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I saw on the news, 42% of baby boomers have $0 saved for retirement.
When you're living paycheck to paycheck because of low-paying jobs, as my wife and I are, it's impossible to save for retirement. We're 56 and 55 with two kids aged 11 and 9. If they want to go to college, they have to earn full scholarships, because we can't give 'em a dime.
Believe it or not you will qualify for scholarships though you may have to take out the government loans which are about 6500 per year now. That amount of debt is workable. Many schools, including Notre Dame, give aid based on need which will be reflected in FASFA applications and any other applications the college process will lead you too. Nothing out of the question for your kids, it depends much upon how reponsible they are and their desire to not just attend college but do well at it.
...having filled out the forms, it seems like it might hurt the poor less than it hurts the middle class. Schools like ND say they will handle all of your need, but they also think that you should basically spend ALL of your non-401k/IRA savings on college, even if you have more kids to go to college later, even if you need to pay for a wedding, or buy a new car. Notre Dame, which claims to handle all of our need, offered our kid one of the worst financial aid packages. Once you give them all your non-retirement money, then you might get a break. If you don't have non-retirement savings, you are at their "help point" already.
Having said that, schools with lesser academic reputations than Notre Dame has will often compete to get good students to turn down Notre Dame and go to their school. To do that, they give scholarships out as enticements. One of my kids got a full ride to a smaller school, with room and board. That is hard to turn down. After all, those schools have people with Ph.D.'s who teach their classes, just like Notre Dame does.
For financial aid, it is calculated more or less like this.
The most important issue is income (and number of kids in college). If you make 200,000+, you are probably going to be told you can afford 20-ish percent of that for college.
Then comes savings - they only count your non-qualified plans. They figure about 5-6% per year on this stuff.
It has been our experience that qualified retirement plans (401(k)) are not used in the calculation at all.
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And I received a lot from them that didn't have a monetary value at the time but set me up for success, even though they couldn't pay for my college. It doesn't take money to be a great parent and doing so is a gift you can give to your children far beyond what a free education will do for them. And later in life they'll appreciate all of the sacrifices you made for them.
Of course, everyone wants to have a good and leisurely retirement for themself, but that comes after setting up your kids for success. (And, your kids can be a form of retirement savings...that's the way it has always been in the past.) If you can't save for yourself, invest in the next generation as much as possible. Take great pride in preparing one's offspring for success. I'm first generation college in my family...ever. I know my father takes great pride in his kids, all of whom earned post-graduate degrees.
You don't have a bunch of kids from generations of laborers suddenly get post-grad level education without something intangible being created by their parents in them.
Every kid is different, of course, and college is not for everyone. At the base level, my goal for my kids is (1) be happy, and (2) be independent. if they achieve at least that, I will be happy and proud of them.
You're not as whacky when you aren't defending Trump. Good post.
State schools also are less expensive as a rule.
Two year community colleges also are affordable by everyone and the credits do transfer.
In other words, all of us make up for your lack of foresight. Maybe when you are genuflecting to Trump you should think about that.
The more the government provides grants and cheap loans to kids, the more the universities increase tuition. They are playing the game and not allowing more kids to get college education at the same government investment. On top of that, the universities are pushing their own socialistic agenda on impressionable kids which is exacerbating the problems of our country and ability to ever reign in our government debt.
Entitlements are another thing that are fuckin crazy. Yet we are cutting taxes, running a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit this budget that doesn’t even include them, and our so called Republican president wants to spend another trillion on BS boondoggle shite.
check yourself.
One of your gems, comparable to someone who didn’t save to pursue a golf career complaining about college costs.
Which kind of undermined the supposedly helpful intent of the post.
A guy who saved zero while pursuing a professional golf career sounds like a dumbass when later complaining about college costs.
He’s also a trumpbot, supporting a guy who has tried to roll back loan forgiveness programs for those who took public service jobs.
Or, can you just not help but mention Trump in every post?
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Two-year colleges can be great values, a way to get a good education for a couple years with a possible transfer to a four-year university for the last couple years. Significantly cheaper and the professors are hired or retained based upon their ability to teach, not upon their research output/potential.
With good grades in high school, scholarships are often available...sometimes to the extent of being almost totally free. Let your kids know early what they are working towards: free or discounted college. The sooner they take personal interest in that, the better. Get them looking forward to this. Two years in community college, and two years at a state school, can lead to a very serviceable degree. (Non-flag ship, "directional" state schools are cheaper to begin with, and they sometimes incentivize hard working students, because they want to steal them from the flagship school.)
And the degree line on the resume of the person who spent their last two years at the state university is exactly the same as the degree line on the resume of a person who spent 4 years at the state university.
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Putin hates milk.
So when Mark is enjoying whatever pittance his tax cut will amount to, he may want to reconsider who he supports if affordable education is his goal.
Understand now?
Fucking college tuition goes up EVERY fucking year. Shit, under Obama student loans were at a record high...
And don't get snarky, bitch. I was just pointing out your man love for Trump.
What’s Trump proposed?
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/education/obamas-plan-aims-to-lower-cost-of-college.html
and this "plan" had the opposite effect. College tuition increased and student loans skyrocketed.
FYI, I don't give a fuck about Trump or what he proposes. I'll leave it to you to be the snowflake.
Link: http://thefederalist.com/2015/10/28/under-obama-student-loans-hit-a-record-high/
You are so full of shit that you don’t care. It doesn’t stop you from posting in support of him.
You aren’t even worth a response anymore.
but I do chuckle watching you liberal idiots squirm in your panties. Obsession for Men...Franky's favorite scent.
position for idjits defending Trump.
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They can get student loans or join the military. All the best.
My paternal grandparents didn't have two pennies to rub together so my father's only hope at post-secondary education was to join the military. Four years of military college transformed a poor farm boy into a uniformed gentleman, introduced him to influential people, snagged him a high society wife and ultimately led him to an amazing career in public service.
The military is a wonderful idea.
I look at what it costs a resident of Canada to attend one of the excellent colleges in the country, and it is quite literally a fraction of the comparable cost in the U.S.
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I don't understand the value for money proposition.
I attended and graduated from a university that is generally regarded as one of the top 25 in the world and certainly the best in Canada. World class facilities and profs.
I made enough money working 4 months every summer to pay for all my university costs and my entertainment money for the 8 months I was in school every year. My parents didn't contribute a dime to my education. I graduated with zero debt and a degree that's recognized around the world at a fraction of the cost of what you guys pay. Most of my classmates did the exact same thing I did.
I've never complained when my government tells me they are going to spend tax dollars on the education system. It's easily the best investment in a Country's future that a government can make.
We encourage people to go into debt to go to college, we make it easy for them, even if they have no business being in college.
Tuitions regularly rise at 3-4 time the inflation rate...again, because they can. The tuition increases do not decrease demand, so why would universities stop raising the tuitions every year? They will raise them until people stop applying...but then the government says something must be done to make it easier to pay for it...and then the universities raise tuition again because they can. Basic supply and demand. Everyone can get into college...and everyone can get loans.
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$100K in college debt.
Underwater on your mortgage/home equity loan.
2 new vehicles and a boat on credit.
Vacations on the credit card.
No retirement savings.
Rich Dad Poor Dad should be required reading in High School.