WWYD

[mjkacmom]

You're not looking at the big picture from a tax standpoint. And as I recall, the interest rate was 2.77%

Now parents plus loans are 8.94% interest.

 

[tvguy]

Now parents plus loans are 8.94% interest.

Really all a moot point as the loans were 20 years ago and were paid off 13 years ago.

 

[Rogue1677x]

It sounds like all of your children have done well with their education. For that, you and your spouse are to be commended. As for the leftover funds in DD2's account, why not have an honest, adult conversation with her? Ask her what she might want to do with the funds. You could mention that the money could be used to help her siblings pay down their education debt. But, as she is an adult, the final choice should be hers. If she doesn't choose to help out her siblings, they should never be told about the conversation. It could result in bad feelings.

Be upfront and honest with DD2. Lay out her options and let her choose. Whatever she chooses, let that be the end of it. Once the choice is made, move on.

I agree with this. And honestly, I think from the emotional standpoint it might be best. I was the first in my family to go to college (middle child here) ended up in an absolutely nightmare financial situation upon graduation with an Associate degree.

Yet, a few years later, both my sisters go to college and suddenly people are tripping over themselves to find ways to help them financially. Yeah, it led to some bitterness for a while.

 

[barkley]

A financial advisor said a loan is better than paying cash? For ANYTHING? Wow. Our financial advisor is advocating paying down all loans and prefer not taking on new ones.

i'm not a fan of loans in general but there have been and even recently was an instance where we ended up financially ahead by virtue of taking a loan vs. paying cash outright (which we had available at the time)-

past car loan-manufacturer was offering a $2K price reduction if you financed through them (and we had shopped the vehicle extensively and knew the rock bottom w/o promo prices available within a multi state region). fine print said no pre-payment penalty, just that you had to finance a portion of the loan. paid 50% down, financed remainder, took delivery-called the automated system the next day and paid in full. $2k savings/not a dime of interest.

recent car loan-interest offered us was about 2% less than what the money we had earmarked for the purchase was earning so we financed and continued to net that 2% for the 1 year it took to pay off the 6 year loan.


oldest's student loans-all were of the type that did not accrue interest while in school. we had earmarked what we could contribute and said 'take the loans'. loans/scholarships were used to pay for everything while the money earmarked continued to sit and grow via compound interest. 5 years sitting made a nice increase that permitted all but a portion of the lowest interest rate loan to be paid off. in one case we actually made money on a student loan b/c it was through the university who unlike traditional student loans accepted a credit card for repayment. used one had 3x rewards to pay in full and walked away with about $250 we used towards the other loans (again-turned around and paid via phone the following day so zero interest).

 

[barkley]

I agree with this. And honestly, I think from the emotional standpoint it might be best. I was the first in my family to go to college (middle child here) ended up in an absolutely nightmare financial situation upon graduation with an Associate degree.

Yet, a few years later, both my sisters go to college and suddenly people are tripping over themselves to find ways to help them financially. Yeah, it led to some bitterness for a while.

I wouldn't want to put my kid in the position of making that decision. if the money were legally mine to control then it would be my responsibility to make the decision and not burden my child with it. I wouldn't even want to discuss the issue b/c I wouldn't want them to feel like I thought that I expected them to go further with their education OR that I felt that their educational path was at an end. I certainly would not want them to feel in any way tied to decisions regarding their adult sibling's financial obligations (student loans).

sibling relationships-even the best-can be torn apart over money and misperceived favortism. in my case I was the youngest and I know my older siblings saw me as more spoiled growing up but the reality was the cost of raising 1 child (yes 'child'-there was a 7-16 year age difference between my sibs and I) vs 4 was less expensive so there was more of an ability on my parent's part to afford some silly low cost 'luxuries' (back when the rare trip for fast food was considered a luxury ). the flip side is while my sibs had my parents well into adulthood and had help with college and early adult/marital expenses-my dad died the year after I graduated high school and mom's income drastically changed so my college plans changed and I cash rolled my own education/adult expenses. I did'nt/do not resent my siblings for it but I do recall overhearing my parents discussing my older sibs finances (and mom sharing aspects with me after dad passed) and it felt uncomfortable and inappropriate being privy to what was none of my business and never should have been.

 

[brockash]

This is not the case in all situations. The one obtained a B (We don't know if it is Science or Arts but anyways) in teaching. A lot of people in various fields can make more with just an associates degree compared to a teacher with just a BA or BS degree.

Of course it's not always the case which is why I said may have...in the end they all had to make their own decisions on what they wanted to do. My opinion is that the money should b kept even.