Does everyone on here with kids applying to top 50 schools really have the $80K per year to spend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

Some of the ivy league colleges are stopping looking at house value as collateral. Pay down your mortgage instead (if you have one)

we did this. probably is the reason we have healthy vanguard account is because we didn't trade up to a 2.5mm house. if we had done that, we wouldn't have out investment account, but we'd have a very valuable primary home we could downsize from. I feel like the home equity part should have a cap tbh. I mean, should we buy a place now, 12 months before the apps go in? that seems sketch to me.

life insurance also scares me. I just don't understand it. again, people with good investment accounts are good at investing. life insurance sounds like a bad investment vehicle (again, I need to learn about it obv and factor in FA savings). think I am going to buy a single premium long term health insurance policy.

[Anonymous]

We've been paying 30 grand plus a year for private school for many years now.

We've saved 125K in a 529 plan and only stopped because at that point it made more sense to save it somewhere else. We will continue to save for graduate school. We only have one child.

My parents did the prepaid plan for our kid when they were little. Looking back, I think the regular 529 would have been better, but I think it should be about 18,000 a year for OOS.

So, between what we've saved and what my parents did, it will not be more than what we've been paying for private school.

Do I think it's crazy? Yes. Will we do it? Probably. I really wanted to find merit aid, but I'm also apparently a prestige wh*re.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

Some of the ivy league colleges are stopping looking at house value as collateral. Pay down your mortgage instead (if you have one)

we did this. probably is the reason we have healthy vanguard account is because we didn't trade up to a 2.5mm house. if we had done that, we wouldn't have out investment account, but we'd have a very valuable primary home we could downsize from. I feel like the home equity part should have a cap tbh. I mean, should we buy a place now, 12 months before the apps go in? that seems sketch to me.

life insurance also scares me. I just don't understand it. again, people with good investment accounts are good at investing. life insurance sounds like a bad investment vehicle (again, I need to learn about it obv and factor in FA savings). think I am going to buy a single premium long term health insurance policy.

Whole life pays more than a savings account/bonds, but less than equivalent amounts in the stock market on average. Of course, the stock market has gyrations and hopefully you don't need the $$$s exactly when the market tanks (again, think March 2020, or 2008/09). You also quite obviously have life insurance as well...and it gets to the point where the amount you receive in annual dividends far exceeds the premiums on the insurance so at that point you have life insurance essentially forever (although, you can continue to pay premiums and increase your cash value if you want).

Just suggesting another alternative to buying down your mortgage if you want to shield your assets for FA purposes.

[Anonymous]

Grandparents do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grandparents do.

Not us

Do that many grandparents pay for their grandchildren's college??

DH and I saved early because we paid for our own colleges (and everything else), and that was difficult. We did not (and do not) expect anyone to bail us out, because it just is not going to happen. We actually bail DH's family out sometimes. We had to save early and often, and it meant no trips, etc. It taught us a lot, that is for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

Some of the ivy league colleges are stopping looking at house value as collateral. Pay down your mortgage instead (if you have one)

we did this. probably is the reason we have healthy vanguard account is because we didn't trade up to a 2.5mm house. if we had done that, we wouldn't have out investment account, but we'd have a very valuable primary home we could downsize from. I feel like the home equity part should have a cap tbh. I mean, should we buy a place now, 12 months before the apps go in? that seems sketch to me.

life insurance also scares me. I just don't understand it. again, people with good investment accounts are good at investing. life insurance sounds like a bad investment vehicle (again, I need to learn about it obv and factor in FA savings). think I am going to buy a single premium long term health insurance policy.

Sme-- life insurance as investment seems super sus. Like it's scam of some sort. I'm not even going to aste time looking into it. I just know i'd never feel comfortable doing it. I'll continue to just save in Vanguard account and pay our mortgage. Not spending time trying to hide assets to avoid paying tuition because 1) seem immoral, 2) I'm sure I'd screw things up and look a fool, 3) too busy/lazy to figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Colleges shouldn't cost this much for any student. PERIOD. Parental finances shouldn't matter.

By the way, its only a burden for W2 DONUT FAMILIES, with documented income, who earn and save by working hard and keeping a frugal lifestyle.

Low and lower income get aid. Upper middle income, non W2 folks who can do loop holes on taxes or people who live high and don't save and invest, also get aid. Wealthy don't need to care about aid.

[Anonymous]

Kid got into Bucknell. Accomplished singer. Was hoping for maybe a small talent scholarship. Sent file of performance. No offer of anything. turned the school down. $85000 to $95000. That's too much.