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I am likely to be buying my first home within a year and was reviewing the gift guidelines for FHA mortgages this afternoon. These were fairly generous guidelines about gift contributions for downpayments. As I'm now almost 30, I'm behind many of my peers in purchasing a home, but many folks around my age I know were quite open about their parents helping them in a significant way. My family doesn't have the financial capacity to help, so I can't rely on that. This doesn't necessarily mean on the downpayment of a mortgage, but also paying college tuition, paying off debt, or really any bailout.
Did you help your children any major way financially? What exactly did you do and how much did you contribute?
Moderator note: Thread moved from Retirement to Personal Finance forum on 03/08/2016.
Yes, college tuition for 4 years. New cheap car at graduation because the old one was totaled. I frequently lend money to her business but she pays them back in square, cash flow problem. Interest free of course. Some money in retirement account when my husband and I were still working.
But now we are retiring, not much except for the free health insurance until she turns 26 and $15 monthly cell phone. She's on her own pretty much 99% of things.
About how much did all that total, discounting a considerably depreciated car?
I'm not really sure what it cost. When our kids were born in 1990 and 1992 we bought the prepaid college fund our state offered for both of them. I know it was a lot cheaper than what tuition was 18 years later, but really don't remember the total outlay. Our son is now in grad school and is still driving that car.
Last edited by Sunnydee; 03-03-2016 at 11:14 PM..
Reason: correction
All three out of college debt free on the "old man's dime". They are all now late 20's and since they started working in high school I have funded a Roth IRA for each. The $5,000 per year is their Christmas present. I will be long dead when they realize what a great gift that was and hopefully they will think fondly of the "old man".
I helped my daughter buy her first house by paying the down payment. Now she and her husband just bought our family home...they paid fair market price but we financed it for them because even though they can afford the monthly payments, they probably could not have gotten the loan for various reasons.
My parents helped me financially between 18-21, I lived with them and did not pay rent (though I paid my own personal expenses like cell phone, bought my car, car insurance, gas, maintenance, clothing, going out, some groceries) and they also contributed a percentage of my tuition. I definitely don't expect them to contribute to a down payment on a house or a wedding or anything like that. I feel that enabling me to start out my adult life without owing a house in student loans was enough of a gift, along with allowing me to obtain a bachelor's degree without having to worry about keeping a roof over my head (I did work the whole time though). I'm around your age OP.
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