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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m always amazed at people who blame “lack of planning” when people don’t have $300K saved for their kid’s education. Some people simply can’t put that much money into a 529 because, wait for it, they simply don’t make enough money to do so. No amount of scrimping, saving, driving beater cars, not taking vacations, will change that. It’s not a character flaw that they don’t have a $300K 529 and I wish people would stop making it sound like it is.[/quote]

It is not a character flaw. But it would be a character flaw to expect to be able to attend a university that you cannot afford (as in $80K/year) because you were not able to save.  There are many, many good universities that do offer merit, that can be affordable to your family.  So if you were not able to save and don't qualify for any/enough FA, then an $80K/year school just might not be the "right fit" school for your kids.  So like you have done (and most people have to do at some level) with lots of things in life, you pick schools that are affordable to you.  There are plenty to pick from.

[b]But the reason many mention the "saving" is because we routinely see people complain about not having enough money yet "waste" their money on non-essentials.  I see people get a $5 latte daily (sometime two), eat lunch out daily, eat half their dinners out/go to bars, etc yet complain they can't save for something else.  So while it won't solve "all the world's problems", those people are wasting $200-800 per month---that could be saved for something else.  So if education was more important to them, they could choose to save.  It's those people I'm referencing when I make statements like that.  [/b]

When I was younger (and didn't have enough money), I took my lunch 9/10 days, always took coffee and snacks from home, cooked dinner at home most nights, didn't take fancy vacations (ie we took 3-4 day trips that were within a 5-6 hour drive from home and stayed at discount hotels).  I grew up poor, so I get that many people simply cannot "just save instead of spending".  My family dining out treat when going up was pizza on Sat night or a trip to Ponderosa (steak and all you can eat salad bar for $8/person).  However, many, many people I know could save if they wanted to, yet choose to complain about not having everything in life.

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:roll: [/quote]

Eye roll all you want.  Many people do spend on "non-essentials" and then complain they don't have enough for other things.   A brand new iPhone, Starbucks daily, meals out, etc are NOT essentials.  You can choose what you spend on, but then don't complain you "can't afford" something else.  Life is about choices.

Similarly, attending an elite college is not an "essential".  If you can afford it, you can choose to do so.  If not, you find what you can afford.  
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