1.5mm in unsheltered assets - dq'd for FA?

[Anonymous]

We make 250k a year, have nothing but loan debt and a 2018 car, a house we can't afford to repair, a kitchen from 1972, and health insurance premiums that eat up what the student loans don't. I'm not going to say what our retirement savings is because it depresses the hell out of me.

At this point my honest to God retirement plan is inheriting relatively modest assets from parents. Eventually.

But we're going to do everything we can to make sure DC can have a great college experience, and not be saddled with our poor financial crap. (Have a few on and off years with employment, a few crises, a few moves, it could happen to you too.) Because we started our with nothing it doesn't feel scary, it feels normal.

We are bucking for as much merit aid as possible, applied to colleges with that in mind, and so far that seems to be paying off. I can't imagine being in your shoes, OP, and complaining about anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been looking at how our small business can make some moves this year - buyout equipment leases etc - that could move our income down these years that matter for college FA for two kids.

But there's no shaking that we have 1.5 in stocks. We've maxed out retirement for 30 years, but we've had some stocks in our investment account that really took off in the last couple years so, barring a reversal, it is what it is. Our retirement accounts used to be where the bulk of our savings were, but they're about the same value now - they've been in index funds that did well but not the same crazy run up.

given that, does it even make sense to stress about getting income down? I could get it down from 250 to 150. But if it doesn't matter, I won't do this.

We already used some unsheltered assets to pay off mortgage.

so generally:
1.5mm in stocks
1.2 in retirement
1.2 in house
200k in 529 total

I know it seems like a lot but paying 90k for 8 years also seems like a lot.

You have 4M in assets. You don't need FA. If you're worried about money, lose the cocaine habit, or just put your $1.5M in some kind of high yield CEF (Pimco has a bunch), or just put it in S&P and use the returns to pay tuition. This isn't hard!

Exactly this. It really doesn’t matter how much is in each bucket, someone with 4 million in total assets isn’t (and shouldn’t be) eligible for financial aid.

[Anonymous]

OP, I sympathize with your problem. If your kid is trying for top schools, Princeton is the most generous, so it can be misleading to use their calculator. Use Yale or Stanford. You’re not going to get any aid with 1.5 in non-retirement stocks. So don’t make financial decisions based on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We make 250k a year, have nothing but loan debt and a 2018 car, a house we can't afford to repair, a kitchen from 1972, and health insurance premiums that eat up what the student loans don't. I'm not going to say what our retirement savings is because it depresses the hell out of me.

At this point my honest to God retirement plan is inheriting relatively modest assets from parents. Eventually.

But we're going to do everything we can to make sure DC can have a great college experience, and not be saddled with our poor financial crap. (Have a few on and off years with employment, a few crises, a few moves, it could happen to you too.) Because we started our with nothing it doesn't feel scary, it feels normal.

We are bucking for as much merit aid as possible, applied to colleges with that in mind, and so far that seems to be paying off. I can't imagine being in your shoes, OP, and complaining about anything.

This was me except for 180k HHI. Very little retirement. And then my parents died within 18 months and our chance at FA was gone. 90k colleges thought we could pay 60k. Absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:your home equity and retirement (which is low) are not counted.

you're on the hook for 90k total for two kids bcs of your assets.

getting income down to 150k will matter a lot. the richest schools will give you something off for second kid.

1.2 in retirement is low?

Depends on your age. Good if you are in your 30s, bad if you are in your 60s.

Depends more on your spending/current income level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I sympathize with your problem. If your kid is trying for top schools, Princeton is the most generous, so it can be misleading to use their calculator. Use Yale or Stanford. You’re not going to get any aid with 1.5 in non-retirement stocks. So don’t make financial decisions based on that.

Odds of OP's kid getting into Yale, Stanford, Princeton is in low single digits at best.. Much more logical for OP to run NPC at more realistic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make 250k a year, have nothing but loan debt and a 2018 car, a house we can't afford to repair, a kitchen from 1972, and health insurance premiums that eat up what the student loans don't. I'm not going to say what our retirement savings is because it depresses the hell out of me.

At this point my honest to God retirement plan is inheriting relatively modest assets from parents. Eventually.

But we're going to do everything we can to make sure DC can have a great college experience, and not be saddled with our poor financial crap. (Have a few on and off years with employment, a few crises, a few moves, it could happen to you too.) Because we started our with nothing it doesn't feel scary, it feels normal.

We are bucking for as much merit aid as possible, applied to colleges with that in mind, and so far that seems to be paying off. I can't imagine being in your shoes, OP, and complaining about anything.

This was me except for 180k HHI. Very little retirement. And then my parents died within 18 months and our chance at FA was gone. 90k colleges thought we could pay 60k. Absurd.

Ouch, yeah. I guess that's the risk. Well, then that's where the money goes, I guess.

College is only four years. DC has two other passports so going abroad for cheap grad school (or to flee US student debt, I'm only partially joking) is always an option. I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make 250k a year, have nothing but loan debt and a 2018 car, a house we can't afford to repair, a kitchen from 1972, and health insurance premiums that eat up what the student loans don't. I'm not going to say what our retirement savings is because it depresses the hell out of me.

At this point my honest to God retirement plan is inheriting relatively modest assets from parents. Eventually.

But we're going to do everything we can to make sure DC can have a great college experience, and not be saddled with our poor financial crap. (Have a few on and off years with employment, a few crises, a few moves, it could happen to you too.) Because we started our with nothing it doesn't feel scary, it feels normal.

We are bucking for as much merit aid as possible, applied to colleges with that in mind, and so far that seems to be paying off. I can't imagine being in your shoes, OP, and complaining about anything.

This was me except for 180k HHI. Very little retirement. And then my parents died within 18 months and our chance at FA was gone. 90k colleges thought we could pay 60k. Absurd.

I'm also sorry for your loss. I feel insensitive that I didn't lead with that.