3 kids under 5. How will I educate them?

[Anonymous]

That isn't a modest income, that is putting away a lot of money per month per child. If you could not afford them, you should not have had three.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not to be snarky, but didn't you think about that before having the 2nd or 3rd?

Not to be snarky, but some people value the relationship established between siblings and a larger family higher than the cost of a four year education.

We're in the same boat--3 kids under 4, and totally screwed for college. But #s 2 and 3 are twins, and even though I didn't choose to have them so close together, I certainly won't give one away to avoid the cost of 3 kids in college at the same time.

[Anonymous]

I think you are doing well. $500 per month will go a long way, even if it won't fully cover 4 years. Don't forget that you have the time that they are in college to continue saving - you don't have to pay for all 4 years at once. Loans are not a bad thing - kids have more investment in their education when they are on the hook for some of it. You don't want them to be saddled with loans for the rest of their lives, but with the amount they are saving, that shouldn't be a problem. Another idea is that if there are grandparents who are willing and able, contributions to college accounts make lovely gifts for birthdays and holidays. It doesn't have to be much; it will add up over time. They can still give a small, inexpensive book or toy so that the child has something to open (or they have something to physically hand to the child).

[Anonymous]

Another vote for prepaid tuition. We make a little under $200 and did this for dc1 and paid it off with one large check. Now that dc2 is about to be born, we have less savings but will probably buy a year at a time to avoid the significant interest they charge if you drag it out over 18 years of payments. My plan is to only have tuition paid for by the time their ready for college. We will either work while they are in college to pay their living expenses or use some of our retirement funds

[Anonymous]

You are on track to have $108,000 saved per child, not including interest that the accounts will gain. That's doing pretty well. Send them to public school and you will probably cover most of tuition/fees.

[Anonymous]

You will educate them by sending them to public schools and state universities unless they get athletic or academic scholarships. There is nothing wrong with this picture and you are doing far better than most.

The state universities here are excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are on track to have $108,000 saved per child, not including interest that the accounts will gain. That's doing pretty well. Send them to public school and you will probably cover most of tuition/fees.

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell them they will pay for their schooling. Why is that such an awful responsibility? There are many people, including myself, whose parents were not able to contribute anything to college. We were still able to work hard, graduate, and move on to professional degrees. Really people, your kid will be an adult and will be able to work for his schooling. Not ideal, but absolutely doable.

+1

A friend's daughter did a nursing assistant program and then worked her way through pre-med undergrad as a HHC worker. She is now in med school and has loans for that, but no undergrad debt.

[Anonymous]

My parents didn't support me and I made it just fine. Husband & I plan to help our kids as much as we can and will make it understood that it's a privilege, not an obligation.

[Anonymous]

Jeezus. Why can't some people understand that they aren't responsible for funding the entire amount of their child's chosen education. They can get scholarships or get a job to fund it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeezus. Why can't some people understand that they aren't responsible for funding the entire amount of their child's chosen education. They can get scholarships or get a job to fund it.

Jeesus. I'm sure they understand that, but would like to help as much as possible and are asking for advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are on track to have $108,000 saved per child, not including interest that the accounts will gain. That's doing pretty well. Send them to public school and you will probably cover most of tuition/fees.

Exactly.

That's what I'm thinking. I'm a single mom making less than half your HHI and can't afford $500 a month for one kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

so you let some hypothetical cost of some supposedly important certificate 20 years down the road dictate your family size? you are an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

so you let some hypothetical cost of some supposedly important certificate 20 years down the road dictate your family size? you are an idiot.

So you breed without considering how you are going to raise and education your children? You are an idiot.