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That is not to say that children are oblivious to the value of money & what it can do.
Can a 16yr old working 12hrs a week at McDonalds pay for their books for even a semester? No. But they can put away $200 for it. It can give them a sense of pride & involvement.
Making your children actively involved in the savings process can teach monetary responsibility. And it can start at a very young age.
My babysitter knows exactly what school is going to cost her in the fall. She is responsible for her books. Her parents are paying as much as they can in re: to tuition & board & she also got a scholarship.
It's doing a disservice to your children if you don't at least explain to them the cost of things outside their comfort zone (cell phones, clothes, food) & possibly even require them to start a savings, no matter how small.
My nephew is 7 & gets an allowance of $2/wk. He gets to keep $1. Then he has two jars in his room...$.50 for giving & $.50 for savings. Will take him years to save or give much of anything. But it's not the amount, but the concept. He gets it...even at 7. Does he get it like a grown adult who is paying a mortgage, car payments & so on. Not to that level, but to the level of a child. So a 16yr old surely can understand saving if he/she is taught about it at a level that is age appropriate.
I have toddlers so in 14-16yrs, who knows how much a book will cost. So I am not pretending to know it all. But I do hold very firm on the concept of getting your child involved in saving money, no matter how small their portion, for such things as college.
Thanks for the lecture.....and I'm not being "ironic/sarcastic". You are absolutely right! I think you have a fantastic system and way of thinking and doing things! Hats off to you!
Cute personal attack; not nice! However, I'm a big girl, and I stand by what I said.
Sure, a 17 year old can tell you that tuition at the University of ABC or XYZ College is $7000/yr, or $20,000/yr or whatever. S/he can be paying $10/month for a cell phone that's on his parents' plan, and buying their own gas, and writing out a check for car insurance. S/he can have a savings account and know just how much is in it. S/he can balance a checkbook. But I'll bet you dollars to donuts that s/he doesn't know what $7000/yr means vis a vis the family's income, or how many hours it takes his/her parents to earn that money, how that compares to the price of a car, etc.
I've endured lots of nasty comments about my kids here on CD, how b/c I didn't share with them all the intimate details of our finances, etc, that they would turn out badly, not know how to manage money, etc. However, I hate to disappoint all of you who think so. One was asked by insurance agent how she learned to be such a good money manager, and she said "I learned it from my parents". She is a physical therapist. The other has been working at a day care center for two years at $10/hr, shares an apt, and has $8000 in savings. So
Just because YOU took it "personally", it doesn't mean that it was a personal attack! I did, however, take a look at several of your posts on here which ARE most definitely "personal attacks" on other posters!
I've said it before, if y'all have tens of thousands of dollars to throw around and you feel the need to pay your child's way through college, because that's what it takes to make you feel like a successful parent, hey, have at it. For those of you who don't give a crap about taking out 2nd or 3rd mortgages on your homes, in order to keep your kids from ending up in debt, again, knock yourselves out. Just don't try to guilt others into doing the same thing. If you're willing to be an example of buying things you can't pay for (your child's college education), that's certainly your choice. Forgive some of us if we don't believe that's a good example to set for OUR kids!
It's a good example for your kids if you don't save money to send them to college?
No one is saying that you should go in to debt to pay for college, but save SOMETHING. As I said above, $50/month would get your kids a couple of years of junior college paid for. Heck, in Florida right now, that would get you about 4 years of tuition (we have low tuition rates here).
But to sit there and say "I am not going to plan for my child's college education?"...that's willfully setting a bad example for your kids, while saddling them with debt if they can get in to college.
It's a good example for your kids if you don't save money to send them to college?
No one is saying that you should go in to debt to pay for college, but save SOMETHING. As I said above, $50/month would get your kids a couple of years of junior college paid for. Heck, in Florida right now, that would get you about 4 years of tuition (we have low tuition rates here).
But to sit there and say "I am not going to plan for my child's college education?"...that's willfully setting a bad example for your kids, while saddling them with debt if they can get in to college.
