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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, you can't determine what you will pay by income alone. At some elite schools that don't consider home equity, an income of $200-250K may give some aid. Our income is $219K. For our family, Duke was a no-go, our EFC was $65K. He wanted to apply even though we checked the NPC, which ended up being accurate. But Stanford is $44K plus our son is expected to contribute $3K per year (no loans offered) for a total of $47K (EFC). We told him our cap was $45 per year for any school. Anything above that he would have to take out a subsidized Stafford loan ($5500), merit, and/or work PT. He got no financial aid from OOS public schools, only merit. He didn't apply to any public that wasn't known to give merit or was above $50K OOS/in-state.

We have 401ks, modest savings, stocks/investments under $20K, 529 to contribute $20K per year, and 500K+ home equity. We plan to cash flow for the remaining balance. We didn't start making more than $150K until he started 8th grade. [/quote]

Where did all your money go?  The house>  I don't get where all your savings/investments went.[/quote]

Both of us had student loans until 5 years ago. Prioritized 401ks and putting some money in 529. Purchased a house late (we rented until our kid was in middle school) and needed to use most of our savings for a 20% downpayment/465K mortgage. House appreciated quickly in the last 7 years. No family help and didn't make over 150 HHI until fairly recently. [/quote]

All my numbers are very similar to yours, except I’ll have a lot less equity. I think you’re doing great and have obviously made some smart choices. It’s a different situation if you’ve been making 200k for 20 years or 5 years.  People don’t always get that.  [/quote]'

I  don't get not living  in your means  and saving.    We made much less and  seemed  to  save.[/quote]

Good for you! I don’t think we lived beyond our means. Do/did you have student loan debt? How much did you pay for childcare? What is the housing market like in your area? Do you also take care of a relative and need additional space/ housing requirements? Many factors to consider.[/quote]

Yes, we do.  We bought a tiny crappy house, only vacation every few years and with child care could not afford to work with one child as it would have been more than my take home.  Plus health issues and a relative needing care.  But, we fit the relative in our tiny house.   Tiny as in under 1000 square feet and one bathroom.   Yes, life is messy.  [/quote]

Again, different priorities and circumstances. I don’t question your choices but we made different ones. We didn’t prioritize saving more for college because we don’t think paying 60k+ for any school is worth it. Living beyond your means means debt your can’t afford/ pay back and the inability to pay for things your prioritize. Even if we had cash/savings to pay 60k, wouldn’t do it so not complaining about not being able to attend Duke and don’t think the school needs to subsidize us.[/quote]

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