OP here. No, not top 1% - they have way more advantages than I suggested. What I laid out is a way for the children of the top 40% socioeconomically to get ahead despite the real challenges facing young people today. |
This does not at all factor in student loans, which can be crippling. And many young people may not find jobs in their industries close to home. |
Or to buy another residence to rent out to their kid and roommates. Sometimes the best you can do is help with their education and allow them to live at home until they can afford to live on their own. |
Well first and foremost, kids need to stop taking massive loans for college. No school (not even Harvard) is worth going into massive debt. Find a school that wants you/will give you merit aid and that you can afford. Every state has several state schools, many that most decent students can get admitted to and that will give good students merit. (Not talking UVA, VaTech, W&M, UMD). Find those schools search for merit for your good student (anyone with a 3.5+ UW HS can easily find merit. Pick one that costs less than $30-35K---state school or private that gives you excellent merit. Then earn $10K+ per year (summer, all breaks, PT for 8-10 hours during the week), take the $5.5K/year for student loans (higher each year to total 27K over 4 years). Now you have 15K left. Hopefully the parent can assist with some via cash flow or savings. (that's 60K total over 4 years give or take). If parents cannot help, then find a school that costs even less. It can be done. My 3.5UW/25 ACT/No AP kid had 2 private universities (ranked 80-100) that cost only $40K/year. They had another (ranked ~120) that cost only $30K. That was without any merit searching. Had 2 state schools that cost about $20K, after the merit awards (yes for even a kid with those stats). Had they gone to schools ranked 120+ they could have found several good schools that cost less than $20K. It is possible to do. So stop taking massive loans, attend college that is affordable |
Whatever that means. |
Yes, Mom. Your house, your rules. |
There is an alternative.
Kid gets a high paying job in a LCOL area. Live cheap and bank the money. Then move to one of the fancy cities after 30. This approach also narrows the dating pool as you are likely living among the high school drop outs/ opioid addicts/Trumpers in your 20s, but you might get lucky. |
It’s not a solution because living in your parents basement as an adult is called failure. |
Oh yeah, those are plentiful and totally an answer. |
I’m 55 and still don’t make that much. 😂 |
This is the tragedy of late stage capitalism. If you think the “solution” is for young people who make six figures to scrimp and save for a decade in their parents basement only to be able to barely afford housing, then you don’t understand the definition of the word solution. What you describe sounds like hell on earth. At that point what is the point of working hard at all? There’s no way to win. Revolution becomes the only viable alternative to death. |
That’s how I did it. Got a stem degree at a top university and worked in Upstate NY for 10 years. I made bank and was able to buy a house right away when I moved down here. |
Yeah basic rules of common courtesy. Did your parents not teach you basic common courtesy? |
Most higher paying jobs are in HCOL areas. so good luck with your plan |
I made that much at 28, and I'm 55 as well. |