re: A Fundamental Question: To Support Your Child's Post-Secondary Education or Not?

I'm of the belief that the most important investment you will ever make is one into yourself and your family.

My college (living expenses/fraternity dues at LSU, TOPS paid everything else) was paid for by my parents. During summers if I did not have school I had to work and pay my own living expenses as school was considered my job otherwise.

I got in the top grad school in the nation in my field, got a job at one if the top firms in my field, and have paid own way since then.

If you can afford it, invest in your kids future now, they'll be extremely grateful. College would have been a great deal tougher had I had to deal with the stress of debt and I cherish the memories the free time allowed me to create with my friends, those memories are priceless.

By the time my kid goes to college, I hope to have roughly $30-40k set aside for him. He is a lot smarter than me and hopefully he can get some schollies. If not, he can take out student loans to fill in the rest. If I somehow am able to pay for all of it, I would without a doubt. I don't buy the line of thinking about it being detrimental. I've got a friend who had a full ride to LSU (and then some) and his parents paid for all of his living expenses. 4.0, university medal and he makes a lot more than I do right now.

I do agree that you shouldn't save for children's college to the detriment of your own retirement.

We have 529 plans for each kid (2). They will probably fund a year of college at Alabama or another state school. Our deal to them is if they earn a scholarship, they go where they earned it. If not, it is two years at a community college, living at home, then two more locally at a four year college, living at home. That should lower our college burden quite a bit.

I also won't saddle me and my wife with debt for them to be a teacher or some other career with a low earning ceiling, it doesn't make financial sense for anyone involved.

Have 2, oldest graduated a year ago and youngest will graduate this December. We purchased a prepaid tuition plan through the state we were residing in when they were born. In addition we put aside some money along with money from their grandparents for their education. The tuition program transferred over to Louisiana and both had TOPS all the way through along with some miscellaneous scholarship money. We gave them their accounts and allowed them to manage their own money, knowing that what was left was theirs when they graduated to put a downpayment on a home or whatever. They did a great job, maintained their scholarships and managed their finances very well. Both lived away from home and it is unbelievable how much it still cost to go to LSU after TOPS with the top stipend. They lived in a safe place, but certainly not anything extravagant. *Wish I had bought a condo in BR the first year for them to share.

My situation does not apply to future college costs as we are done with college in this household.

But... If you don't offer some kind of help, it is going to be difficult for a kid to make it.

We were living in a much higher interest rate environment, but it is amazing what one can accomplish when you don't have a mortgage and 3 SUV's sitting in your yard.

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How successful do you want your children to be? My parents didn't pay for my law school and now, at 28, I pay about $1300/month to Sallie Mae for my loans. I can afford it but it is an anchor. One of my dream jobs was to prosecute, but to do that you basically have to volunteer for months before you get put on payroll. I couldn't do that. Nor have I been free to take advantage of other unpaid legal opportunities. If I ever quit a job I better have the next one lined up. All of these contribute to an inability to choose a path that would be better in the long run.

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Sounds like a tough life....not being able to work for free, being forced to go get a job after law school

You chose to go to law school. Don't whine so much. If you really wanted to do those other things you would have. It sounds to me like you weren't willing to make the necessary sacrifices and would have preferred to have it handed to you. That post defines the term "entitled".