do we have enough saved for college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have $150,000 saved for our 4th grader and we thought we were doing fine.

Sheesh.

And you are doing well.

That 150K can double (use the 7 year rule) if you have it in the market for the next 7 years and then pull back to less risky choices for 1-2 years prior to college. You can reach 300K without adding anything else. Keep saving and you will be higher

[Anonymous]

I would aim for 500k for each child in 529 accounts if you can swing it.

[Anonymous]

OP what do you mean by roth IRAs? can you move money from 529s to roths once the children have earned income?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:750K is not enough these days. Our target is 1M for 2 kids

OP stated they could cash flow more. So it's a personal choice. If you at all think they kids might want to attend what is now a $85K+ school, then yes you need $500K/kid or a method for paying for that, as it does not all need to be in the 529

I was thinking the 1M post was a troll... right?

1M, no big deal for the average middle class person to save that right?

$1M is realistic amount for 2 kids in 12-14 years starting college, if they attend a school that's currently $85-90K.
FYI---a true MC person will get FA at many schools. Also, there are tons of excellent choices that give merit aid to top students, so if you don't want/can't choose to save, you can still find affordable options.

Actually per the "donut hole" this MC person and many others will be just over the threshold to qualify for FA.

Hence why the PP talks about Merit Aid (not Financial Aid). It's out there and readily available. but step down 1 tier or two.

What is merit aid?

[Anonymous]

Such a humble brag post

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP what do you mean by roth IRAs? can you move money from 529s to roths once the children have earned income?

35k per kid and account has to be a certain amount of time old https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/529-to-roth-ira-rollovers-what-to-know

OP here. We are not rich but UMC. HHI was about 175 or 200k when dc1 was born, now about 300k. The key was frontloading, we got some extra income every yr starting when dc1 was born and just socked it away consistently. Lucked out with the low interest rate on the house. The market had a good run too. Were able to cover retirement, childcare, and donate 10% to charity. However, it wouldn’t be possible if we carried student debt and we are fortunate to have avoided that thanks to scholarships, working, etc. Since I have no idea if our kids can get the type of merit aid that I got, wanted to set them up for education at least. I guess we sort of lucked out bc we didn’t really travel with little babies and then the pandemic hit so didn’t spend $ on travel until more recently.

I also am glad we got out of target funds in Virginia 529. Those were not so great and it took a yr or two to realize that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh…this post stresses me out. We have 100k for my 15 yr old and 65k for my 12 yr old and even though we are throwing money at the accounts every month I realize we aren’t even making a dent to prep for private options…if that’s what they choose.

Don’t stress out. People lie in this forum

[Anonymous]

Instead of overfunding 529s, you could direct future contributions to I bonds. As long as the bonds are used to pay for qualified college expenses, the interest earned is generally free of federal, state, and local taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's acceptable. I would bear in mind two things:

1. State Us will get more and more competitive, as doughnut-hole families are financially squeezed out of the out-of-state and private options. Don't leave out the fact that these days, only academically strong students can pick where they go. UMD and UVA get more selective every year. UVA is actually very competitive, and UMD is getting there. Raise your kids with the understanding that academics are a priority. Last year, I know some kids who were rejected from UMD with a 4.2 weighted GPA, multiple AP courses, and average extra-curriculars.

2. Tuition costs have historically risen faster than inflation (averaged out over decades). There's a limit to how much you can save - you don't want to live a miserable life! - but you might have to cash flow some of the college costs even if you meet your target and they get in-state tuition.

By the time OP sends their kids to college, they’ll need a 6.2 out of 4.0 to be considered for a public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:750K is not enough these days. Our target is 1M for 2 kids

Target as in that amount whent hey go to college? fine. You don't need to save that. OP's 350k will grow just fine to pay provate for both. If kids were 18 and 17 I would say no. But the runway in long. Even in today's dollars OP will have 700k by the time the kids go to school.

[Anonymous]

We had $400k when 1st of two started college, now headed to grad school. Unless our second goes to expensive law school with no money, our issue will be spreading around the $35k for Roth roll. Scholarships come, kids work at University by choice, etc. I realize school is more expensive looking forward but you can always fund college from cash and easier to make higher returns. I wouldn’t over fund too much. Don’t go most aggressive. $750k is fine and just fund from other source if it goes over. If they lift the $35K max per beneficiary, then that’s a different story……

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's okay - but you should really have a longer game plan in mind if you want your kid to be successful and set. Plan for state undergrad and a name brand grad school/professional school. If they get funding, and there is money left over, give it to them for their first house/wedding etc. Young people will never recover financially if they have a lot of student debt plus a huge mortgage. Unless you have a trust fund to offer, and money is no object, spend wisely.

So basically, most young people are f*cked unless they have rich parents. Got it.

There is no point is History when this has not been true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are aiming for $3M per kid. We just don’t want them to be limited, ya know??

I’m aiming for 7 million to top your kids options so same, same like OP. Yhup.

[Anonymous]

Has anyone thought about the reverse? People aren't having kids, there are too many college and those that are not the most prestigious will be needing students to be able to stay open. I think (except the most prestigious schools) colleges will become less competitive and in reverse will be competing for mid range students especially those who can pay the bill. Cost will be a factor as millennial parents and those younger are better educated on student loans/debt so I think many smaller colleges will close and others will have to limit their cost to stay competitive/draw students. They're already saying gen Z is ditching college and focusing more on trades we'll see if the trend sticks.
We're not trying to Superfund/over fund 529 and instead are using things like UTMA accounts and Roth IRAs and taxable accounts so they have more choices on what to use the money for- weddings, house, school, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dumb thread of the day.

+1. Sometimes I can’t tell if people are trolling or if their heads are that really far up their bums.