3 kids under 5. How will I educate them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Right. Except that OPs kids are not doing it today, either.

[Anonymous]

Even if I could afford to pay my child's college tuition in full I wouldn't do it.

It's good for them to have financial responsibility for it, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

it's kind of arrogant. who says the kid will be going to college? i am not assuming that about mine, and we are a family full of phds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

it's kind of arrogant. who says the kid will be going to college? i am not assuming that about mine, and we are a family full of phds.

Because a college degree is basically the new high school diploma- necessary for any decent-paying job. I'm raising my kids with the assumption that college is not optional.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Right. Except that OPs kids are not doing it today, either.

PP who posted that here. Agreed. Neither are mine (16yo and 13yo). DH and I have saved about $250K for both of them. We are super-focused on this precisely because of what the Atlantic article points out - the economics of higher education make it impossible for them to pay their own way.

We will expect them to contribute to their expenses, but not to pay their own way because that is impossible without huge loans. We do not want them entering adulthood with education loans greater than whatever their starting salaries will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

it's kind of arrogant. who says the kid will be going to college? i am not assuming that about mine, and we are a family full of phds.

Because a college degree is basically the new high school diploma- necessary for any decent-paying job. I'm raising my kids with the assumption that college is not optional.

Oh but it is. Obviously you'll do what works for your family but I'm raising my children to never ever have a "job" per se. I've been able to turn my passion into a profession and I want to encourage them to do the same and not go to college simply to be qualified to make someone else wealthy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

it's kind of arrogant. who says the kid will be going to college? i am not assuming that about mine, and we are a family full of phds.

Because a college degree is basically the new high school diploma- necessary for any decent-paying job. I'm raising my kids with the assumption that college is not optional.

Oh but it is. Obviously you'll do what works for your family but I'm raising my children to never ever have a "job" per se. I've been able to turn my passion into a profession and I want to encourage them to do the same and not go to college simply to be qualified to make someone else wealthy.

hmmm...college is probably still a good back-up plan though? I'm not prepared to support my children financially as adults...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Right. Except that OPs kids are not doing it today, either.

PP who posted that here. Agreed. Neither are mine (16yo and 13yo). DH and I have saved about $250K for both of them. We are super-focused on this precisely because of what the Atlantic article points out - the economics of higher education make it impossible for them to pay their own way.

We will expect them to contribute to their expenses, but not to pay their own way because that is impossible without huge loans. We do not want them entering adulthood with education loans greater than whatever their starting salaries will be.

the economics of american higher education is such that it will implode during our lifetimes. your children might be too "old" for that, but by the time today's toddlers are college students the landscape of higher education will be tremendously different. it is foolish to extrapolate from today's tuitions and jobs requirements etc to something 20 years down the road when things are changing so rapidly in so many industries.

... and even if i had a zillion dollars to pay for project tuition 20 years down the road, i would use the money to buy them real estate vs. some elusive degree that might or might lead to a job that will take them another 30 years to pay off a house that i could have bought them with tuition money.

[Anonymous]

I agree that projecting the college situation in a straight line from here to 15 or even 10 years from now is nuts. In just the last 5 years, many colleges have taken introductory classes 100% online, and MOOCs give you access to the best professors for nothing.

By 2030, who knows what changes technology will have introduced. I seriously doubt today's toddlers will have the same college experience we did, and I am certain the cost will not continue to rise at the same rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that projecting the college situation in a straight line from here to 15 or even 10 years from now is nuts. In just the last 5 years, many colleges have taken introductory classes 100% online, and MOOCs give you access to the best professors for nothing.

By 2030, who knows what changes technology will have introduced. I seriously doubt today's toddlers will have the same college experience we did, and I am certain the cost will not continue to rise at the same rate.

I agree that there will be changes in higher education, but high-quality programs will likely still remain an expensive gateway to good jobs. It is a big gamble to not save for college and just hope the system changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that projecting the college situation in a straight line from here to 15 or even 10 years from now is nuts. In just the last 5 years, many colleges have taken introductory classes 100% online, and MOOCs give you access to the best professors for nothing.

By 2030, who knows what changes technology will have introduced. I seriously doubt today's toddlers will have the same college experience we did, and I am certain the cost will not continue to rise at the same rate.

I agree that there will be changes in higher education, but high-quality programs will likely still remain an expensive gateway to good jobs. It is a big gamble to not save for college and just hope the system changes.

it is still a smaller gamble than living one's whole life (having less kids, living in a smaller house, feeling poor, under saving retirement etc) because of the assumption that 2030 tuition will be 7 million dollars or something.

and the key to high-quality programs is their selectiveness, not money. is your kid the top 1% or top 0.01%? are you going to gamble 20 years of your lifestyle and all major decisions on the belief that he is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We only had one child, partially for this reason. And he has a prepaid tuition fund.

+1 We did the same thing. We paid it off by age five and now have a 529.

That's impressive that you funded your prepaid 529 in 5 years. It's over $40,000 just for a lump sum payment right now.

it's kind of arrogant. who says the kid will be going to college? i am not assuming that about mine, and we are a family full of phds.

I was expected to go to college. That is how I will raise my child. We used pre-child savings and paid off with tax refunds (took 0 deductions) and paid a little extra each month. I will raise my child to expect him to go to college too. It isn't an option in our home just like it wasn't for me. I also expect him, like I did to pick a major that will give him a career. If he wants a trade, like plumbing or electrician, no problem, but we'll expect he get a business degree so he knows how to run his own business. My parents paid for school and I see the benefits and I was always very financially responsible (hence want to try to do the same). My husband didn't and he struggled and didn't get his degree till age 40. Why would he want his child to go though the same thing if we can help. I find it kinda arrogant to have a good job(s) and nasty to not make your child's education a priority if you can afford to do so (there is a huge difference between making it every month and driving two fancy cars/big house).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that projecting the college situation in a straight line from here to 15 or even 10 years from now is nuts. In just the last 5 years, many colleges have taken introductory classes 100% online, and MOOCs give you access to the best professors for nothing.

By 2030, who knows what changes technology will have introduced. I seriously doubt today's toddlers will have the same college experience we did, and I am certain the cost will not continue to rise at the same rate.

I agree that there will be changes in higher education, but high-quality programs will likely still remain an expensive gateway to good jobs. It is a big gamble to not save for college and just hope the system changes.

I don't think there will be changes which is why we did the prepaid. We know we cannot afford $70,000+ for a public school so at least we have something. If they don't go, not a big deal. You supposedly get the money back or you can transfer it to another child.

[Anonymous]

Move to FFX County, excellent public schools and state universities and colleges.