BellaOnline Forums Relationships Married No Kids Saving for your own retirement NOT college tuition

Wow, I just found out one of my classmates is pregnant with twins.

Its sucks to be her, because instead of saving for an early retirement she can start saving for two college tuitions. I cant even fathom how much college tuition will be in 18 years - 2026.

Thats another advantage, we have the luxury of being able to save for ourselves. I spoke with a business professor and we went over a basic "financial plan" for me:

He said that at my age (almost 23)
With my current savings (only $2000)
If I contributed only $400 a month
With an %8 return

I could have $458,000 in savings only by the time I'm 50, not even including 401k, IRA's, stocks and bonds. Adjusted for %3.1 inflation he said it would be worth only $210,000 in todays money but thats still a considerable savings.

I was watching Suze Orman and she told a few people that they should be saving for retirement and NOT thier kids' college tuition. According to her, there are low interest loans and programs available for college, but what are you going to do if You need to retire and you can't afford it?

I think she's right. It may be taking for ever, but the hubby and I are putting ourselves through college.

I put myself through college too. Granted my parents didn't have any money to contribute anyway, but I am glad that things worked out the way they did. It made me a more responsible person. I had to buy my books and pay for classes so I worked harder to do well. I had a friend who, for the first two years, his dad paid for all his college expenses, and he just messed around, drank, partied, etc. He ended up failing all his classes his 2nd semester of sophomore year so his dad cut him off. After that he wised up and paid his own way. Now he's a better person for it.

What really annoys me is that being fiscally irresponsible pays. My dh and I have always been on the frugal side -- we don't buy things that we can't afford, most of our vacations were family ones, we drive cars until they are dead, we save money for a rainy day. Because of this, we managed to survive almost 3 years of unemployment (blissfully in the past now!) We now have a nice cushion in the bank, far more than most who have had a similar level of income, without even having the years of unemployment. However, my son is eligible for less financial aid for college, because we have been frugal. If we had wasted our money all those years, he would likely get a great need-based scholarship. That irks me. (I don't have a problem with people getting need-based scholarships, but not if they have been living high on the hog instead of saving.)

Ms A,

I hear you. I have no idea why I didn't qualify for anything to help me when I was college-age. (Thank you, Ronald Regan.) My mother made next to nothing and my father never sent child support and we lived with my widowed Grandmother. It's very frusterating when people who really deserve it, can't get it.

My parents didn't rely on welfare - in fact, my father was a very proud man with a strong work ethic - he would have done anything to feed his family.
I went to University and worked part time to cover books and expenses - fortunately the Labour Party had abolished University fees so I only had to find the Student Union Fee.
My parents lived a long way from campus - I caught the train and tram to Uni...sometimes, coming home in the dark. I often felt afraid walking back to my car in a lonely and dark car park.
I spent a term in college - loved it - so close to Uni, tutors on hand, social interaction with other students and ideal study conditions - my OWN room!
Sadly, I could only find the money for 2 terms in college - it was only after I graduated that I discovered I would have been eligible for a full scholarship at one of the colleges...OH NOOOO!
Nobody mentioned scholarships to me - my fellow law students were all from wealthy or well off families (only 3 people in my year were from working class families...as far as I know)
Also, my parents had no idea - they didn't go looking for financial support - you just managed...
My family background made clear to me the importance of financial security...we also, wanted to ensure my mother was comfortable in retirement. We have also, helped my younger siblings along the way...
My DH is good with money day to day - I have a good eye for property so between the two of us we make a reasonable financial team.

when i was a senior in high school my parents went to a seminar on college financial aide and they learned that in order for me to get much of anything that my parents would have to literally have to have next to nothing.my dad worked at a blue collar job and my mom worked part-time. like you ms.a my parents saved and lived within their means. they certainly weren't wealthy but they did okay with what they had. the guy basically told them that they would have to live on spaghetti for the next 4 yrs. if i were to qualify for anything and would have to have literally hardly any savings.

my parents paid for most of my undergrad(i went to a local univ. and lived at home). grad school i paid totally on my own and my DH and i managed with being very frugal to pay off my loan and start saving for a house soon after. luckily he didnt' have a loan b/c since he's from germany his education was paid for.

i've heard many financial experts say the same thing as susan orman about saving for retirement vs. saving for college.if you can afford to do both fine but i agree with the experts. if you don't save now for retirement you certainly can't count on SS being there.

indigo

I've never posted but have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts. I have known I didn't want kids since I was a kid. My mother kept saying you'll change your mind but I never did. My older sister never had any either. I guess my parents gave us such a good life & such self confidence that we could accomplish anything that we never felt we needed anything to "complete" us. They always supported us regardless & my mother would show pics of her "granddogs" (my sister's & mine) when others were bragging about their kids/grandkids. We both have significant others that we've been with for a long time. I like my life with my furkids. I do what I want, other than work, when I want. I can spoil my furbabies, & myself. I have my 401k at work which I contribute healthily to & my employer matches it in a good way. I also have a financial planner who is making me good money. I would have none of that if I had kids. I love love love my time to do what I want!

Welcome to the forum! Good first post, glad to hear your mother's accepted you and your sister's decision. It makes me sad (and a bit confused) when I see parent's trying to force their kids to have kids.

Thank you! I don't understand that either. If you want me to have kids so badly you need to be available to raise them! Ha!