OK, you can chalk me up as yet another New Year's newbie! I am here mainly because it is time to come up with the spring college tuition funds which is for some strange reason depressing and scaring the heck out of me.
In a nutshell, I make a good salary, but it has been stretched to the breaking point for years, and college is a heavy straw on this camel's back. Unfortunately we have wound up with inverse college savings, i.e some CC debt. As they say, life is what happens while we are busy making other plans. I have a decent 401k, but savings outside that are just about nil, a paltry EF only. So I figure I will be working to my early to mid 60s just to squeak by even if all goes well, another depressing realization.
I have actually been trying to figure out whether to seek professional help for the last few months, whether in the form of an accountant, financial planner, or financial aid counselor. But I am a big fan of Internet forums, so here I am, looking forward to some helpful input.
Hello World! My status as of 2007
December 30th, 2007 at 05:30 am
December 30th, 2007 at 07:05 am 1198998345
Internet forums such as this one is great for free advice and support, but you may also want to talk to a fee-based financial planner if you feel that you need professional help to help put your road map down in concrete steps.
With the greatest respect, I get the sense that although I'm sure you'll be fine, you may not have a lot of room for error. This may or may not help.
In any case, welcome aboard.
December 30th, 2007 at 11:18 am 1199013508
December 30th, 2007 at 12:10 pm 1199016627
Good luck
December 30th, 2007 at 02:08 pm 1199023684
I don't know how you feel about your kids holding down p/t jobs while in college to contribute to their expenses. I did it all 4 years, working in the principal's office at the local high school.
Are your kids smart? Would they qualify for any scholarship or grant monies? Are they dead set on going to a particular school? Cus if not, a state college or university would be cheaper than a private school.
December 30th, 2007 at 02:20 pm 1199024454
Welcome and good luck!
December 30th, 2007 at 02:56 pm 1199026577
December 30th, 2007 at 03:10 pm 1199027405
My daughter is VERY smart and that's a big part of the frustration that she really got no useful aid for anything other than the state university. She did win one scholarship based on a combination of need and merit, and I hate to sound like an ingrate but it doesn't go very far, even though it is by no means insignificant, especially since it's for four years provided she keeps her grades up.
As you can tell by my situation, meaningful financial discussion has been sorely lacking with us - otherwise we would have saved better and not racked up debt instead. She is agreeing to shoulder the difference in loans, but how can an 18 year old fully appreciate what $80,000 in debt means? And I for one doubt that it is worth that much to go to a more prestigious school, although there are some systemic problems with the state university IMO.
So anyway, thanks for the welcome and I look forward to sharing the pain and maybe even some joy and satisfaction with you all.
January 1st, 2008 at 01:20 pm 1199193608
January 1st, 2008 at 10:35 pm 1199226958