“Fully Funded College”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

It's not the amount you are saving, you passive aggressive fool. It's your allocation. And yes, life is unfair, but parents shouldn't be. That should be obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people underestimate cost.

Amherst this fall is around 90k

Amherst is between $75k and $80k.

Why do people want to sent their kids so far away? Apart from instate tuition I want my kids to go to school in VA so they are close by and settle in VA after college and marry someone from around here. I want my kids and grandkids nearby.

Holy crap. Talk about boundary issues. What a nightmare you are/will be, PP.

She sounds smart to me. Be a good parent and your kids will want to stay close.

This may be the dumbest statement of the year thus far on DCUM. And that's a high bar to clear.

[Anonymous]

No school costs 90k a year. You're trying to sound like an expert schooling us peasants and you sound like a know nothing fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

The comment about "apologizing" for not having as much money is a total deflection. The point isn't HOW MUCH you are saving, it's that you're saving more for some of your kids than you are for others. It would be trivially simple for you to just "even things up" and gift each of your kids the same amount. Why not do that?

If you aren't a lying troll, then you're a jerk and a bad parent. You deserve the unhappiness and resentment that is surely coming your way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

It's not the amount you are saving, you passive aggressive fool. It's your allocation. And yes, life is unfair, but parents shouldn't be. That should be obvious.

Exactly right. What parent says, well life is unfair so I am going to treat some of my children better than others? If this is real, the kid #3 will grow to resent and despise his parents. Rightfully so.

[Anonymous]

Well we are contributing the same amount to each 529 plan but our kids are also spaced a few years apart and you never know what the market will do and what the final #s will be.

Sometimes good intentions don’t pan out anyway. My parents had very little saved for my siblings and I but were able to contribute a bit more on a yearly basis for the older kids during college itself- of course they were planning to do the same for the youngest but my dad was laid off and ended up with a lower paying job. Life happens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

The comment about "apologizing" for not having as much money is a total deflection. The point isn't HOW MUCH you are saving, it's that you're saving more for some of your kids than you are for others. It would be trivially simple for you to just "even things up" and gift each of your kids the same amount. Why not do that?

If you aren't a lying troll, then you're a jerk and a bad parent. You deserve the unhappiness and resentment that is surely coming your way.

You sound insane. The kid is going to be "unhappy and resentful" because he got $85,000 and his sister got $100k? Sorry, I don't raise my kids to assign that kind of value to money. We're open about what we can and cannot afford. And you seem to have trouble with simple math: We're not saving "more" for some kids over others. But I'll put it in terms you can understand (maybe): Susie was born first. We started saving for her first. Johnny was born last. Hence, we started putting money away for him after Susie. Right now there is more money in Susie's account. I cannot predict how much money we will earn over the next 10 years. Neither can I predict the returns in these 529 accounts. Therefore, I cannot guarantee that when Johnny turns 18 he will have exactly as much money as Susie had 5 years earlier. Lying troll out!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No school costs 90k a year. You're trying to sound like an expert schooling us peasants and you sound like a know nothing fool.

I did a cost calculator for my three year old and $90K is not far off. Based on the rate tuition has increased in the past 5-7 years. This would be on the high end - ivy, private LAC, etc. - not state schools. But that number is not a bad estimate for what college will cost per year in the 2030s.

[Anonymous]

https://vanguard.wealthmsi.com/collcost.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

The comment about "apologizing" for not having as much money is a total deflection. The point isn't HOW MUCH you are saving, it's that you're saving more for some of your kids than you are for others. It would be trivially simple for you to just "even things up" and gift each of your kids the same amount. Why not do that?

If you aren't a lying troll, then you're a jerk and a bad parent. You deserve the unhappiness and resentment that is surely coming your way.

You sound insane. The kid is going to be "unhappy and resentful" because he got $85,000 and his sister got $100k? Sorry, I don't raise my kids to assign that kind of value to money. We're open about what we can and cannot afford. And you seem to have trouble with simple math: We're not saving "more" for some kids over others. But I'll put it in terms you can understand (maybe): Susie was born first. We started saving for her first. Johnny was born last. Hence, we started putting money away for him after Susie. Right now there is more money in Susie's account. I cannot predict how much money we will earn over the next 10 years. Neither can I predict the returns in these 529 accounts. Therefore, I cannot guarantee that when Johnny turns 18 he will have exactly as much money as Susie had 5 years earlier. Lying troll out!

