Should parents save up for their kids college, or should kids just get student loans?
Question by Judy: Should parents save up for their kids college, or should kids just get student loans?
I see wealthy parents not saving for their kids college.
Are they being selfish, or do they feel its wrong to offer their children a college education?
Is it morality? Do they want the kids to pay it on their own even if they can afford it?
Best answer:
Answer by Ryan M
I paid for my college education and it did not kill me. The kids probably need to learn responsibility and time management skills by working and going to school at the same time. I took 20 units per quarter AND worked 30-35 hours per week. My GPA was well over 3.0.
What do you think? Answer below!
Tags: college education, kids college, Student Loans
Maybe they are selfish. Maybe they are short-sighted. Maybe they don’t value a college education.
With the availabilty of 529 college savings plans, it is easy to start saving for college. I can’t imagine leaving it to chance.
No they are saving for their retirement. There are no Retirement Loans.
There is no job to feed you when your 70. We the Generation of the 50s and 60s paid our own way.
Depends: I used grants, loans and parents. If you have the means then you should start saving for college as soon as your kid is born. There are college savings accounts that allow you to save tax deferred. Every parent should start one to help out later in life. Not only does it save you money over time, it also shows the kid how to put away a little each pay period into future goals. Why let you kid graduate in 4 years with a ton of debt they may not be able to pay for? That teaches them nothing, except how to borrow money and be in debt for a decade.
If your kid is mature, focused, and wants to go to college then give him/her the money. If your kid is listless, immature or a slacker then pay for some, but make the work for it. I think all students should work during college. I also think they should have a college car that is at least 6 years old. Reward them for hard work but don’t hand them the keys to the castle.
There is no right answer to this. Depending on the ability of the parent to pay I would suggest a combination of parent contribution, student loan and the student working during summer and maybe part time during the school year to help pay the freight. Even if the parents could foot the whole bill I think it makes sense for the student to contribute to the cost through work and student loans to help them learn the value of the buck and a sense of work ethic. Back when I went to college it was a lot less expensive. I had a summer job in the steel mill where I learned the value of money, learned a good work ethic and got motivated to get a good degree knowing I didn’t want to do that the rest of my life. My parents also contributed some to my education which wasn’t too expensive as I went to a state school (University of Illinois). As such I was lucky I didn’t have to take out any student loans and graduated debt free. Over time I’ve paid back much of what Mom and Dad gave me with nice gifts and I plan to continue doing so. To each their own though. I don’t know what the “right” answer is, just know what worked for me.
I think parents have an obligation to save for their children’s education, but only after they also have retirement savings plans in place for themselves. Saving for education does not mean enough to pay for them to go to Harvard. It means saving enough for them to go to a decent state school
It won’t kill a child to have to pay for some college but I don’t think children should have to take out loans when their parents should have planned better. Who wants to saddle your children with a bunch of debt?
Well, they are wealthy. Why would they need to save? They probably have a trust set-up to manage their eventual kids education.