OT: Paying for College??

We participate in the FL prepaid college program. We pay 120.00 a month for the next 14 years and that will cover 4 years tuition & fees at a State of FL University. My son also has a custodial account where I try to put an additional 500.00 a year in to help save for a car and room and board etc. Money is tight but I want to pay for his education no matter what. My husband & I both paid for our own college. Well my husband has a scholarship but took a loan top pay for a trip to six week Russia through his school. I paid as I went but never finished. Maybe one day...

My parents picked up the tab for both my Bachelor's degree and my Master's degree. I went to the state university and that helped. Even though they paid, I was a very serious student, I wasnt there to party, and I held a solid B+/A- GPA. Now that Im a mom, we only have one child. My husband doesnt want any more. I guess because I was raised in a home where my parents both had advanced degrees, my parents valued education, and because my parents picked up the whole tab for me, I feel I should do as much as I can for my child. If I had multiple kids, this may not be as easy, but with one, Im hoping and assuming, it will be easier. That being said for most careers I think a state college provides a top notch education. If I find that my child is at the top of the curve then I would encourage her to seek out a top private college, otherwise I think the state system will be just fine. Amy K, NJ

529 plans are great, and many states offer a tax deduction for contributing to one. Our home state, Arizona, offers a tax deduction even if you participate in the plan of another state (we use the Nevada plan). The upside of a 529 is that if you use the money for qualified education expenses, everything comes out tax and penalty free. You can also transfer the money from the 529 to a 529 for an immediate family member (i.e. a sibling) without penalty. That way, if your child doesn't need the money for college (scholarship, not attending college, etc) you can use the money to pay for someone else's costs. You can even use the money for your own college expenses! The downside is that the money has to be used for education to avoid the penalties. Other options for college savings are Education Savings Accounts and UGMA/UTMA accounts. ESA's have tax advantages, but lower maximum contributions ($2000 per year per beneficiary). UGMA/UTMA accounts don't have to be used for college and don't have any tax advantages. The unique things is that they are irrevocable gifts to the child, and when the child reaches the age of majority (depends on your state, but usually 18-21) they can access the money and do with it as they please. The custodian can't take the money back, so if the child wants to cash out the account and spend the summer traveling around Europe, no one can stop them. Anyone considering one of these plans should research how it might affect their receiving financial aid. Some accounts count as the child's money while others count as parent's money.

I second/third idea of 529 plans....my state has regular plan to save cash & prepaid plan (already purchased some yrs for DD). Check it out if you haven't already....easy way to save if you can't save a lot.

We started a fund for Lucas as soon as he came home and try to contribute as much as we can to it every 6 months or so. My parents also contribute to it, which is above and beyond but higher education is a big deal to my father who also paid 100% of my college education...room, board, rent, food, books, tuition. My only expense was extra spending money. It was expected that I keep my grades up and if I didn't, then the free ride ended. For Lucas I hope to be able to pay his tuition and room and board, however I also think it's important for him to take some ownership in his education for an appreciation of it. We'll probably have him take care of books and spending money. I certainly have an appreciation for my education now, but didn't when I was going, not like I should have at least and while my grades were fine, they could have been a lot better if I spent as much time studying as I did partying.

I think our girls are going to have to find a way to fund part of their own way (unless we unexpectedly grow a $$ tree in the backyard!) Between scholarships and work, I funded 80% or more of my college. I was a resident advisor in the dorm which covered my room and board one year and worked alot the other years. I took student loans out for grad school. I have a stepson who is currently a junior in a state university. We are required to pay 1/2 of his tuition, which we do plus we pay 1/2 of his room and board. We did not save anything for my stepson's college, so we are paying for it as we go - luckily we can get by without loans. I am hoping that when my stepson gets out of school, we can start putting some money into an 529 for the girls, but it won't be enough to fully fund their college I am sure, so they will have to share some responsibility. I have always heard that it is better to plan for your retirement if you have to choose between that and saving for your children's college because there are generally more options for college funding.

We have extremely similar backgrounds!!! Altho my father has some comm. college, I was the first one to ever finish and actually go on to a university. And I did that all myself: student loans while working full time during the day, and evening classes from 6-9:40 for 4 nights a week, and some Sat morning classes! Toward the end of my stint, I was able to complete some of the electives online. But even those were brutal b/c they compensated for lack of 'face' time for more homework, etc. I graduated with my bachelors just recently in June '07 (at 31 yrs old!!:arrow: ) and then a bachelors for a dual major was completed in Sept'07. Hey I began in 2001...and finished assoc. in 2003...then four yrs later, I finish the bachelors, lol. So obviously this included some breaks in there due to finances ;) I never worked less than full time all through school. My current employer has a tuition program and they've encouraged me to go back for an MBA.....until this year. Due to the economy, the company has instituted a program freeze on all things like tuition, new hires, raises, etc. Everything...it's rough here. As for our kiddos, we are saving as much as we can so we can help them, but we also want them to contribute as well. :eyebrows: Interesting thread!

