College student parents...

Wiszard

Long Time Member
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I have had 3 go through college...actually one graduated in 2019 from UCLA, another graduating this year from UCLA and a son in his 3rd year at Cal Poly, SLO. I wish I had known more about student loans, etc before I got them for my kids. Here's just a few helpful hints that you can use on my dime. LOL

- start your kids off getting them a credit card IN THEIR NAMES. Start building their credit while in high school if possible. This will pay dividends while they are in college.
- Don't put student loans in YOUR name....have your kids take on their own loans. They can do this if they have credit...see tip above.
- Call the financial aid office directly and ask for interest free loans. They are there and they can be deferred until they graduate. It's interest free money. I am paying $50 per month on a $5000 loan that cost me nothing to borrow.
- Do your research on Sofi, lendkey, SallieMae loans....they are not all the same. Some offer better rates if you pay a $25 per month payment. We had a couple $19K loans out along with 4-5 $5-$9K loans and it cost us $300 per month, even deferred, to borrow this money. Of course it is not a big deal when you are not paying it but that $300 was accrued interest being added to the loan amount.

It's all a scam y'all. They loan money at a ridiculous clip and we are paying for it because we need it. My wife and I buckled down the last year and a half and paid off 90% of our kids student debt. It was not easy but necessary. Our kids will have no debt when they enter the real world and that is the best gift we can give them. If you do things right and learn from others mistakes, you can be a lot better off. If you have helpful hints, post them here. I wish I would have had this info 5 years ago.
 
An alternative to student loans is day job + night school, pay as you go, GI Bill, community College then graduate school, find an employer that will pay for it. My employers paid for most of my schooling. And not everyone needs a degree. The world needs mechanics, truck drivers, plumbers, electricians, etc. as well that can be more of a career than any 4 yr degree will create.
 
Great thread and advice Wiszard. Much appreciate the advice.

Quick question, did you have any college funds setup for them?
 
Great thread and advice Wiszard. Much appreciate the advice.

Quick question, did you have any college funds setup for them?
No, we did not.....thus the student loans. They each got some scholarship money but not enough to pay for the majority of their schooling. My senior now has received some softball $$ but she went to Loyola Marymount University, private school in Los Angeles, for 2 years and then transferred to UCLA. LMU was pricey but she loved it. Had to follow her softball dream and play for UCLA.
 
Told my girls I’ll pay whatever in state tuition is. They want to go out if state, what I’m kicking in is in state amount. My third daughter starts U of I this fall for a degree in forensic chemistry. She’s already got 3500 in scholarships just for being smart.

Her two older sisters didn’t do the collage thing. Her little sister is going to do a trade school and I’ll pay for that too. I’m just happy I have the ability to do that for my kids. I never got that opportunity
 
Told my girls I’ll pay whatever in state tuition is. They want to go out if state, what I’m kicking in is in state amount. My third daughter starts U of I this fall for a degree in forensic chemistry. She’s already got 3500 in scholarships just for being smart.

Her two older sisters didn’t do the collage thing. Her little sister is going to do a trade school and I’ll pay for that too. I’m just happy I have the ability to do that for my kids. I never got that opportunity
There’s a really good instrumentation program in Idaho. There’s open jobs up here starting at 160k. I think @nfh does some but not sure if he has a 2 year degree in it.

You can literally go anywhere and find work if there’s electricity and it’s not back breaking work.
 
Don’t pay for your kids college. Have them approach it like any other loan out there. If they have a good business plan in place to pay it back the debt won’t matter. They’ll appreciate their degree and will understand the gravity of what they’re taking on with their schooling in that case.
 
Don’t pay for your kids college. Have them approach it like any other loan out there. If they have a good business plan in place to pay it back the debt won’t matter. They’ll appreciate their degree and will understand the gravity of what they’re taking on with their schooling in that case.
You saying you can’t appreciate it if your parents pay for it? ?

I hope by the time my kids get to be 18 they will not even have to work for a living. They can just kick back and enjoy life. Or do something they love. Nothing wrong with that.
 
You saying you can’t appreciate it if your parents pay for it? ?

