Anonymous wrote:I was a SAHM for 12 years. We were fine during that time, but we were not able to save much at all for college. We always knew we would have to pay for college as we went and after. In the end, we will have had at least one kid in college for 10 years! They all go to a state college, so nothing fancy. We qualify for PSLF, so by the time we hit 120 payments, we will have paid nowhere near what we would have up front. So this might have ended up being the more financially sound route after all. This is partially luck - because of the covid pause, we have credit for WAY more payments than we’ve actually made. A huge chunk of our loans will be forgiven after only 5 years of payments.

If we had spent those years saving for college, we would not have been able to go on all the vacations and do all the fun things as a family. So basically, we chose to be more liberal with our finances while our kids were young rather than scrimp and save during those years so that we could have better cash flow after they left home.

Was this the smartest decision? Maybe not, especially with the current situation. Keep in mind that we had no idea back then that this country would elect freaking Donald Trump twice and that he would get his kicks by screwing with the finances of every American. Who could have foreseen that? Things are tight right now. But I have no regrets! Kids are only little once, and I am glad we lived our best lives during that time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM area has high proportion of government workers who typically save save save - and are generally pretty fiscally responsible. Here in NYC area you have high earners / high spenders who just plan on covering college from free cash flow, like i’m doing now for two kids enrolled concurrently. Typical ant vs grasshopper lol

I'm the DC saver. Also a widow with a relatively low income - low enough that it was below the "dream" school's advertised "full tuition waiver." Guess what - no FA offered, and when I appealed, I was told that I have more non-retirement money than most parents of incoming freshman. And this is a school with lots of rich kids. I actually said to the FA counselor, "I find that really hard to believe" and I do. Plus, that money has to supplement my income until I retire because I can't meet my monthly expenses on my income alone. My appeal was rejected, and DS is not attending that school.

Sour grapes all around. I have done everything right. But at least I can easily pay for 4 years at the school where DS landed. And he's being great about it; he told me I should never apologize for saving money.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

But he didn't have to go to an expensive private. Of course kids don't generally focus on the schools they want until junior year but parents should be figuring out their budget before that. Nobody just ends up at an expensive private school.

But a lot of parents don’t do this. I know several friends of my DC here in CA who couldn’t afford to send their kids to a UC or CSU away from home or could barely afford it, and they are middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

But he didn't have to go to an expensive private. Of course kids don't generally focus on the schools they want until junior year but parents should be figuring out their budget before that. Nobody just ends up at an expensive private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

But he didn't have to go to an expensive private. Of course kids don't generally focus on the schools they want until junior year but parents should be figuring out their budget before that. Nobody just ends up at an expensive private school.

+1

It's our job as parents to tell kid what we are willing to pay for college, and to help them understand what debt actually means. Help them understand the average salary for first 5-10 years after graduation for their career path/major. IMO, taking more than the federal student loan amount of ~$27K total for 4 years is not a good path. With a kid working summers/PT during the year/All breaks, a kid can contribute $10-15K per year. So with student loans that is at $15-20K+ already. If parents cannot help with rest (or wont) then you need to search for merit. Anyone can do it---go down a tier or 2 from your reaches and it will appear. My 1220/3.5UW/no AP kid had 2 options for under $20K (6 years ago) and we were not even searching for aid. Had they needed it, they could have found many for under $20K. My 1500/3.95UW/8AP kid had 3 options that were under $40K (normally $85-90K schools 4 years ago), all ranked in top 80. Had they needed aid, they could have gone in the 80-140 range and attended college for much less.

This. We determined that we could pay up to $40k per year. Kids had plenty of options in budget. DD's cheapest offer was $15k all in (in-state school w/ merit). She opted to go elsewhere but if money had been tight, that was a really good option. It meant they only applied to reach schools that were in-state public Us because we could pay sticker price there.

