Giving your kids cash in lieu of tuition for $$ schools

[Anonymous]

My uncle did something kind of like this with his kids. One of them went to her university on a ROTC scholarship, so they used some of the funds they would have spent on her tuition to buy her a new car (I think it was a Honda civic or something similar.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to wrap my head around what would be fair and motivating yet also not allow the money to dictate if it doesn't have to.

We don't really have a budget for college. We will be able to pay for whatever it is, but we want our kids to be prudent.

DS is a junior. He asked me yesterday if he gets accepted to our competitive state school and decides to go there, would he be able to get some cash if he chose that school over a private or out of state that would cost twice as much or more.

I am inclined to do it - like give him some cash upon graduation (not the full difference), but I also don't want it to be the deciding factor if he thinks he'd like somewhere else more.

Had anyone done something like this?

I do not like the way he thinks. He is passively blackmailing you.

[Anonymous]

no, we saved the money for EDUCATION. and it is not *their* money they are entitled to. we would absolutely give it for grad school if they chose a less expensive undergrad, and maybe if there were still $$$ left over we'd give it when they were like 30, but hard no to handing an 18 year old tens of thousands of dollars in cash.

[Anonymous]

I remember a boy I went to high school with got a brand new car for turning down Cornell to go to our local state school. This was in a college town (where we grew up) in the middle of the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to wrap my head around what would be fair and motivating yet also not allow the money to dictate if it doesn't have to.

We don't really have a budget for college. We will be able to pay for whatever it is, but we want our kids to be prudent.

DS is a junior. He asked me yesterday if he gets accepted to our competitive state school and decides to go there, would he be able to get some cash if he chose that school over a private or out of state that would cost twice as much or more.

I am inclined to do it - like give him some cash upon graduation (not the full difference), but I also don't want it to be the deciding factor if he thinks he'd like somewhere else more.

Had anyone done something like this?

I do not like the way he thinks. He is passively blackmailing you.

Some of you must have really antagonistic relationships with your kids.

[Anonymous]

I would do that, but give it as some sort of investment, like fund a retirement account or real estate.

[Anonymous]

I told DS we had a certain budget for undergrad. He asked if he spent less could he use the rest for grad school. Since the money is in his 529 plan, absolutely he can use it for grad school. I would have offered that as an incentive to be wise with his spending but he beat me to it in asking. He chose VT and will have a good amount left for grad school.

[Anonymous]

Your children will be happier and more successful if you send them to learn a trade or technical associates degree, and give them a downpayment on a house.

If they can’t get a scholarship or employer-sponsored degree, they probably will not recoup your investment. A home will. So will a trade or technical job.

Colleges have been overproducing graduates for decades. Most of their jobs are easy to automate or offshore. If you’re not getting a healthcare, law, or engineering degree, you’ll almost certainly lose money on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I told DS we had a certain budget for undergrad. He asked if he spent less could he use the rest for grad school. Since the money is in his 529 plan, absolutely he can use it for grad school. I would have offered that as an incentive to be wise with his spending but he beat me to it in asking. He chose VT and will have a good amount left for grad school.

Also, if for some reason he ends up not going to grad school the money will stay in his account to grow for future grandchildren's education.

[Anonymous]

A lot of us can do both. Why choose?