College funds

Re: Re: College funds

TBItoy said:

You are literally the first person I've ever heard of having that sentiment.

It's ususally "well, he's just a kid" (and he's 27), or "well we don't want him to stress about money during college" (and the "child" is living the high life and not contributing a dime).

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Yep, we want to make things easy as possible for our kids but that does nothing for them in the long run. Read the book The Millionaire Next Door. Somewhat dated book so some of the figures are off compared to current times, but the authors did a shitload of detailed case studies on the effects of kids that receive financial gifts like paid college and living off the family through college. Those kids go on to make significantly less than their parents and make less wise decisions later in life as well, because they are use to things being given to them.

There's no better life lesson imo than "if you want it, you gotta earn it..."

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529's for my kids. If they dont use them I get the $ back.

My thinking is that if they want a license (DR,NURSE,VET,etc) or they want to be an engineer then college is worth it. Other than that I will encourage going into the work force.

I'd rather buy a duplex, put them in one side and tell them to rent the other. Then have have an asset, an income stream, and a lesson on how to make $.

TBItoy said:

You are literally the first person I've ever heard of having that sentiment.

It's ususally "well, he's just a kid" (and he's 27), or "well we don't want him to stress about money during college" (and the "child" is living the high life and not contributing a dime).

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Touch'e I should have said back in my day, not these days.

Look into U Promise program for those that wanna help contribute money. https://www.upromise.com/

This program works with a lot the state sponsored 529 plans that will allow you to contribute but will also allow you to earn free money. For example, if you wanted to buy something from Bass Pro, you would log into your account and go to the bass pro link to earn 5%. If you spent $100 at bass pro, then $5 dollars will be contributed into your u promise account by bass pro at $0 to you. When your account reached $50 or so, u promise sends it to your designated 529 plan. There are 100's of companies on there that offer some kind of % back to you for nothing. This is done at no cost to you but will help boost the savings.

529 beneficiary can be changed at any point in time. Currently I have a 529 plan that U promise is linked to in my name. Don't have any kids yet but I started the fund in Vanguard with $3k years go. I don't contribute to it and has over $5k value now. When we do have a child I can put their name on it.

My parents didn't pay for my school and couldn't help with rent much. I did my first two years at a community college and then went off to UGA. Had a lot of fun and it cost a pile of money, but I did have to use loans to help live on. I worked while I was in college but Athens is not a cheap town.

Currently I'm looking at online MBA programs that are concentrated in fiance. I expect to pay within the upper $20k to low $30k range and I'm somewhat OK with that. By all means I'll be looking into scholarships but it will also open up a lot more opportunities.

TBItoy said:

You are literally the first person I've ever heard of having that sentiment.

It's ususally "well, he's just a kid" (and he's 27), or "well we don't want him to stress about money during college" (and the "child" is living the high life and not contributing a dime).

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Ha, I was about to quote and say the same thing.

I have one we moved to school Monday. So ****ing mad still, but ultimately it is up to my wife and I'm just a step dad. Hooray starting your life 100K behind and not in a field there is a clear path to success :

Damn there is some hardcore trade school or nothing badasses in here.

There are way too many enablers out there with 28 year old "kids" a home :****:

jeepmedic said:

Damn there is some hardcore trade school or nothing badasses in here.

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There are a lot of ways going to work at 18 can help you in life. Hell, do the math on 4 years of 401k contributions at 18 and what the $ = at 65. just off the top of my head...
From 18 to 65 your money will double 6.7 times in a 401k
$5,000 - first year 401k contributions at 18yrs old
1 -$10,000
2- $20,000
3- $40,000
4- $80,000
5- $160,000
6- $320,000
.7- $342,400 - 65 years old.

So if you put $5,000 in year 1 in 401K at 18yrs old you get $343,400 at retirement. And that's not counting you putting $5,000 in year 2 and it doubling 6.5 times.

If you go to college and come out with $800/mo in student loans you lose those 4 years and have all the same bills as the 18 year old. So you can't put the $5,000 in a year because you have $9,600 a year in loans.

all the math gets broken if you get a license... because they typically haul more $ from day 1 than a kid with a degree in sociology or criminal justice

$5k a year for first year is pretty hardcore contributions unless you really making bank at 18 yrs old.

I put close to $3k annually into my 401k but my employer matches that 100%. I could put more but I am putting the max that my employer matches. To me it makes no sense for me to up it any more because the impact out of my pocket will not impact the 401k enough to justify it since it won't be matched (doubled).

But yes, you are right about that. There are good jobs out there available to those who want to work that don't require a degree. And honestly probably just as plentiful but also as difficult to land as jobs that pay about the same that require a degree.

jeepmedic said:

Damn there is some hardcore trade school or nothing badasses in here.

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what I was thinking too...

I am not all for trade school unless it fits the direction you are headed. If you want to go to school and rack up a bunch of debt to get a degree that will probably land you as a social worker and your dad will be double what you were annual salary, that Matt does not play to me. I absolutely support University learning if there is a path to gainful employment on the other side and it outweighs the cost by a good degree

TacomaJD said:

$5k a year for first year is pretty hardcore contributions unless you really making bank at 18 yrs old.
...