I hope by the time my kids get to be 18 they will not even have to work for a living. They can just kick back and enjoy life. Or do something they love. Nothing wrong with that.
It’s tougher. It’s human nature not to appreciate things that are given to you. Look at our welfare system and Indian reservations. My parents were financially able to pay for my undergrad tuition but didn’t. I am appreciative for the lessons that I learned from that much more then anything I learned in school. I graduated with over $400k in student loans and could have paid if off many times over if I hit it hard. I also had a good business plan going into school and it’s paid off. I’ve chosen not to pay aggressively on my student loans as they are low interest and I get zero equity from having a paid off student loan. If you’re gonna help your kids fiancially get them something that creates some equity so they can get that ball rolling as soon as possible.
 
Just Think Wisz!

The Day Is Coming You'll Have All The Kids Grown Up & Gone!

You & Ms Wisz Will Have More Money Than You'll Know What To Do With it All!
 
Don’t pay for your kids college. Have them approach it like any other loan out there. If they have a good business plan in place to pay it back the debt won’t matter. They’ll appreciate their degree and will understand the gravity of what they’re taking on with their schooling in that case.
I’ll say the exact opposite. Pay for your kids collage if you can. Buy um a car, don’t charge them rent.

They get to be kids for such a short time in relation to life. They have the rest of there life to toil and work. As much as Ive done for all my girls I will always wish I did more, even if there was nothing more I could do for them. That’s just the father in me. My girls out of the house are successful hard working young women. My daughter going into collage works harder at school then any kid Ive ever seen.

I’ve worked my bass off to give them the best life I can and managed to still raise responsible hard working humans. I don’t get anyone that wouldn’t do that for there kids if they can. If you don’t have the means that’s one thing.
 
I’ll say the exact opposite. Pay for your kids collage if you can. Buy um a car, don’t charge them rent.

They get to be kids for such a short time in relation to life. They have the rest of there life to toil and work. As much as Ive done for all my girls I will always wish I did more, even if there was nothing more I could do for them. That’s just the father in me. My girls out of the house are successful hard working young women. My daughter going into collage works harder at school then any kid Ive ever seen.

I’ve worked my bass off to give them the best life I can and managed to still raise responsible hard working humans. I don’t get anyone that wouldn’t do that for there kids if they can. If you don’t have the means that’s one thing.
Well said. And before Gomer corrects you…

*college
 
It’s tougher. It’s human nature not to appreciate things that are given to you. Look at our welfare system and Indian reservations. My parents were financially able to pay for my undergrad tuition but didn’t. I am appreciative for the lessons that I learned from that much more then anything I learned in school. I graduated with over $400k in student loans and could have paid if off many times over if I hit it hard. I also had a good business plan going into school and it’s paid off. I’ve chosen not to pay aggressively on my student loans as they are low interest and I get zero equity from having a paid off student loan. If you’re gonna help your kids fiancially get them something that creates some equity so they can get that ball rolling as soon as possible.
Using the welfare system and Indian reservations to try to justify your opinion? Wow. You think with an education that cost at least 400k would of taught you better than that.
 
There’s a really good instrumentation program in Idaho. There’s open jobs up here starting at 160k. I think @nfh does some but not sure if he has a 2 year degree in it.

You can literally go anywhere and find work if there’s electricity and it’s not back breaking work.

No degree for me other than the 4 year apprenticeship I did. I can get an associates degree for applied science but never did the whole gym membership and English class to get the degree.

Programming is getting bigger and more demand. I love it but as soon as I learn SLC 500 you got compact logics and control logics. I spealize in function block Programming which is a lost art and we use a lot at the factory I work at. Our company found it best if we keep one guy on allen bradley then I would stay on function block Programming plus help our other 3 factories.

But instrumentation is much larger than Programming.
 
Started accounts for my children as soon as we found out my wife was pregnant. What they do not use they can put towards a down payment on a house. Rather have them not work as they go to school. Summer jobs/internships fine but studies come first.

Daughter bombed out a few years ago. Spent a few years working miscellaneous jobs and is now going back to school. She is looking at buying a house now also.

