No they are not. We do too. And we're inside the beltway. It can be done! |
And you bought your house when? |
2015 |
Same poster. Got a house with great features that didn't show well. Before that lived on a very main road. Refi'd at 2% during pandemic, so payments are low. |
You believe you are entitled to "higher education at an elite college" or just higher education. I believe in the 2nd. But not the first. Nobody is entitled to an elite education. Smart people know that you can go far in life, you just need AN education. You can get that at your state U or a private U, what you do while attending matters much much much more than where you go. So yes, I believe everyone should be able to get a college degree, if they want. And that is possible and affordable for most. It just might not be Harvard. Fact is you most likely are not getting into Harvard anyhow, so why the concerns. |
Yes it is. Your thought process is extremely flawed. That you think the only way to succeed/be rich is to attend an elite college. Go look at C suites at 100s of companies. majority went to "non-elite universities". You get there by hard work and dedication, not by where you went to school. Plenty of people "qualified for elite universities" don't attend and go to their State U/private school offering merit because it's affordable. They succeed in life because of their work ethic and drive and what they do at college gets them started---not because of where they attended. Things don't just magically drop into your lap because you attend Harvard |
But most people claiming "donut hole" did have that increase at some point. They didn't start at $200-250K at age 22. So they made a choice to NOT save most of that increase along the way. Some people made the choice to save and can afford $80K/year. Not saying it's the smart way to spend your money---that is your call. But most donut hole families did have an option to save as their salary increased and chose not to do so. That choice means their kid needs to find schools that they can afford--they are not entitled to elite 80K universities just because they think so |
FYI---most kids can earn $8-10K in a year in VA by working summers, breaks and PT (10 hours) during the school year. So if you live at home, the federal loan of $5.5K yearly and the kid working could pay for college almost completely. So the parents just need to contribute "letting kid live at home" and "transportation to/from school daily". There are ways to do college without much parental help and much debt |
Then their parents shouldn't complain about finances. Travel sports is a "luxury" not a requirement. It's not fiscally smart to do travel sports if it prevents you from saving for college or retirement. Your kid can still play sports for $400-500 for the year (or less). |
+1000 |
Real middle class cannot afford travel teams. |
Right? OOS public schools aren't cheap. Michigan is very near the cost of an Ivy, for example. Not everyone has in-state UVA or W&M as an option. |
There is a group on the donut hole threads that always join in and shame people for not saving enough for their kids’ college. They “claim” that even if you have special needs kids and parents to support and other specific high expenses, you should still somehow have been able to sacrifice enough to fully fund college for multiple kids on $150k per year.
First, I question the math, second at $150k hhi they will get significant aid so their point is moot. But the real point missing is opportunity cost. What alot iof us are trying to say is just what are you sacrificing to get to that savings?? For us, it would be trips to see their grandparents far away. It would also be funding our retirement adequately. And what are the other financial tradeoffs you are making by “investing” an extra $50 to $60k per year in a private school vs a starter home or roth for your kid? It makes more sense to save enough for an instate price and then by some miracle if we have extra, it be invested for their future. No way a private vs public degree earning premium will outpace the stock market or real estate. |
Do you really think 7 years of basketball at $700 a year is the difference between an 80k a year SLAC and a 40k a year public? |
Can't you just get loan forgiveness on the backend? Is anyone actually paying these rates? |