His money is not his wife's money unless he chooses to share it. If she divorces him, some of his money may become her money but not as much as you think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree w/pp ~ it's self indulgent

So what? I am so tired of this. Live like crap for 70 years so you can fly first class at 75.

If you live like crap, it is because you choose to do so. The lack of a degree from a brand-name school does not per se translate to living like crap. Make different choices.

RE "tired of this" - you sound like a 12 year old. Grow up. You have a family, including a dependent for whom you are responsible.

What is the status of your daughter's college fund? Will she have to take out loans to get through school? That question has been asked a few times and you have not answered it.

I am the poster who wrote of "being tired of this". I am not the OP - I have a Harvard degree (among others). And by 'this' I mean the ridiculous saving mentality of DCUM. For some reason people are supposed to save millions for retirement so that they can go live with other old poeple or something. Life today matters, too. OP appear to have been earning his living or a while and has a right to spend it however he pleases. This is something he cares about and it costs as much as a good car. I wouldn't do it myself, but if it is that important to him, maybe daughter should take some loans for her college. Maybe she should do that regardless, it might make her think twice about majoring in puppetry or some such.

Of course he has a "right" to spend his money. If he wants to raid his 401k and spend it on hats, no one here can stop him. But he asked for our opinion. Most PPs think he should wait until his retirement and kids college find are fully funded, whatever that means to him and his wife (whose money this is too, which you seem to be glossing over, by the way). Don't get your panties in a bunch just because your opinion is in the decided minority, dear.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree w/pp ~ it's self indulgent

So what? I am so tired of this. Live like crap for 70 years so you can fly first class at 75.

You don't get to be self-indulgent yet at the tune of $48K. You're almost there, but not quite. Once college and retirement are fully funded, then you can save up $48K and do what you want with it.

oh, really? And you are...? are you going to be paying OP's bills? If not, just shut up.

I am a poster on the public message board on which OP posted an open message asking for opinions. I gave mine. Here's another one: you can go suck a bag of dicks.

What is you HHI?
How much is that your income, how much of that is your wife's income?

At the end of the day, how much can you save per month?
What is your plan to fund college? How many children?
How old are you?

Did I miss the post where OP actually responded about whether his daughter's college education was funded? I think that's a big one, especially when making a huge financial decision that impacts the family.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree w/pp ~ it's self indulgent

So what? I am so tired of this. Live like crap for 70 years so you can fly first class at 75.

You don't get to be self-indulgent yet at the tune of $48K. You're almost there, but not quite. Once college and retirement are fully funded, then you can save up $48K and do what you want with it.

oh, really? And you are...? are you going to be paying OP's bills? If not, just shut up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree w/pp ~ it's self indulgent

So what? I am so tired of this. Live like crap for 70 years so you can fly first class at 75.

If you live like crap, it is because you choose to do so. The lack of a degree from a brand-name school does not per se translate to living like crap. Make different choices.

RE "tired of this" - you sound like a 12 year old. Grow up. You have a family, including a dependent for whom you are responsible.

What is the status of your daughter's college fund? Will she have to take out loans to get through school? That question has been asked a few times and you have not answered it.

I am the poster who wrote of "being tired of this". I am not the OP - I have a Harvard degree (among others). And by 'this' I mean the ridiculous saving mentality of DCUM. For some reason people are supposed to save millions for retirement so that they can go live with other old poeple or something. Life today matters, too. OP appear to have been earning his living or a while and has a right to spend it however he pleases. This is something he cares about and it costs as much as a good car. I wouldn't do it myself, but if it is that important to him, maybe daughter should take some loans for her college. Maybe she should do that regardless, it might make her think twice about majoring in puppetry or some such.

There's the chance you'll end up getting a master in cheating your DW.

This is a broad statement but I would discourage chasing a second, third, or fourth degree as a way to further your career. I'd focus on a specialty certification or training that is relevant to the career you're in right now. But if you're talking about dropping $50k on another degree because you still haven't figured it out yet, it sounds like a waste of money.

Not everybody gets to be an astronaut when they grow up.

And if his company is at risk of going under, I'd focus my energy on finding a new job. Hiding in a classroom won't help. But that's just my2cents.

"This is a big money-making deal for colleges -- convincing people they need to go back and get a masters for their careers but then it turns out to not be all that useful."

+1. I have a friend who runs a program within an MBA program - he gets bonuses based on how many kids he recruits to do the program (which isn't at all lucrative).

Sounds more and more like a vanity project, in pursuit of an entreprenuerial idea with an MBA and OP thinks he's going to get magical venture capital backing.

I'm coming down more on the wife's side at this point. I don't hear the family or marriage factoring into OP's decision making at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would do informational interviews with people in the field to see if this degree is worth the money and time. This is a big money-making deal for colleges -- convincing people they need to go back and get a masters for their careers but then it turns out to not be all that useful. If you go and talk to people out there in the field you're interested in and they think it would help you, then I would go for it. But you shouldn't spend the money at this time in your life if it isn't going to aid your career. Maybe later on.

Pp again. I should add that it's prestigious schools who are marketing their name to bring in the bucks for these masters degree. A friend of mine is finishing a masters at Georgetown in international development and she feels like it's not very helpful and that she got sucked in by the name. So be careful about falling for a prestigious name. Make sure it's something that has a real chance of helping you.

This. Find out whether the degree is really important in the field or not, let alone the prestige of the school. Sometimes it really is just a waste of money for a credential that won't help you at all.

My mom went back to school when I was in HS--she had never finished her BA and wanted to do so. I was very proud of her, but it did put significant financial stress on our family and it took a lot of time. But, it made sense professionally, because she didn't already have an undergraduate degree. And it was really important to her. But she definitely wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone. I would look hard at your finances -- can you afford to get this degree without taking on additional debt, without compromising your daughter's college fund, and while still saving for retirement? Will you be dumping significant additional responsibilities on your wife? There are other ways to network and find a new job that don't involve getting a second graduate degree.

Anonymous wrote:OP, I would do informational interviews with people in the field to see if this degree is worth the money and time. This is a big money-making deal for colleges -- convincing people they need to go back and get a masters for their careers but then it turns out to not be all that useful. If you go and talk to people out there in the field you're interested in and they think it would help you, then I would go for it. But you shouldn't spend the money at this time in your life if it isn't going to aid your career. Maybe later on.

Pp again. I should add that it's prestigious schools who are marketing their name to bring in the bucks for these masters degree. A friend of mine is finishing a masters at Georgetown in international development and she feels like it's not very helpful and that she got sucked in by the name. So be careful about falling for a prestigious name. Make sure it's something that has a real chance of helping you.

9:52 again.

We're not talking some husband that objects to his wife getting an undergrad degree because he can't control her as much, or a 24 y/o wife whining that her husband's coming home at 9pm a couple times a week so he can do something other than work as a $12/hr temp.

With that said, I remain unconvinced -- and maybe there's data to contradict me -- that grad school is worth it once debts and immediate costs to family are factored in for 80-90% of cases.

For example, I see OP talking a lot about his company going under.

Is he looking for a new job?

Can his job (which I'm sure involves you doing work to cover for people that're bailing) really co-exist with his studies?

Or will time with your wife (who I'm assuming he actually likes) and seeing your kid finish out HS (sports, prom, college admissions, the joy of seeing your kid unfold their wings and live life on their own) suffer?