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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Focusing intensely on career and future wages is because of the insane price of college these days. If you pay full price, 80k for 4 years, you don’t have the luxury of saying I went to college to enrich my mind. You need a high paying job to justify your parents having spent over $300,000  for college for only one child. For 3 kids, you can end up spending close to $1 million. How can you not be career focused with these kinds of costs. Canada and Europe have figured it out much better than the US in my opinion. Maybe Asia too although HS stress in Asia is just too much [/quote]

+1 parents are expected to save from the time their kid is a fetus or risk the kid having lifetime of crushing debt, yet we’re supposed to pretend that salary isn’t an outcome that matters [/quote]

I've been saving since my kids were born to save them from a lifetime of crushing debt precisely so that the salary they make after college doesn't matter! I want them to pursue what interests them and figure out to make lives for themselves. I don't expect some financial return on the investment. [/quote]

How can it not matter? It only matters if your child has a trust fund! If your theory is that your college graduate child doesn't care if he eats steak or ramen, shares an apartment with three other people or lives in his own house, travels by greyhound or by first class, you're wrong.  Salary matters for quality of life.  Is your child blind to that reality?[/quote]

The options aren’t limited to big salary or no salary. I want my kids to go to college and pursue the career paths that interest them, which means I don’t care if they choose paths that result in high salaries. I don’t expect them to make a lot of money to justify the cost of college.

One of my kids thinks he wants to major in history and become a teacher; if that’s what will make him happy, I’m happy for him to pursue that path. He can have a happy, fulfilling life on a teacher’s salary. That’s what matters to me.[/quote]
That sounds all well and good but what about your future grandchildren? Unless you have generational wealth to pass down, if your child found a career path they love but at a low salary (let’s go with teacher) how could they do the same with THEIR kids?  Would they be able to save enough to afford their children the same opportunities of graduating college debt free and they can choose a career path they love instead of one resulting in higher salaries. Are you okay with your kid needing to make major sacrifices in their future adult lives? What if they aren’t able to save enough for their children’s education? Are you okay with your grandchildren going into debt for college?[/quote]

You are not responsible for your GRANDCHILDREN's quality of life. Let go of the savior image. Do your best to provide for the children you birthed. Then have faith in them to do the same. And have faith in your grandchildren to make your own way.

Such a warped concept that you have to plan for financing two generations ahead. Guess what. Lots of two teacher families have wonderful lives. THEY are investing in the next generation of citizens. Their schedules are family friendly. The teachers I know have a very nice qualitly of life.

You really need some perspective. [/quote]

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