College funds

Who has a college fund or similar for their kid? What kind? I know there's about a dozen different type of ways to save money. So looking to see who has done what.

Well I fail as a dad on that aspect. My plan for my kids is to either have them learn a trade, or go to Community college for the first three years. Get the classes that every school offers, History 101, Math 101, etc. Then when the bugger figures out what he wants to do, he can then go to an accredited college for which I will try to help. But if I can't, he can take on a minimal amount of debt to get his degree. His choice, his responsibility to do well in it, since he'll be on the hook for it. Hopefully that will inspire them to pick something they will succeed in. Versus me paying for it, and them taking it for granted.

customcj7 said:

Hopefully that will inspire them to pick something they will succeed in. Versus me paying for it, and them taking it for granted.

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That is actually a very good point to be made. It means more to the person when they are 100% responsible for it happening.

I've got a Kentucky 529 account set up for each of my kids that we contribute to. At the current rate it won't be enough to cover but every bit helps. We actually chose to not put our kids in private school because we figure the tuition money would be best saved for college. I also will encourage my kids to learn a trade or major in one of the STEM areas, otherwise they better prepare themselves for being a teacher. As they say "those who can't do, teach."

I see it like the second guy above. The agreement we have made is that we will express no help in paying for their college. If they go to college complete their degree in a timely fashion and stay on track we will do all we can to help alleviate the financial burden. So far the 19 yo we don't and wont owe anything. Kids normally appreciate anything more when they believe it is all up to them.

Mine didnt pay for college. They helped me out in tough times and fronted me money for books and things like that. Looking back i'm glad they didnt. I pissed my own money away which is way better than pissing theirs away.

Mine couldn't afford nothing but Marlboro reds and Coca-Cola lol. That's why I work in a steel mill now.

If I ever have a kid, I will make sure they are able to go. I won't pay for everything, but I will help. Hopefully they will be smarter than me and get some scholarships

I know my wife thinks I am kidding, but I am not paying for my kids to go **** off for 2 or 3 years. If they show an interest, apply themselves, and are willing to seek their own funding, we'll talk. But they will not EVER just live off their parents after 20. I feel like seeking a trade is a much better return on investment anyways

I set up a 529 account for the boy. Put in a little chunk to get it started (compound interest ftw).

It's doing well so far

I get what y'all are saying.

But given the burden of my wife's student loan debt she had to take on in order to be able to do what she had interest in, I don't want my kid/s to ever have to deal with that. It's basically screwing them over before they have a chance. Nothing like starting out at 25 making no money and having a mortgage payment with nowhere to live.

Not that I'm saying I'll cover it all. But I'm not wishing him luck and kicking him out the door either.

The Luke said:

I get what y'all are saying.

But given the burden of my wife's student loan debt she had to take on in order to be able to do what she had interest in, I don't want my kid/s to ever have to deal with that. It's basically screwing them over before they have a chance. Nothing like starting out at 25 making no money and having a mortgage payment with nowhere to live.

Not that I'm saying I'll cover it all. But I'm not wishing him luck and kicking him out the door either.

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This ^^

With the crazy cost of tuition nowadays I can't imagine graduating and getting hit with 10's of thousands of dollars in student loans. We started 529 plans for our girls a long time ago but eventually moved the money to IRA's. I do put a fair amount of academic pressure on our girls and (fortunately) that paid off with the oldest getting a nice scholarship. My youngest has a couple more years before college.

customcj7 said:

Well I fail as a dad on that aspect. My plan for my kids is to either have them learn a trade, or go to Community college for the first three years. Get the classes that every school offers, History 101, Math 101, etc. Then when the bugger figures out what he wants to do, he can then go to an accredited college for which I will try to help. But if I can't, he can take on a minimal amount of debt to get his degree. His choice, his responsibility to do well in it, since he'll be on the hook for it. Hopefully that will inspire them to pick something they will succeed in. Versus me paying for it, and them taking it for granted.

