Are you saving for your retirement or for your kids' college? Or are you trying to do both?
You know my general take on this issue: put your own oxygen mask on first. Your kids are young and can start saving now and get jobs and loans and grants and financial aid.
That being said, we are saving for our own retirement while our kids have savings accounts. We hope to be able to help with SOME college, which is better than none. Yet I also believe things are more appreciated when they are bought for oneself.
What's your take? Will you do it how your parents did it, or did they subject you to child abuse by not paying for your college, and now you plan to pay 100% of YOUR kids'???
The best thing my mom did for me was pay my way through college. It allowed me graduate debt free. I don't know if I would be able to stay home with the kids if Lance or I had student loan debt. We save for retirement right now (not a lot just 5% of pretax). Will worry about saving for college when I go back to day time work when kids are in school. They will not pay any of their college unless they choose to go out of state and then we will pay the going instate tuition rate.
ReplyDeleteWe try to save for both, although money towards retirement seems to come first since it's a nice tax savings each year!! My parents paid for my college, but then again, they only had one child! I definitely want to help my kids with the cost but the speed at which tuition is rising, they may be expected to pitch in!
ReplyDeletemama, this is a good compromise: paying only the instate rate, then if they go out you only pay instate so you don't go broke. i like it!
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