I agree! If you have the extra money to set aside, fine....do so. If your kids refuse to go to college, use the money for a vacation or your retirement.
I helped my kids thru college. And believe me, they know our family finances. They lived at home, bought used books, went to community college, my eldest son even took AP classes in school, to earn college credits while in high school. I did not go into debt, and neither did they. Student loans were not needed, no one had a car, we all shared one car, and I took the bus to work. I put two kids thru school, and am now on my last one, she is away at school, because she got a scholarship, so she is a bit more expensive, but she is also doing well, and has a PT job. Interesting, my son's employer is paying for his grad school, and my other son is also getting tuition reimbursement from his employer. If a single Mom can do it for three, anyone can.
I helped my kids thru college. And believe me, they know our family finances. They lived at home, bought used books, went to community college, my eldest son even took AP classes in school, to earn college credits while in high school. I did not go into debt, and neither did they. Student loans were not needed, no one had a car, we all shared one car, and I took the bus to work. I put two kids thru school, and am now on my last one, she is away at school, because she got a scholarship, so she is a bit more expensive, but she is also doing well, and has a PT job. Interesting, my son's employer is paying for his grad school, and my other son is also getting tuition reimbursement from his employer. If a single Mom can do it for three, anyone can.
You are an amazing mom Jasper!! ((((((((HUGS))))))))) It also sounds like you had some hardworking, great kids too. It must have been your excellent parenting.
Thank you. It is about being realistic. No one "needs" to go away to college if you live in a town with a community college, and public university. Sure, loans would have been nice to have, for car payments, insurance, whatever. But my kids knew our financial situation, and did the responsible thing. They did not apply to go to a fancy school, because, even applications cost money. There is nothing wrong with community college classes. Both of my sons did unpaid internships, which got them their current jobs. Anyone who graduates from college without a job... My sons also worked while in school. They did not have fancy clothes, or cars, or go on spring break vacations. We are not a rich family, why pretend? And we were a team on paying for tuition, they did not expect me to pay for everything, I did not expect them to, we are a family. College was an investment. My sons are independent, and employed. They don't live at home with their Mama now...
I agree! If you have the extra money to set aside, fine....do so. If your kids refuse to go to college, use the money for a vacation or your retirement.
How about keeping it set aside to help them buy a house or start a family or for their children's education? Since they're not going to college they can likely use it.
For the record: the vacation comment implied it was disposible.
My point is that the government is telling parents they are responsible and some children are put at a serious disadvantage as a result of those parents not helping.
Some parents are penalizing their children by not recognizing that their wealth is actually causing their children hardship.
You seem to be taking this thread personally even though you ARE helping your children. We're talking about the people who won't help their children.
The problem is, you don't have to be wealthy for your kids to be unable to qualify for the free tuition. The free tuition is reserved for the welfare class and the very low wage earners. It's denied those kids from middle class families that are working very hard to pay mortgages and pay insurance premiums and all that. The financial aid system is very discriminatory, and it doesn't take much of a parent's income to disqualify a worthy student.
A hard working parent often can not afford college tuition in addition to all the other costs of a family but work part time or not at all, the kid will be given all kinds of money.
And in reality the 16-24 year old market is huge. Who goes to the most concerts? The most spring break vacations? Who has the most money for iPods, cell phones with unlimited texting? Video games, $600 game players. Clothes. Clubs and fast food meals.
You can tell by the advertizers where the disposable money is, which group has the money for the luxuries.
The problem is, you don't have to be wealthy for your kids to be unable to qualify for the free tuition. The free tuition is reserved for the welfare class and the very low wage earners.
Well that's not completely true either. My son did get offered a free ride at our local university via an academic scholarship. If he had not been accepted at the college of his choice, there's a good chance he's have been going there instead.
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You are absolutely right! I think you have a fantastic system and way of thinking and doing things! Hats off to you!
