So no one is going to private schools unless they make $400k??? |
I don’t care about retirement. I just want my kids to make it out okay. |
You will when you are in your 60s and it becomes real. |
You have no idea where I came from. My grandparents never finished high school and lived off social security in parts of the country you would never set foot. If you are willing to move, social security and a 20 year fed pension I will be fine. |
I wouldn’t even do it at $400k. |
Not with 3 kids. You can, but you’ll end up like OP. Better bet (and the one we are taking on a similar income) is to send the kids to state schools. If they want to go private they can attempt that at the masters level. We also live in the same house we bought in 2012. OP decided to move during the crazy bubble times we are currently in. Financial choices matter. And sometimes the consequences of those choices don’t become apparent until much later. |
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OP- you came here for financial advice. Everyone is telling you not to tap into your TSP for cash flow when you have money set aside for an emergency, will get months of severance pay, a working spouse, and 300K in funds for college, and one of your kids is more than half way done with school!
It will be far worse for your kids if you don't have enough for retirement. They will worry about you and that will impact their future more than college loans or state school. |
The poor second kid is going to kid screwed here so that Kid 1 can go to a school “like Duke” that OP cannot actually afford. Maybe they will recover in time for Kid 3, but not likely. |
That’s nice you bought a decade ago. We didn’t have that option. |
I came here asking how to withdraw from TSP and what qualified as hardship. Instead I got got judgement. |
If by that you mean you are paying extra on your mortgage, I don't have the words to describe how dumb that is. |
Because what you’re trying to do is akin to poking your eyes out when you just need a pair of glasses. Your kids won’t thank you for paying for private colleges when they have to support you when you’re elderly and destitute for 20 years. I don’t think it’s wise to blow your retirement while counting on a govt pension and social security given the current administration. |
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You need to finished paying for college for kid 1 from the 529 - stop cash flowing it - she’s already a junior so you can’t move her now. Then use the remainder of the 529 for kid 2. At the same time you need to start saving for a new 529 for kid 3. But the current 529 will be completely used up by the first two kids, plus you will have to pay additional for kid 2 even if they go instate.
But you cannot even consider touching your retirement. And the RIF’d person needs to focus heavily on finding a new job. |
your kids will do better if you can model good financial strategies in lean times, rather than blowing up your savings to continue passing as solvent when you aren't. taking care of financially irresponsible parents was a giant burden, made worse because a lot of their profligate spending was in fact to keep up appearances. did i benefit from my moms success at clinging to the very bottom rung of middle-class existence? yes, of course. but i might have made it out anyway if they had instead given me the tools of frugality and careful investment and executive function. |
| New pp here. I'm going to pull my TSP out and pay off my house with it so that I don't have to worry about a house payment. I have no savings aside from the TSP. |