Son just graduated from UC Davis. Worked part time doing programming stuff as he went to school. Did an internship with Tesla last summer. Applying for jobs now and interviewing. Through school he paid to service his car and put tires on it. Even though I told him I would.

Only problem with working hard and saving for their education is you are last in line for everything at the university.
 
EI&C is huge in my industry. Quality EI&C techs are hard to come by for some reason, maybe 1 in 10 in our company are worth keeping.

Isn't that the truth. We seem to keep the worthless ones and the good ones seem to move onto lesser things. ?‍♂️
 
It’s tougher. It’s human nature not to appreciate things that are given to you. Look at our welfare system and Indian reservations. My parents were financially able to pay for my undergrad tuition but didn’t. I am appreciative for the lessons that I learned from that much more then anything I learned in school. I graduated with over $400k in student loans and could have paid if off many times over if I hit it hard. I also had a good business plan going into school and it’s paid off. I’ve chosen not to pay aggressively on my student loans as they are low interest and I get zero equity from having a paid off student loan. If you’re gonna help your kids fiancially get them something that creates some equity so they can get that ball rolling as soon as possible.
$400K in student debt? I guess that means you paid for classes, room and board, every utility under the sun, gas, oil changes, tire rotations, new tires, beer, dates, etc ALL on student loans. I can't imagine ANYONE coming out with $400K in debt unless you have spent 5 or 6 years at an Ivy League.

I am sure your logic works in not appreciating what is given to you without paying for it yourself. However, you have to look at your child as an investment not only in them but as a product of yourself. My wife and I have given our kids the best chance to succeed. They all worked during high school and my son worked in college. My daughters played college softball so no time for work but they put in an extra 25 hours a week doing that. That really balanced them and made them be much more efficient.

You've chosen not to pay aggressively on your student debt so that means the minimum 5% you are paying on the $400K is an astronomical number that is wasted income for you. That is not a business plan that is lucrative to me.
 
Just Think Wisz!

The Day Is Coming You'll Have All The Kids Grown Up & Gone!

You & Ms Wisz Will Have More Money Than You'll Know What To Do With it All!
BESS- We're already planning how we're going to be spending all of the excess money we'll have. Barbados, Lake El Salto for some bass fishing, Islamorada for some bull shark and tarpon fishing, a New York trip....and that's just 2023!
 
There’s a really good instrumentation program in Idaho. There’s open jobs up here starting at 160k. I think @nfh does some but not sure if he has a 2 year degree in it.

You can literally go anywhere and find work if there’s electricity and it’s not back breaking work.
Pretty good wages. I worked an instrumentation gig for an FRA sub-contract for 3 years. Forty-two years ago.
 
It’s tougher. It’s human nature not to appreciate things that are given to you. Look at our welfare system and Indian reservations. My parents were financially able to pay for my undergrad tuition but didn’t. I am appreciative for the lessons that I learned from that much more then anything I learned in school. I graduated with over $400k in student loans and could have paid if off many times over if I hit it hard. I also had a good business plan going into school and it’s paid off. I’ve chosen not to pay aggressively on my student loans as they are low interest and I get zero equity from having a paid off student loan. If you’re gonna help your kids fiancially get them something that creates some equity so they can get that ball rolling as soon as possible.
May we ask what degree you got for $400k.
 
Thanks for the advice to help others out. If my kids are trying to better themselves I’ll do everything in my power to help them, luckily they appreciate and are grateful for the help they receive
 
$400K in student debt? I guess that means you paid for classes, room and board, every utility under the sun, gas, oil changes, tire rotations, new tires, beer, dates, etc ALL on student loans. I can't imagine ANYONE coming out with $400K in debt unless you have spent 5 or 6 years at an Ivy League.

I am sure your logic works in not appreciating what is given to you without paying for it yourself. However, you have to look at your child as an investment not only in them but as a product of yourself. My wife and I have given our kids the best chance to succeed. They all worked during high school and my son worked in college. My daughters played college softball so no time for work but they put in an extra 25 hours a week doing that. That really balanced them and made them be much more efficient.