Anonymous wrote:DCUM area has high proportion of government workers who typically save save save - and are generally pretty fiscally responsible. Here in NYC area you have high earners / high spenders who just plan on covering college from free cash flow, like i’m doing now for two kids enrolled concurrently. Typical ant vs grasshopper lol

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

But he didn't have to go to an expensive private. Of course kids don't generally focus on the schools they want until junior year but parents should be figuring out their budget before that. Nobody just ends up at an expensive private school.

+1

It's our job as parents to tell kid what we are willing to pay for college, and to help them understand what debt actually means. Help them understand the average salary for first 5-10 years after graduation for their career path/major. IMO, taking more than the federal student loan amount of ~$27K total for 4 years is not a good path. With a kid working summers/PT during the year/All breaks, a kid can contribute $10-15K per year. So with student loans that is at $15-20K+ already. If parents cannot help with rest (or wont) then you need to search for merit. Anyone can do it---go down a tier or 2 from your reaches and it will appear. My 1220/3.5UW/no AP kid had 2 options for under $20K (6 years ago) and we were not even searching for aid. Had they needed it, they could have found many for under $20K. My 1500/3.95UW/8AP kid had 3 options that were under $40K (normally $85-90K schools 4 years ago), all ranked in top 80. Had they needed aid, they could have gone in the 80-140 range and attended college for much less.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The need to start saving early is real and essential, but can still fall short. We started saving early in elementary school and its still not enough. I think school counselors ought to begin these conversations in middle school and earlier about school costs. It's a disservice to push kids to take full rigor and encouraging families of attending highly competitive colleges when affordability should be considered equally. We make far below the income threshold for the ivy that accepted our kid, and received no offer of aid. Zero. I didn't think we'd get a lot but expected some aid. The glossy brochures saying households earning less than 150/200k go for free are slick marketing brochures. Although the fine print says assuming reasonable assets, the definition is vague and hurts families living in high cost of living areas where they may have home equity/modest savings and rewards people who dont save. I have a friend who rents and has little to no savings and her kid got full financial aid at northwestern (not merit). She travels and spends far more than we do. She jokes that being poor is great since she gets so many benefits. The system is broken.

No, you need high rigor otherwise your kid isn't getting into their state flagship, which is AFFORDABLE, and you will be stuck with a lower-ranked state school, or paying a higher out of state or private price.

UMD and UVA demand really high stats these days, so THE NON-RICH REALLY NEED TO PUSH THEIR KIDS TO DO WELL IN SCHOOL.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.

Our family can full pay for our DS, but even we underestimated the cost because we didn’t think he would be attending an expensive private. Many kids don’t start focusing on the schools they want until sophomore and even junior year (like us!) and, by then, it is too late for their families to financially plan for paying the COA.

Fortunately, we had set aside a fair amount in a 529. It is also worth noting that financial planners don’t always understand the cost, either. We had one tell us to cap the 529 at $200,000.

But he didn't have to go to an expensive private. Of course kids don't generally focus on the schools they want until junior year but parents should be figuring out their budget before that. Nobody just ends up at an expensive private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
True, but our advisor didn’t tell us to save extra elsewhere. Can also convert some, if not all, of any excess to an IRA for the your kid, I think.

Only $35K can be converted to an IRA, so you definitely don’t want to save $400K in a 529 and have your kid need less than half of it for education.

If you end up with too much in the 529, you can save it and transfer it to grandchildren in the future.

The point is if you save early, your $100k will turn into $400k. It baffles me that people start saving in high school. Financial literacy needs to be taught in high school.

Anonymous wrote:I've been living inside the DCUM bubble for a long time. My first kid is going to college this fall, and I've joined a few college Facebook groups. I am absolutely gobsmacked by the lack of financial resources and acumen among most people in this country. Many parents seem to be surprised that they can't afford the college their kid got into, or are strategizing about how to take out loans for the entire 4 years.

I recognize that most of us here are privileged in one way or another. Either we are high earners, we've diligently saved for school, or we understand that you shouldn't go somewhere that you can't afford. It's insanity out there.