How much did you save for college this year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2 kids under 4. Fully funded 4 years of college prepaid. 30 in each child's 529. HHI 275. We put in 10 to 15 K in each every year and will until each is at least 100K each.

Just curious, why so much? Does prepaid not cover room and board?

Our strategy was to have $50k in each 529 and then shift that money to another saving vehicle that could be used for college or retirement (this was our financial advisers suggestion). We expect to have no mortgage when kids are in school and an increased income so paying a monthly tuition bill is likely possible.

[Anonymous]

A monthly tuition bill of 5k??

[Anonymous]

We live in DC and make about $250k and have about 90k for our 5 year old and 40k for our 2 year old. My parents have contributed about 50k of that. I'm kind of surprised that people who are earning double or triple as the amount we are haven't contributed more. I'm pretty freaked out by college costs... but at the same time I wonder at what point we should shift more to retirement savings. We save about 50k a year for retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I save 1200 every year in a 529. Not much and hope to up it by the time he is 5. (Currently 3.5). Single mom making 58k.

at this income i think its STUPID to save for college. you don't have the extra money and if you do you need to save for retirement. you are lower class and will get FA.

You don't have enough information to make that conclusion. Her child has another 15 years to go. Her income can double or triple by then and/or she can marry. We also don't know what FA will look like (grants? loans?). $1200 is not helping or hurting her bottom line.

I made 90k this year (up from 70k in 2013) and contributed $2400 to a 529. No I don't max retirement...I have done 10% to TSP and $2400 to a Roth IRA for years. I should have a pension in retirement and a paid off mortgage when DD enrolls in college. I'll be 44. My income will be higher and I intend to marry before then. I would love FA or scholarship money to appear, but it's not something I am willing to count on. My hope is to ease the financial burden on DD, even if some loans will be necessary.

This poster said it well. It's not stupid. It's a priority for her and her child, and things could look very different in 15 years. I started saving in a 529 when I made less than that, and I still contribute now that I'm up to 90K.

No, it is stupid. Unless she is fully funding her retirement first, which would be awesome, but I can see how that is possible.

[Anonymous]

One child 3 yr old and another on the way. HHI is $440k. We saved $18k in the 529 this year. The total in the account is about $40k. We save $70k/yr for retirement. With the new baby, I'm not sure what our total savings will be next year but I'm aiming for at least $10k/per child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 kids under 4. Fully funded 4 years of college prepaid. 30 in each child's 529. HHI 275. We put in 10 to 15 K in each every year and will until each is at least 100K each.

Just curious, why so much? Does prepaid not cover room and board?

Our strategy was to have $50k in each 529 and then shift that money to another saving vehicle that could be used for college or retirement (this was our financial advisers suggestion). We expect to have no mortgage when kids are in school and an increased income so paying a monthly tuition bill is likely possible.

Not that PP--but no, prepaid is just tuition.
Might be assuming that one or both kids ends up going private (or out of state), needing more than 4 years to graduate, or attending grad school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 kids under 4. Fully funded 4 years of college prepaid. 30 in each child's 529. HHI 275. We put in 10 to 15 K in each every year and will until each is at least 100K each.

Just curious, why so much? Does prepaid not cover room and board?

Our strategy was to have $50k in each 529 and then shift that money to another saving vehicle that could be used for college or retirement (this was our financial advisers suggestion). We expect to have no mortgage when kids are in school and an increased income so paying a monthly tuition bill is likely possible.

Not that PP--but no, prepaid is just tuition.
Might be assuming that one or both kids ends up going private (or out of state), needing more than 4 years to graduate, or attending grad school.

I am the pp. We are saving that much because, as another said, prepaid only covers tuition. Also, the sooner you buy in, the cheaper it is--you lock in the tuition rate (you pay the tuition) at the time you buy. So we bought it all rather than financing over time and watching the total price go up. We figure that expenses with the kids will go up with possible private school, after school activities, camps, etc. We also want to do more big travel later on and that is pricey. With little kids we aren't really doing international travel other than the caribbean and canada and cruising. Another reason is that DH and I both have JDs and we each did one degree at a public school and one at a private. And our JDs were not paid for by parents. We believe that public colleges are an excellent option--particularly in Virginia where we prepaid. However, if a child is accepted to a private that is worth the money (whole other topic right there) or that fits some specific need, then we want to have some money set aside for that possibility. If one or both goes private, the prepaid account basically becomes a bank account--the money is available for use at the private but obviously the savings rate is not what we would have received if we had put it in a decent 529 (or so they say). Also, we are just very big into feeling financially secure. We had no debt other than our house. We buy cars in cash, we are saving for a major renovation and will not get a line of credit to do it or otherwise finance it. We are just generally risk averse. FWIW, my family is the same in many ways and they are a good model and are quite well to do. OTOH, DHs family has been much more "new rich" in their behaviors and are facing a very tight retirement. They have been a model of what not do.

