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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m looking for advice from parents who are “donut hole” like I expect we’ll be. HHI is currently $170 or so, 3 kids, still have one in daycare but oldest is rising 8th grader. We don’t max out 401(k)s but should, retirement is really behind the curve, both parents early 40s. Contributing a few hundred in 529s per month, skewed toward the oldest, PITI is $3500 and we aren’t (yet) paying extra. Only purchased home two years ago, so will have mortgage during college years, which I understand FAFSA EFC won’t factor in, but CSS schools will.

I am not trying to game the system by any means, but if EFC assumes 47% of HHI to put toward child #1 college costs, we will have a huge deficit. HHI increase over the next five years will likely be modest at best (one parent Fed, capped at step 10 unless a promotion opportunity materializes, other parent in sales, sporadic and fluctuating income, but not likely to have significant boost of more than 5% annually, averaged over the next few years). Do we throw it all in college savings, forgoing increasing retirement (which at our age, scares me). Do we just drip,drip what we can in the 529, knowing we won’t even have enough to cover our in-state fully paid? DC #1 is bright, may perhaps be offered merit aid but for this discussion I am assuming none. How do you we best prepare for this? From websites I have read, the prior, and prior-prior years retirement contributions are counted as gross income, to ostensibly be used to pay for college? I just don’t understand how that can be considered, us MC folks have to save for retirement, right?

I’d love to hear from any families with similar situations, HHI, and tell me how you figured it out. If we devoted all extra available $ after just 401(k) match to 529 for DC #1 for the next 5 years, that might cover close to in-state. But kids 2 &3 would have a pittance in 529s; and retirement saving would be very, very behind. I feel as though there are no good options here, would love any insight to help figure out the next few years of savings.[/quote]

Here are a few ideas:
Have your kids take as many dual enrollment courses in high school as possible.  College board pushes APs, which my 1st DC did, but those really didn't translate to college credits.  My 2nd took dual enrollment courses and entered college with enough credits in the basic general ed classes to skip about a semester and a half of regular college credits .  Have them go to a "commuter school" and save on the room and board.  My niece took summer classes at CC every year she was home from an away college and finished college in 3 years.  Have your kid work summers and save half of their pay to go toward the extra spending money in college so you only have to pay for the basic education costs.  Have your kid do 2 years ag CC and transfer if they want to go away to school.   My other niece worked and went to GMU while taking 3 or 4 classes a semester.  It took a little longer that way, but she mostly paid own her way through college.  [/quote]

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