So how does a two-Fed family that gets fired send a kid to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you intend to pay from your current salaries for tuition or do you have money saved? colleges aren’t going to give you $$$ if you have plenty of cash a 529.

That’s not true, most give generous aid regardless of 529 money when incomes are suddenly changed or low to begin with. The 529 is an asset of the parent, not the child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

DP: It's reality. If you cannot afford it, you find what you can afford. This is also exactly why you shouldn't select a 90K+ school unless you can actually afford it. Nothing wrong with selecting a state U or private that is giving you great merit. Or starting at CC if that is the affordable route for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

Most dual feds make 200-400k, more than many others. Some of it is lifestyle choices.

NP. The people here wagging their fingers at feds need to grow up. Do you not have any concept that there can be expenses like medical issues, chronic conditions, caregiving or care facilities for older relatives, and myriad other expenses YOU don't know about from your perch on your high horse? Just citing what you think "most" dual fed couples make is not helpful. You don't know where they have to live for their jobs and how expensive that area might be, either, even if they're frugal . Just stop the empathy-free blather about what feds "should have been saving" etc. People have lives and expenses beyond just stuffing 529s with an ideal amount of cash. Damn, the total lack of thinking or empathy here is sickening. (And no, I'm not a fed or married to one, I just get sick of parent-bashing whenever someone comes on this forum worried about paying for college.)

[Anonymous]

Hopefully you have saved and it's not a unexpected expense
And you simply and obviously get a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

Most dual feds make 200-400k, more than many others. Some of it is lifestyle choices.

Yes, for most it is "lifestyle choices". Which is fine, but then don't complain you "cannot afford college" because it was a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These comments are just mean. We are a one fed and we are asking our child to pick in state or equivalent with merit and close by. Definitely should live on campus first year. After that year by year decision. It sucks because kid got into some good schools with merit that involve significant travel but that where we are.

Yes, it "sucks" but that is where many kids are. Unless you already saved enough for 90K+ undergrad and a good portion of grad school, it is definately smart to choose a place you can afford. Even if you both still have your jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

No one is saying save hundreds of thousands of dollars. College that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars is for rich people. Feds are not rich people. This is what in state and community colleges are for.

+1

State U are typically about $30K/year (maybe $35K). A kid can earn $10K+ of that yearly. That leaves $20K to figure out. That only requires ~$80-90K total for the 4 years in savings. If you are worried about your jobs, that is what you do, just like most budget conscious people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

Most dual feds make 200-400k, more than many others. Some of it is lifestyle choices.

NP. The people here wagging their fingers at feds need to grow up. Do you not have any concept that there can be expenses like medical issues, chronic conditions, caregiving or care facilities for older relatives, and myriad other expenses YOU don't know about from your perch on your high horse? Just citing what you think "most" dual fed couples make is not helpful. You don't know where they have to live for their jobs and how expensive that area might be, either, even if they're frugal . Just stop the empathy-free blather about what feds "should have been saving" etc. People have lives and expenses beyond just stuffing 529s with an ideal amount of cash. Damn, the total lack of thinking or empathy here is sickening. (And no, I'm not a fed or married to one, I just get sick of parent-bashing whenever someone comes on this forum worried about paying for college.)

Get a grip. Two fed households are in the top 10% of earners. I'm not buying that people can't put away 3-5K a year on those salaries. Why not go the other way and ask what kind of cars they are driving, how many vacations they take, how many travel sports they participate in, etc.? The truth is, most people do not prioritize college expenses. That's perfectly OK, but not one I would choose for my children (and we make much less than two feds).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you intend to pay from your current salaries for tuition or do you have money saved? colleges aren’t going to give you $$$ if you have plenty of cash a 529.

That’s not true, most give generous aid regardless of 529 money when incomes are suddenly changed or low to begin with. The 529 is an asset of the parent, not the child.

And it's an asset universities expect you to utilize for college. That's literally the entire purpose of a 529. If you have $200K in a 529, they will rightly expect you to spend it on college.

[Anonymous]

Have kid join the military. He then can pay for college on his own

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well you should have been saving their whole life. If you can't afford it for whatever reason, then the kid can pay their way through community college. Not everyone is guaranteed college.

Get a life. It’s not so easy for everyone to save up hundreds of thousands of dollars. You don’t know what other expenses they’ve had, how long they’ve been feds, or anything else about them. Save your unhelpful moralizing.

Most dual feds make 200-400k, more than many others. Some of it is lifestyle choices.

NP. The people here wagging their fingers at feds need to grow up. Do you not have any concept that there can be expenses like medical issues, chronic conditions, caregiving or care facilities for older relatives, and myriad other expenses YOU don't know about from your perch on your high horse? Just citing what you think "most" dual fed couples make is not helpful. You don't know where they have to live for their jobs and how expensive that area might be, either, even if they're frugal . Just stop the empathy-free blather about what feds "should have been saving" etc. People have lives and expenses beyond just stuffing 529s with an ideal amount of cash. Damn, the total lack of thinking or empathy here is sickening. (And no, I'm not a fed or married to one, I just get sick of parent-bashing whenever someone comes on this forum worried about paying for college.)

Some of us choose to live within our means. That means living on a single salary and using the other for savings/extras, building a 9-12 month emergency fund, so that when a job loss happens it's doable without tons of pain. Yes, you can have other expenses, but once again, most people live above their means and have no plans in place for life's obstacles like a job loss. And if you were planning to fund college as largely "cash flow", then you had the opportunity to save in the past and should have.
Everyone I know has car loans---we haven't had one in 25 years---we paid off cars in 3 years, continued to save the "car payment plus a bit" and then were able to pay for cars at the 8-10 year mark with cash (and much nicer cars each time). Not many people think that is needed, but it's part of a mentality about being fiscally responsible. And it helps with weathering financial issues.

[Anonymous]

Not a fed, but:

We have always lived a frugal lifestyle. My husband was laid off multiple times in a volatile tech sector. There were times when we were living very near the bone. It was impossible to save for college during those years. We're lucky our circumstances changed in time. Our oldest is a college sophomore now.

Don't start on "you should have saved" or "you were living it up". Most families are actually responsible and do their best. Most feds don't earn a whole lot.

[Anonymous]

Well, the first eight or nine comments on this thread were useful, before it turned into the usual dumpster fire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a fed, but:

We have always lived a frugal lifestyle. My husband was laid off multiple times in a volatile tech sector. There were times when we were living very near the bone. It was impossible to save for college during those years. We're lucky our circumstances changed in time. Our oldest is a college sophomore now.

Don't start on "you should have saved" or "you were living it up". Most families are actually responsible and do their best. Most feds don't earn a whole lot.

+1. These people who need a pat on the back from the internet for their lifestyle are just sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a fed, but:

We have always lived a frugal lifestyle. My husband was laid off multiple times in a volatile tech sector. There were times when we were living very near the bone. It was impossible to save for college during those years. We're lucky our circumstances changed in time. Our oldest is a college sophomore now.

Don't start on "you should have saved" or "you were living it up". Most families are actually responsible and do their best. Most feds don't earn a whole lot.

+1. These people who need a pat on the back from the internet for their lifestyle are just sad.

It doesn't matter what the internet thinks. It's your kids who are affected. Community college and the military are always a good option though (seriously- no sarcasm intended!). Some people who have the means don't save because they don't think college is important. Where you put your money is where your values are.