[Anonymous]

PP here with one more reason we save so much. We aren't young. We agreed that if something were to happen to one of us and the other was raising the kids alone on a tighter income, it would be good to know that college was paid for.

[Anonymous]

I'm a single mom with a $100K HHI, a mortgage and one 6-year-old kid. Until recently I was saving $3K a year (since her birth), but I've started ramping it up now that she is in public school and we are saving a bit over daycare. I believe her dad is saving something similar.

I don't max out retirement, but I come close - a bit over $15K per year in 401K.

[Anonymous]

36k plus whatever bump the market gave us. I haven't checked the roi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I save 1200 every year in a 529. Not much and hope to up it by the time he is 5. (Currently 3.5). Single mom making 58k.

at this income i think its STUPID to save for college. you don't have the extra money and if you do you need to save for retirement. you are lower class and will get FA.

You don't have enough information to make that conclusion. Her child has another 15 years to go. Her income can double or triple by then and/or she can marry. We also don't know what FA will look like (grants? loans?). $1200 is not helping or hurting her bottom line.

I made 90k this year (up from 70k in 2013) and contributed $2400 to a 529. No I don't max retirement...I have done 10% to TSP and $2400 to a Roth IRA for years. I should have a pension in retirement and a paid off mortgage when DD enrolls in college. I'll be 44. My income will be higher and I intend to marry before then. I would love FA or scholarship money to appear, but it's not something I am willing to count on. My hope is to ease the financial burden on DD, even if some loans will be necessary.

This poster said it well. It's not stupid. It's a priority for her and her child, and things could look very different in 15 years. I started saving in a 529 when I made less than that, and I still contribute now that I'm up to 90K.

No, it is stupid. Unless she is fully funding her retirement first, which would be awesome, but I can see how that is possible.

not everyone needs to max in order to have a nice retirement. I don't max, never have, and my projected income will surpass what I currently earn. And I will not have a mortgage or childcare expenses unlike now.

[Anonymous]

Single parent of a senior in high school. Saved $4000 this year, but I'm woefully behind and keeping fingers crossed for some non-loan need-based aid. HHI is 87,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Single parent of a senior in high school. Saved $4000 this year, but I'm woefully behind and keeping fingers crossed for some non-loan need-based aid. HHI is 87,000.

How much have you saved so far? I'm a single parent of a 5 year old. Have about 5K so far.

[Anonymous]

HHI of 340k currently max out on retirement. 2 Kids (9 and 11 year old) currently have 100k total saved. Ramping it up right now. Hoping to save about 15k each for the next 8-10 years. Won't have mortgage when they go to college and currently only debt is mortgage on house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2 kids under 4. Fully funded 4 years of college prepaid. 30 in each child's 529. HHI 275. We put in 10 to 15 K in each every year and will until each is at least 100K each.

Just curious, why so much? Does prepaid not cover room and board?

Our strategy was to have $50k in each 529 and then shift that money to another saving vehicle that could be used for college or retirement (this was our financial advisers suggestion). We expect to have no mortgage when kids are in school and an increased income so paying a monthly tuition bill is likely possible.

Not that PP--but no, prepaid is just tuition.
Might be assuming that one or both kids ends up going private (or out of state), needing more than 4 years to graduate, or attending grad school.

I am the pp. We are saving that much because, as another said, prepaid only covers tuition. Also, the sooner you buy in, the cheaper it is--you lock in the tuition rate (you pay the tuition) at the time you buy. So we bought it all rather than financing over time and watching the total price go up. We figure that expenses with the kids will go up with possible private school, after school activities, camps, etc. We also want to do more big travel later on and that is pricey. With little kids we aren't really doing international travel other than the caribbean and canada and cruising. Another reason is that DH and I both have JDs and we each did one degree at a public school and one at a private. And our JDs were not paid for by parents. We believe that public colleges are an excellent option--particularly in Virginia where we prepaid. However, if a child is accepted to a private that is worth the money (whole other topic right there) or that fits some specific need, then we want to have some money set aside for that possibility. If one or both goes private, the prepaid account basically becomes a bank account--the money is available for use at the private but obviously the savings rate is not what we would have received if we had put it in a decent 529 (or so they say). Also, we are just very big into feeling financially secure. We had no debt other than our house. We buy cars in cash, we are saving for a major renovation and will not get a line of credit to do it or otherwise finance it. We are just generally risk averse. FWIW, my family is the same in many ways and they are a good model and are quite well to do. OTOH, DHs family has been much more "new rich" in their behaviors and are facing a very tight retirement. They have been a model of what not do.

I'm the PP who asked about pre-paid. Thanks for the response. We are in VA, and did talk about pre-paid, but DH and I both went to state schools and wanted our kids to have the choice to go out of state and thought a 529 was the better choice for this. But your response makes me think!

Has anyone rolled 529 money into the pre-paid plan? I understand you can do this in at least some states. Not sure about VA, though.