Why not just even out their accounts? It'd be pretty simple to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have about $300k per child in each 529. I stopped bc my financial advisor said it would be better to just pay cash for any overage at this point. I figured I’m fully funded then between what it costs and what I’ll owe as I have the funds. That said, unless I’m talking to my spouse, I’ve or on this post, ive never said the words fully funded college funds with regard to our kids. Who talks like that about their own kids to others??

Wow PP. You are very fortunate. We'll be lucky if we can save $100k for each of our 3 kids. I know we'll get to that for one, and maybe/probably two. The third will be a stretch. No way we can afford to send them to any school they want, all expenses paid. We can definitely help, but they'll have to make some real adult decisions on how to cover the rest: military service, taking out loans, doing community college for two years & transferring, etc etc

Wait, your plan is to give your first two kids more than your third, and just tell the third kid to make some "real adult decisions" in order to cover the shortfall? You can't be serious.

Well the kids are spaced several years apart. So we have a better estimate on what the oldest child will have available at age 18. But based on our jobs/the market/unforeseen circumstances, that number is harder to estimate for the youngest child. But even if the oldest gets $100k and the youngest $85k, is that so unfair? It's life. And again, based on only having $100k each all THREE will have to make decisions on how to "fully fund" college. I apologize for not having as much money as you seem to have.

The comment about "apologizing" for not having as much money is a total deflection. The point isn't HOW MUCH you are saving, it's that you're saving more for some of your kids than you are for others. It would be trivially simple for you to just "even things up" and gift each of your kids the same amount. Why not do that?

If you aren't a lying troll, then you're a jerk and a bad parent. You deserve the unhappiness and resentment that is surely coming your way.

You sound insane. The kid is going to be "unhappy and resentful" because he got $85,000 and his sister got $100k? Sorry, I don't raise my kids to assign that kind of value to money. We're open about what we can and cannot afford. And you seem to have trouble with simple math: We're not saving "more" for some kids over others. But I'll put it in terms you can understand (maybe): Susie was born first. We started saving for her first. Johnny was born last. Hence, we started putting money away for him after Susie. Right now there is more money in Susie's account. I cannot predict how much money we will earn over the next 10 years. Neither can I predict the returns in these 529 accounts. Therefore, I cannot guarantee that when Johnny turns 18 he will have exactly as much money as Susie had 5 years earlier. Lying troll out!

"Unhappy and resentful" might be a little overwrought, but yes it's weird to gift different amounts to your different kids' education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most people underestimate cost.

Amherst this fall is around 90k

Amherst is between $75k and $80k.

Why do people want to sent their kids so far away? Apart from instate tuition I want my kids to go to school in VA so they are close by and settle in VA after college and marry someone from around here. I want my kids and grandkids nearby.

Holy crap. Talk about boundary issues. What a nightmare you are/will be, PP.

She sounds smart to me. Be a good parent and your kids will want to stay close.

Its up to the kid where they want to go -- I'm not sure how parents can control that exactly....

[Anonymous]

We live in DC, and for us, "fully funded" means that each of two kids has full tuition and fees paid for at an out of state public - factoring in the $10,000 DC TAG contribution.

One kid is a junior, and one is in seventh grade, and we are on target to have them fully funded by the time they graduate from high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We weren't a family that could fully fund college for our kids. They both went to community college and didn't pay anything because they got scholarships. Then, they went free ride at our local state school. It wasn't anything special, but they got their undergrads for free. One kid is at Northwestern for her graduate/PhD program (combined) and they are paying HER to attend on stipend. The other finished Med school and has about 50K in student loans. She was able to get some scholarships, we paid for some of it, she worked a lot in high school. Part of the reason they were able to do it was because they are both part Latina and there is money for underserved students. Our goal from birth was to help our girls into strong careers. I'm a teacher's aide with a high school education and my husband is a school custodian.

That is truly awesome! You should be very proud of your kids and of yourselves, too!

Thank you. We are very proud of our girls. We've never had a lot of money, but in our family, studying and working hard always came first.

[Anonymous]

We considered fully funded to have a full in-state tuition and room and board for each child. Our oldest ended up getting a full academic scholarship to UVA, several grants in two Ivies, and a full ride in another school. She chose a full ride (the school is ranked #4 in her field of study), so the money we saved will go to her grad school.