3 kids under 5. How will I educate them?

[Anonymous]

There are some other things to consider for the future ....

..... as much as I love living in DC - do we move in HS to be aligend with a state that has a better University system?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

so not being sucked up into the american college bubble is not considered not educating my children? don't worry about me, if college degrees are not obsolete by then, and the bubble here hasn't exploded yet (unlikely), they will go to college abroad.

[Anonymous]

My children will have zero expectation that I'm going to pay for their college education. Whatever I do will seem like a huge blessing.

[Anonymous]

$500/month per kid is really great. I wouldn't save more even if I could. I think people who are saying that you are screwed aren't even reading your post.

[Anonymous]

It really bothers me how so many people have it ingrained in their minds to save for their kids' college. When did that shift happen? Likely when all of the 529 plans started. Some people contribute to that before their own retirement plans. It's just nuts. So you put all the money away and then your kid ends up dropping out of school. Or not going. Or graduating but still ends up working a retail job. Meanwhile you are suffering through retirement because you didn't save enough.

Stop focusing so much on saving for college. There are other ways to pay for that. Many of us paid our way through and took loans and ended up just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really bothers me how so many people have it ingrained in their minds to save for their kids' college. When did that shift happen? Likely when all of the 529 plans started. Some people contribute to that before their own retirement plans. It's just nuts. So you put all the money away and then your kid ends up dropping out of school. Or not going. Or graduating but still ends up working a retail job. Meanwhile you are suffering through retirement because you didn't save enough.

Stop focusing so much on saving for college. There are other ways to pay for that. Many of us paid our way through and took loans and ended up just fine.

It happened when the economics changed, such that it is pretty much impossible for anyone to "work his/her way through college" as we did in the 70s and 80s.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/the-myth-of-working-your-way-through-college/359735/

[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.

NP here. You are the idiot.

[Anonymous]

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

Don't listen to these jealous people who plan their lives around having the perfect house and saving to send their only to private. You are saving what you can. Enjoy your children while they are little and your family. People who think that families should only have one child so they can afford $250000 for college are deluded. Colleges will just keep raising the price. The college bubble will burst. Most families are like you and worry about college but if they are sane it does not prevent them from having children. You could move to a state that has a decent public university like Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas.

[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.

+1, I agree, I find that so depressing.

[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.

Pretty impossible these days to work your way through school (even community college) and scholarships aren't available to everyone. What's so hard to understand about wanting to give your kids the best possible start in their adult lives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

+1, I agree, I find that so depressing.

I find the idea of my children struggling to pay off loans for many years after they graduate (as I've witnessed my peers and H do) depressing, but to each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really bothers me how so many people have it ingrained in their minds to save for their kids' college. When did that shift happen? Likely when all of the 529 plans started. Some people contribute to that before their own retirement plans. It's just nuts. So you put all the money away and then your kid ends up dropping out of school. Or not going. Or graduating but still ends up working a retail job. Meanwhile you are suffering through retirement because you didn't save enough.

Stop focusing so much on saving for college. There are other ways to pay for that. Many of us paid our way through and took loans and ended up just fine.

It happened for me when I realized I didn't want my kids to have six figure debt like I did. We are now in a financial situation where, if we are smart with our money, we can ay all of ther undergrad and likely grad. Not that we will, but it would give them a significant financial head start in life. However, we do max out 401k, Roth and have other savings.

[Anonymous]

The OP is making $200K a year. At that income level the expectation for some parent support for college is very different than what some of us may have grown up with.

The OP also lives in DC. There is no in-state system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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
I paid for my own education and have done quite well. My parents had three kids under five and told us early on that we would all go to college, but we would all pay for it ourselves. My parents gave me $500 each year that I was in college (grand total $1500) -- I graduated a year early by taking as many credits as I could handle each semester. I worked a part-time job and got merit scholarships for my second and third years of school. I went to a state school and graduated almost debt free. Granted, this was 25 years ago.

I also paid for my own graduate school.

Thank you for this post and good for you. That's the kind of kid I'm trying to raise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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
I paid for my own education and have done quite well. My parents had three kids under five and told us early on that we would all go to college, but we would all pay for it ourselves. My parents gave me $500 each year that I was in college (grand total $1500) -- I graduated a year early by taking as many credits as I could handle each semester. I worked a part-time job and got merit scholarships for my second and third years of school. I went to a state school and graduated almost debt free. Granted, this was 25 years ago.

I also paid for my own graduate school.

There is no comparison between what you did 25 years ago and what a student with the same profile can do today. None.

See the Atlantic article linked above.