 100,000. A friends child had the same thing happen. She told me to wait for the finaid package and everything would be fine. Well, because we saved and did the right thing, he didn't receive any financial help. So save, but be prepared. Btw, we saved $150 a pay day from birth.

I'm guessing you meant you saved $150 a MONTH from birth and not a day?

 

[LuLuO]

I'm guessing you meant you saved $150 a MONTH from birth and not a day?

S/he said "pay day."

 

[LisaR]

S/he said "pay day."

Well that makes a lot more sense! So much for my great reading skills!

 

[tajz90]

Hahaha! Yes. I never read before I hit enter $150 per pay check from birth. Btw, I'd love to be able to save that each day!

 

[DOREEN1779]

Wow - so just because parents pay for college, you think the kids will be moochers all their lives???? Glad my parents didn't think that way - they paid for all of us to go to college. Some of us graduated with degrees that would be considered to have a good job outlooks, others didn't. But we all got jobs - in our field or not - right after college and moved out. Even my brother with the worst job outlook (Bachelors in Zoology anyone??) got temporary jobs until he found a job in his field.

You can teach your children to be responsible, while still giving them a leg up with a college education. In fact, it's much easier for children to be responsible and get started out on their own when they don't have huge student loans hanging around their necks. That's why lots of kids have had to move home - making it with temporary jobs isn't enough to cover their student loans. If they didn't have those, they might be able to make it on their own!

And yes, had my parents needed several hundreds a month at 60, I would have paid it. Just as my father actually did for his parents once they were older.

That's what I was thinking. My parents paid my college tuition, I had no student loans. My dad worked a lot of OT. On the flip side, my husband's parents paid nothing. My husband does not want to put our children in that situation. We put $300.00 every 2 weeks into various accounts and have for the past ten years. If they excel and want to go past the 4 year, we will support them. I worked during college and paid my room and board as well as my car insurance. I am confident that if I could not pay those bills, my mom and dad would have had me covered. I am forever grateful and I would not hesitate to support them if they needed it. You can pay for your children's education and still raise them to become responsible adults.

 

[punkin]

Hahaha! Yes. I never read before I hit enter $150 per pay check from birth. Btw, I'd love to be able to save that each day!

If you could afford that, you probably don't need to save in the first place; just pay it out of current income.