DISQUS

thomas · 12 months ago

I've been around every type of college student in my life. Some types include - 100% loan, 100% parents, and work to pay. it's really tough based on the types I have met to figure out what would be best for my children. It's always best to at least investigate the opportunities for helping your kids and not start them off in a financial hole.

Yana · 12 months ago

I agree with your friend that saving for your potential children is more important than charitable giving. And not just saving for education. You never know what will come up, especially if you have children.

I raised a daughter. It wasn't a lot of fun. When she was moving out, she thought we ought to go to the animal shelter so that I could adopt a dog, lest I get "empty nest syndrome". LOL I never got the syndrome, but I'm really glad I adopted the dog! When you have children, you learn things you couldn't have known before. You wouldn't believe the things unless you experienced them yourself. That may be one of the greatest values of being a parent. So, I'll go along with what you've heard and say that I'm glad I had a child, but I only had one and would not have more. I prefer parenting other species :P

Emily · 12 months ago

I am not even engaged and recently out of college, I am already nervous about paying for college for my children in the future!! My parents started a college fund when I was born and it compounded over the years, and it was just enough money for me to go to my state school and not have to take out any loans. I was fortunate enough to graduate with zero debt. But had I wanted to go to a private and/or out-of-state school, it wouldn't have been nearly enough. I have been reading that college education costs are only going to go up and up, and it may actually become unaffordable for many who could once pull it off. I don't want to cripple my family with college debt or make my child stuck with awful debt for many years after school, so I definitely plan on making saving for college a huge priority, definitely over charity. I probably won't start saving for this until I get pregnant, but once I do, I am getting on top of that so fast. A college education is now necessary but it's only going to get costlier.

Lobo83 · 12 months ago

Paying for your children's education is half the battle. You need to ensure that your children will 1) want to go to college and 2) actually get a degree. For item 1 you need to spend your valuable time with them as they grow up. This will ensure they know you care about them and you will let them understand the impotance of education - including college. Trust me, this is harder than saving money. As for item 2 I will share with my children the costs. I will pick up tuition along with room and board and they will have to pick up books, clothing, transportation and such. This will force them to invest in their education and hopefully finish their degree. It would be nice to set up an automatic savings program for college costs - but it is not critical. It is still affordable tol pay as you go for state schools. From what I have experienced with graduates from private colleges, they are for the most part not worth the cost of tuition. After all why pay $50,000 a year for a mediocre eduation?

Tagi · 12 months ago

Flexo - It certainly can't hurt to start stashing some money away in a 529 for future children. This is something I now wish that we had done before our son was born. Now, with $1250/mo going towards daycare it makes saving for college very difficult.

The Happy Rock · 12 months ago

I tend to fall in the parents don't need to pay for everything. Working while in college is a good thing IMO. I know that having to pay for all of my college was great for me, since I had to really decide if I wanted to be there and if it was worth. I graduated with 25k in debt and it along with my wife's $22k was gone in 5 years. Invaluable life lessons IMO.

Lamar · 11 months ago

DINK for many of the usual reasons. but I did set up an annual college scholarship at my old high school. I feel I get more bang for my buck with this shotgun approach.