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Not really if you have no bills or debts. The average 30yr old lives at home now with less than $500 in a bank account.

You're smart on the match. Free compounding $.

Median 401k at 35 is $14,000. which means a crisis is looming.

jeepmedic said:

Damn there is some hardcore trade school or nothing badasses in here.

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I'll throw myself in this. I'm good with this. I know way too many friends that are skilled at trades that are living life the way they want and enjoying it. Some have started their own successful businesses, some are still working for the same gigs as before and they are just happy to have that steady reliable income with no stress. Either way, most of them are happy career wise. My dad was an entrepreneur, and he lived a good life for him and his family. Almost too good. I was a spoiled prick, and my sister still is. (Now I'm just a prick).

But if I had been pushed earlier in life rather than later, I think i would have done much better. I took college for granted. Happily I actually am a professional at the degree I attained, but I could have done so much more at college to make myself that much better. And I pissed a lot of it away drinking and not giving a damn because my dad was paying at the time. Last year of college, the real world did a reality bitch slap to the family and I had to change in a hurry. The good is that I learned how to work hard, damn hard for everything, and I have ever since. But I still learned too many lessons too late.

I don't want to make my kids suffer, or not even spoil them, because I do. But I will teach them about life, work, and working for what you want early. And that they don't have to do what everybody else does. Thus why either a trade school or college. I'll support them as long as I can, but I won't cradle them. If they fall, they must feel the pain, and get back up. I will be there if they need a hand, or just moral support, but they must be able to get back up on their own.

I won't always be there for them, I need to know that they are strong enough to do well without me.

I got married in high school, lived in a shity $1,100 house trailer older than I was and drove a $160 pickup truck which burned 1 qt of motor oil every tank of gas. Parents and in-laws didn't give me a nickel towards college. Through a combination of working days, night school, community college and university schooling, I managed to get a BS that has provided me gainful employment for 35 years. Took me 9 years to get through and I never borrowed a dime. It was tough, it can be done, but I ain't sure many have the drive to get there that way.

Who the hell can afford 5k at 18 and 19? Hell i'm 29 and can barely afford that ****.

jeeptj99 said:

Who the hell can afford 5k at 18 and 19? Hell i'm 29 and can barely afford that ****.

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That's what I'm saying Lol. Who the hell has that much wisdom to contribute that much at that age instead of using that **** to buy some fun toys, is how I look it.

When I was 18-19 yrs old, I was living at home with the parents, had a nice 97 F-150, 04 Honda Rubicon 500 fourwheeler bought brand new, 04 Honda CRF 250r mx bike I bought brand new, and a 97 Honda CBR900RR sportbike I bought used from Chad. Working 60+ hrs a week in a sock mill, hell with any kinds of plans for retirement. Haha

Cole got a job at a tire plant and was dumping huge amounts into retirement early 20's from what I recall. That has been years ago but I remember something along the lines of being amazed he socked away as much as he did for his age compared to me/everyone else I knew

I started putting 7.5% in my 401K at 23. Im 36 now and it hurts my feelings I dont have more in it I am on aggressive growth til I hit 55.

I do company match on mine right now. i usually do more than that but trying to get my customer base back i have had to trim it back some. when i was living with my parents i was putting 10% in it.

blacksheep10 said:

Cole got a job at a tire plant and was dumping huge amounts into retirement early 20's from what I recall. That has been years ago but I remember something along the lines of being amazed he socked away as much as he did for his age compared to me/everyone else I knew

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It's all personal outlook. I'm planning for retirement, but not overplanning. Some of the folks I work with put 15-20% of their check into retirement plus the 6% the company matches. I would rather use that extra money now and live while I am able rather than be old and rich as **** but too broken down to spend it. I'd like to travel the world, but not in a wheelchair. My 401k forecast says at the current contribution rate I should be able to retire on around $70k annually if markets perform good, $40k annually if the markets perform terribly. That's not super big bucks to some, but I plan to supplement it with rental income from a handful of properties that should be paid off by then, and also pair that with owing nothing on the house we live in by then, and having most everything else being paid off. I just don't see the need to sacrifice 15-20% of my hard earned money now for a life that may not end up being so golden, or that I may not live to enjoy at all.

The old man that bought my Toyota rock crawler from Minnesota a few years ago was 68 years old and was able to retire early, but he said he'd been through 3 different bouts with cancer. His advice was to enjoy life while you are young and healthy. I thought a lot about that after meeting him. Then JohnG retired at an early age and only got to enjoy it for around 2 years. It still burns me up that JohnG worked so hard meticulously planning to enjoy an early retirement and it was cut short. I think about the advice given by the guy that bought my crawler and JohnG's life story quite often to remind myself not to get too busy to forget to enjoy life. I think a lot of folks get consumed by this grand idea of retiring and living the good life, but seemingly forget to consider the health issues that come with old age or never even making it to the age of retirement.

Thread hijack engage.