Anonymous
08/31/2013 08:16
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
No, this is the order in which we save:
1) 401k to get max employer contribution
2) Fully Fund Roth in the year when we can
3) Go back to 401k and max it out.
4) 549s until they reached ~$50k - intended to cover R&B
5) Anything else (some years we do not get to step 5), we tend to spend 50% on capital items or travels on our lists and 50% to other savings to cover college costs we haven't anticipated and better travel when we retire. Generally, in the years we are ineligible for Roth, we get to step 5.
When our DCs were 1 and 3, we cashed in company stock (that we had before they were born) to buy the VA prepaid tuition & fees. It was ~$20k each at that point. When DC #1 was born it was $11k- should have done it then.
We have had children for 16 years and in 5 we were ineligible for Roth. Our mortgage is about half what it was when we started thanks to refis and lower interest rates, but we pay at the original rate to pay it down faster. Our property tax has almost tripled (partly due to a major reno). Our combined mortage payment and property tax is around $2500/mo. Our current HHI is around $170k.
Just want to say I'm impressed you max out two 401ks on $170K. Our mortgage is smaller, we make $280K and I find it hard to max out. I'm guessing the difference is my $3500 a month in daycare, but still, kudos.
Anonymous
08/31/2013 05:15
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:I started DC's fund at 10K when he was born in 2006, then contributed $500K/month the next two years. I got a windfall in 2008 and contributed the maximum amount all at once, which was about $60K back then. Then I had to stop monthly contributions for 5 years. The market timing was extremely lucky because the Dow was at about 8K then. The account has grown so much that I don't contribute anything now - there is enough to cover in-state tuition R&B for 4 years, and I figure if he goes the private route I'll take it from taxable investments.
I'm pretty sure you can fund a whole football teams tuition.
Anonymous
08/30/2013 14:28
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
I started DC's fund at 10K when he was born in 2006, then contributed $500K/month the next two years. I got a windfall in 2008 and contributed the maximum amount all at once, which was about $60K back then. Then I had to stop monthly contributions for 5 years. The market timing was extremely lucky because the Dow was at about 8K then. The account has grown so much that I don't contribute anything now - there is enough to cover in-state tuition R&B for 4 years, and I figure if he goes the private route I'll take it from taxable investments.
Anonymous
08/30/2013 12:34
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
No, this is the order in which we save:
1) 401k to get max employer contribution
2) Fully Fund Roth in the year when we can
3) Go back to 401k and max it out.
4) 549s until they reached ~$50k - intended to cover R&B
5) Anything else (some years we do not get to step 5), we tend to spend 50% on capital items or travels on our lists and 50% to other savings to cover college costs we haven't anticipated and better travel when we retire. Generally, in the years we are ineligible for Roth, we get to step 5.
When our DCs were 1 and 3, we cashed in company stock (that we had before they were born) to buy the VA prepaid tuition & fees. It was ~$20k each at that point. When DC #1 was born it was $11k- should have done it then.
We have had children for 16 years and in 5 we were ineligible for Roth. Our mortgage is about half what it was when we started thanks to refis and lower interest rates, but we pay at the original rate to pay it down faster. Our property tax has almost tripled (partly due to a major reno). Our combined mortage payment and property tax is around $2500/mo. Our current HHI is around $170k.
Anonymous
08/30/2013 12:06
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
I don't think you're doing anything wrong -- the CW is usually to fully fund retirement first. You may be able to put away more once you don't have daycare expenses. I wouldn't worry about it too much yet at age 2.
Anonymous
08/30/2013 08:37
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
We always maxed out our 401K first, then put money in other retirement accounts before putting money in the 529. We got lucky on the sale of our house (made ~400K) and threw 75K into the 529 when we bought a new house instead of putting it all towards the down payment.
Anonymous
08/30/2013 00:03
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
I had started saving for college before my children were born. I had an Employer Stock Purchase Plan and stock options and had always tagged this money for my future children's education. When the children came along, I was able to jumpstart the 529s with a significant contribution. Since the initial contribution, we have continued to contribute on a monthly basis - even when I was out on maternity leave (although at a much lower rate).
My parent's had no money for my education and I had significant loans. I expect my children to contribute in some way - but will hopefully be able to support them with a major part of their undergraduate educations.
Anonymous
08/29/2013 23:28
Subject: Re:How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
About $25k and only child just turned 11. We save $2k per year in a 529 and will continue doing so until college rolls up on us. We will be seeking scholarships and our child will have some responsibility to cover expenses.
Anonymous
08/29/2013 23:21
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Those of you with healthy 529 balances, did you choose to fund the 529s over retirement plans for a few years? Or does your HHI allow you to do both? We have only $4K in our 2yo's 529. We have been maxing out our 401k contribs, ineligible for Roth IRA, but don't have much else to play with after mortgage, daycare and other expenses. Are we doing something wrong?
Anonymous
08/29/2013 22:55
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
1,3,4 -- $500k and a really cheap property that has tripled in value
Anonymous
08/29/2013 12:44
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
3, about 9k.
Anonymous
08/29/2013 12:28
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
9 and 11. 70k each, but adding $500/month for each. And hoping for (but not counting on) some employer tuition benefits.
Anonymous
08/25/2013 21:25
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:1 year old. $0.
Can anyone tell me why a 529 is better than investing in the market? I just think there's a high enough possibility my child will either get a scholarship or not go to college that it seems like a bad idea.
In addition to the other suggestions, maybe a Roth could work for you. You could use the money in retirement if DC does not need it for school
We plan to save about $50k for each child, which will likely happen when they are turning 5. After that, we will put the money into other investments - something that we can withdraw if needed for college or just hold on to for our retirement. If our 529s earn as they have been, we expect the kids to have about $80k when they start college. By then, the house will be paid off, so we will have additional money each month to pay towards tuition if needed. I see this as not putting all my eggs in one basket.
Anonymous
08/25/2013 14:51
Subject: How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
Anonymous wrote:1 year old. $0.
Can anyone tell me why a 529 is better than investing in the market? I just think there's a high enough possibility my child will either get a scholarship or not go to college that it seems like a bad idea.
In addition to the other suggestions, maybe a Roth could work for you. You could use the money in retirement if DC does not need it for school
Anonymous
08/25/2013 12:22
Subject: Re:How old are your kids and how much do you have saved for each of them for college?
17-year old: $165k
14-year-old: $160k
9-year-old: $110k
14-year-old: $160k
9-year-old: $110k