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That's exactly how I'll do it. This already came up in P's thread, but to me, unless the parents are just REALLY well off, I wouldn't burden myself with saving for their college.

The Luke said:

I get what y'all are saying.

But given the burden of my wife's student loan debt she had to take on in order to be able to do what she had interest in, I don't want my kid/s to ever have to deal with that. It's basically screwing them over before they have a chance. Nothing like starting out at 25 making no money and having a mortgage payment with nowhere to live.

Not that I'm saying I'll cover it all. But I'm not wishing him luck and kicking him out the door either.

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So help with the student loans afterward, but don't tell him you are going to do so. If it's easy it's not earned. Going to college on mommy and daddy is easy, not earned. Everybody views the topic differently I suppose. Just do what you are comfortable with.

Hell you got 17 years before it's a real worry anyway so drink up and lets go wheel bee-otch.

Here's a link to Tennessee's 529 Plan known as Tennessee Stars.

https://www.tnstars.com/

It can be setup to be deducted straight from a paycheck etc. Also it allows "Deposits/Contributions" from Parents, Grandparents, Family, Friends, Employers, etc.

It can also be applied to Vocational/Technical Colleges, Community Colleges, In-State colleges, Out-of-State Colleges, and International Colleges too.

While still a few years away in your case, here's a link to info about 529 plan Withdrawals.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-important-things-to-know-about-529-college-savings-plan-withdrawals-2016-12-05

529

I love how saying I'm going to help with tuition, means that he'll be living off mommy and daddy.

My collage plan for the kids is simple.
You can live here for free as long as you're in school full time & working a job to pay for it. If you get pregnant or get someone pregnant you got to get out or start paying rent.

My wife went to collage on this same plan. She was smart. Her 4 year degree only cost her $18k.

The Luke said:

I love how saying I'm going to help with tuition, means that he'll be living off mommy and daddy.

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I'm just saying the perspective from their side of things is a whole lot different when they solely take on the responsibility with guidance from their parents vs parents paying for college costs.

Idk what kind of amount you are looking to prepare to cover or what kind of amount your wife took on, but I'll be finished with an Associates degree from community college in December, where total costs for said 2 year degree for tuition and books total to around $12-13k. I plan to finish a bachelors degree through Athens State University which will be in the neighborhood of $20-21k total. Tuition and book costs are damn near identical at Jacksonville State near Choccolocco and it's a better Business school, but Athens offers it 100% online, as I don't have time to drive 1.5 hrs to school and make it to work too. So that's a total of $32-33k for a 4 year Bachelors degree start to finish, unless you're planning on sending him to a prestigious, more expensive school. It's a good chunk of money but not overwhelming for a young person to learn some life lessons by being responsible for it when they get ready for college.

Big David said:

My collage plan for the kids is simple.
You can live here for free as long as you're in school full time & working a job to pay for it. If you get pregnant or get someone pregnant you got to get out or start paying rent.

My wife went to collage on this same plan. She was smart. Her 4 year degree only cost her $18k.

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How long ago was that??? Is that just for the 2nd 2 years? If it only costed $18k for 4 years of school, that had to either be a long time ago or the cheapest college in america.

These kids don't see it, my brothers son is gonna be a junior this year and my buddy's son just graduated this summer, both are gonna be teachers, my buddy's son is over 100k in debt, his girlfriend is in same boat, they act like it's no big deal cause they haven't started to pay those loans back yet, my brothers son will be over 100k too, he's spoiled and gets what he wants, he talks about going to Applebee's and eating and living high on the hog, I ask him where you get ur money, he says student loans man
These kids had it drilled into their heads from 1st grade that they had to go to college or there wasn't gonna get a job, my daughter worked and paid to get her Stna license and currently making 16 bucks a hour wiping asses at old folks home and gonna do a lpn class part time then rn and pay as she goes, yeah it's gonna take a few years but it will be paid for and she's getting experience as she goes
I can see setting up some sort of fund but no way I'd pay it all or let a kid go 100k in debt to make 50k a year. Just don't make sense to me


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