Reply to I genuinely don't get saving for college for kids

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP:  I have not read through the entire thread.  Culturally, I was raised with the notion that each generation pays for the subsequent generation's education.  My parents paid for my college, I am paying for my daughters.

Why?  By giving the money for education, you are more likely to have a successful offspring.  Education is where we do the intergenerational wealth transfer.  My DD may not inherit much, but her undergrad education will be paid for -- and by me paying the 160K over 4 years (state, no aide), DD will be able to pursue her dreams rather than chase the dollar.  That means she is more likely to be happy with her career choices.  I was able to not chase the dollar, but pursue my interests.

That is my UMC Jewish Privilege.[/quote]

I love this. That is all. [/quote]

At 24 years old, my son (who graduated debt-free a few years ago) now understands fully the value of the gift of the debt-free education we provided for him.  Because he has no debt, he is able to max out his retirement account, buy a car without debt, and save in a rainy-day fund. [b] He sees how his peers struggle[/b] and understands the meaning of what we did for him. We also do not believe that “successful offspring” comes from signing a check. Building resiliency and grit do.

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I guess that is the cultural difference. In our family we do not believe in parents removing struggles. We believe that struggle is a GOOD thing. Struggle is something to embrace. It builds character, grit, and breeds success. [/quote]

In other contexts, I agree with you. I believe in kids needing to struggle for what they want. That is unquestionably a positive thing, ultimately. But struggling financially in adulthood? That just sucks. And it puts you behind in virtually every way, financially speaking.  It delays people’s ability to buy a house, begin saving for retirement, begin a family. The list goes on. The impact lasts for decades.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/03/the-misunderstood-consequences-of-the-student-debt-crisis/254355/

“There are plenty of other reasons to worry, though. First, the growth of student debt is making it harder and harder to enter the middle class, or to stay there. When teenagers are forced to take out loans in order to pay for their education -- the median graduate who takes out loans* leaves school $12,800 in debt -- it acts as a tax on their future wages. It postpones their ability to settle down, buy a home, and have children. That's tragic for them, and it's tragic for us, because it means less money will flow into other, more productive parts of the economy.

In other words, think of student debt as an economic parasite -- a tape worm, if you will. It won't kill the economy quickly, but it will sap the life out of it over time.”

https://www.aascu.org/uploadedFiles/AASCU/Content/Root/PolicyAndAdvocacy/PolicyPublications/StudentDebtBurden.pdf

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/16/student-loan-debt-is-keeping-young-people-from-buying-homes-fed-study-finds.html

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