Im curious as to what people are putting away? I read in baby bargains college for a state school in 18 years will be $100k a year and private school $200k a year. Ideally we'd love to put our children through school without them having to take student loans...but then how much should we be putting away once he/she arrives?
I have a friend who does upromise & for her daughter she has a wedding fund/savings that gets like $600 a month and $1k for college each month. Her son doesnt get a wedding fund and he only gets like $600 a month. Shes not super wealthy just works hard and makes it a priority to save for these occasions. I feel like being out $2200 a month for savings not including daycare and other expenses is a bit steep, do I have my head in the sand?
Re: s/o savings for baby
Sorry, I have a super good job and 2200 a month before daycare and household expensive is a ton of money. I agree with PP, 25-50$ a week or pay peroid. Fact is, its something.
And, lets be realistic, this last generation feels super entitled. God help K if she grows up to be like that, because all that money saved up will go into mommy's vacation fund and she can work her *** through school!
I'm fairly certain it has to do with your income at that point in time they are cashed in. So if they did not have a real job and cashed for school the tax liability would be lower. If they had a real job and they cashed for a wedding then it would most likely move them to the next tax bracket. I agree if not used correctly they can not be worth it.
I would back into a number you would like to have. Do you want 400K for when the child is 18? Then you need to save about 1833 per month. (not including interest income)
I worked and took out loans for school, as did my siblings. My children will do the same, and I will help them as much as possible. I.E. My parents paid for our rent/housing but I got married junior year of college and no longer received my parents support.
Also I have yet to meet 1 person to pay face value for college. Sorry but if you do then your dumb IMO.
Between scholarships and grants something will be reduced, I will also push for AP courses (my sister saved an entire year at college AND SUNY ALBANY paid her MASTERS IN FULL!!!)
I have a really good job too but with our everyday finances, including two car payments, there is no way that we could afford that NOR is it realistic in my opinion. The average person can't do it. I remember a single friend of mine say she hated that she could only put away 900 per pay period and my other friend was like, wait until she has a kid and a mortgage.
Point is, I think you have to look at your finances and see what you can afford to put away each week and not "miss". I think $25/week for sure is a great start. If you can put away more, then good but I think that is a realistic number.
thanks for all the input. I was trying to get a feel for how much the average person plans on putting away/does.
also it only matters where you graduate from. The base courses can be taken at a community college and save hundreds over paying for them at a private/state school.
my parents paid for my college and i had one small loan. our parents were also more than happy to pay for our wedding but we said no and paid for it ourselves. when i was in college i could see taking the money but when i got married i was 27 and had a great career, i dont care if they saved it, i wasnt taking it. we have no expectations of having to pay for school or weddings for our children but of course want to be able to help them as much as possible, so long as it's what they want. we dont put away a set amount. it depends on what the expenses are each month. but we generally put away 300 or so a pay period. i have no expectation that each child would get this much. more so that we cut it out and put it in our "kid" account, which is really an investment account. anytime sue gets gifts at birthdays, holidays, etc we invest it for her. we do have upromise though and i think everyone should get it- it's like free money. i dont think as new parents you should stress out about putting a certain amount away. just do what you can. there is nothing wrong with taking student loans out. and besides, we are all hoping for scholarships anyway, right?
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