Our older ds attends an expensive private college. He did receive a scholarship but still has a major tuition bill. We are helping him pay for it now but he also has student loans that he will start to pay when he graduates. He works part time during the school year and full time during the summers. With the present economy; I am concerned about his career opportunities when he graduates this year.

My husband and I are really torn about this. Sure, we're saving for Henry's college, but we will be reaching retirement age (we'll be 58 when he graduates high school). As our financial planner says, Henry can take out college loans and get aid/scholarships. There are no retirement scholarships!

My daughter is graduating from college in a few weeks...there are tons of financial aid things out there , most people dont even know about...My daughter works and goes to school full time, and with all her grants and scholarships and aid, her total balance left for 4 years of college is only $15,000.00....and that is amazing with the cost of colleges now...I have constantly been keeping up the interest on the loans each month and she will begin paying it 6 months after graduation, they will start up payment plans...make sure when you do have to get financial aid loans that you get them in your childs name, because they give them a great interest rate where if the parent does it , the rate is almost two times higher...

We pay for our childrens education... well at least most of it... One of my oldest daughters is in Medical school now, so that is student loans, way to much $$$$$. Mom and Dad send cash when she needs it. All our older children went to state colleges so the price was semi-cheap, but when all three were in school at the same time it some times got interesting, and our savings suffered. We have college funds for all of our children but that still only covers part of the expense. DH and I were married and started our family when we were very young, but Adults to our parents. I guess once we were out of our parents house we were OUT of thier pockets books too. We have never been given the any financial help from our parents, for anything, least of all in their worlds school. It realy sucked to not have our parents help, we had quite a struggle. This is just not something we don't want to watch our children go through. Education is such a huge priority for us. We chose to have a large Family so this is just the fact we have to face, we will never retire wealthy... Now if they all get GREAT Jobs when they grow up they can take care of Mommy & Daddy....:eyebrows: :eyebrows: :eyebrows:

For my kids' college tuition dollars, I plan to open a club for seniors interested in watching pole dancing...and be the guest star That way, dh and I can retire from my current day job, have another interesting retirement "career", AND send our kids to college.:banana: Back in the day, I worked part time and summers but my parents also took care of tuition (I paid all other bills). I paid for my graduate degree entirely on my own. For our kids, we have a 529 and plan to help our kids some but make them work summers, take out loans, etc.

Paying for my own college is very difficult but what I discover Payday loan can help me. Student loan is also a big help for my college. we all know that being in college is so depressing when it comes from the payment. The price of going to university is still growing each year. Paying for college books are getting insanely expensive, and there are not a great deal of alternatives to just getting the textbooks. Fortunately, university students can get no credit check payday loans to help pay for their college and books. Find out more at: Pay for college and books [URL="https://personalmoneynetwork.com/payday-loans/"]No Credit Check Payday Loans.[/URL]

I have to agree with you on that! I believe our children should be thought how to be responsible adults and one way of teaching them that is to train them how to budget funds. There's nothing wrong with supporting them financially and also nothing wrong with letting them work or look for scholarship programs for their college education. My kids are not yet in college but I'm planning on supporting them financially, but will not cover all their college fees. I would encourage them to look for financial aids out there or for a job. I'm sure they'll thank me sooner or later. A number of people are going or returning to college, so they can change careers and find brand new work. The tough economy has made it specifically hard while college expenditures are growing. Luckily, you can get a payday cash advance to help you pay the bills. This can help you get through university, so you can get a great, new job. Learn more at: [URL="https://personalmoneynetwork.com/payday-loans/"]Installment Payday Loan[/URL].

Oh my goodness. I have not started a fund yet well, it's a savings book but I need to start the 529. DS will be 9 in March and as someone said my retirement money needs to be saved for my retirement. Or for DS if I get hit by a bus. A much younger colleague of mine graduated college with $160k in debt. She said her parents made her sign it and at 18 she really didn't have a clue. My son learns about money, saving, buying something but he is a saver (not that we have much extra to go around). This time of year it's pre-paying summer camps. And then my tax refund will come in and pay off that. It's tough out there but there are still grants, work-study and low-level loans.