You've chosen not to pay aggressively on your student debt so that means the minimum 5% you are paying on the $400K is an astronomical number that is wasted income for you. That is not a business plan that is lucrative to me.
I went to undergrad on scholarship and was also in the national guard so they helped out as well. Tuition alone was $500k for my doctorate. I have half of my loans at 3.2% fixed and the other half on a 1.7% variable that can only increase 1% a year. I’m about halfway through the 25 years on it. Like I said I could have hit them aggressively but instead decided to use my free cash paying down real estate to build equity which I then used to leverage more real estate. Using this I’ve created enough equity to pay my student loans off 10 times or more if I liquidated right now. I’d call that a pretty “lucrative” business plan. If you think that hammering down 3% debt to get something paid off that offers you zero equity when it’s paid off is a good business plan then that’s on you. All I’m saying is that if you give your kids a start in life with some actual equity to start building off of and let them borrow through low to no interest sources for their schooling you’re helping them out a lot more. What’s the first thing a bank asks you when you go in for a loan? They’re gonna ask you what you have for collateral right? Every time. If I had walked in and said I have this here diploma that cost me $400k and I own it free and clear they’d laugh me out of there. Instead I had the deed to a house, then a couple quarters of land, then a commercial building and so on and so forth. Inflation is driving up the value of every asset I own right now and driving down the value of my student loan debt. I’m gonna let er buck and keep stacking up tangible assets.
 
Using the welfare system and Indian reservations to try to justify your opinion? Wow. You think with an education that cost at least 400k would of taught you better than that.
It taught me well. Like I said, my education was a business expense, no diffeeent then a farmer buying a combine or a dirt guy buying a trackhoe. I have a good interest rate on it and I leverage that into better things. See my response to wizard about equity and loan interest, you might learn something.
 
It taught me well. Like I said, my education was a business expense, no diffeeent then a farmer buying a combine or a dirt guy buying a trackhoe. I have a good interest rate on it and I leverage that into better things. See my response to wizard about equity and loan interest, you might learn something.

Cool story. Really is. Doesn’t change the fact your biased and focked up view regarding Indian reservations and recipients of welfare.

I could teach you some things about not having any debt, having no student loans, owning a company that grosses over 10 million every year and proving financing for customers without having to own any property.

Do you own your own practice? Must be a dentist thing to take out as many lines of credit as possible. Regarding the medical field dental clinics are by far the hardest to get paid from. Almost all ask for financing which we do at 6% and they are almost all generally late on payments.

#humblebrag
 
I went to undergrad on scholarship and was also in the national guard so they helped out as well. Tuition alone was $500k for my doctorate. I have half of my loans at 3.2% fixed and the other half on a 1.7% variable that can only increase 1% a year. I’m about halfway through the 25 years on it. Like I said I could have hit them aggressively but instead decided to use my free cash paying down real estate to build equity which I then used to leverage more real estate. Using this I’ve created enough equity to pay my student loans off 10 times or more if I liquidated right now. I’d call that a pretty “lucrative” business plan. If you think that hammering down 3% debt to get something paid off that offers you zero equity when it’s paid off is a good business plan then that’s on you. All I’m saying is that if you give your kids a start in life with some actual equity to start building off of and let them borrow through low to no interest sources for their schooling you’re helping them out a lot more. What’s the first thing a bank asks you when you go in for a loan? They’re gonna ask you what you have for collateral right? Every time. If I had walked in and said I have this here diploma that cost me $400k and I own it free and clear they’d laugh me out of there. Instead I had the deed to a house, then a couple quarters of land, then a commercial building and so on and so forth. Inflation is driving up the value of every asset I own right now and driving down the value of my student loan debt. I’m gonna let er buck and keep stacking up tangible assets.
My bad....you seem like you really did well loan wise. How did you get such low interest rates? Was that due to your serving in the Nat'l Guard. My best friend in high school is a doctor and he graduated with a Biology degree and then gave 4 years to the Navy. When he was out, they paid for his med school and he owed them another 8 years....with no insurance to pay whatsoever. It was a really good deal for him. His brother is a dentist and does pretty well. My question is the low rates.....how did you find lenders to give you these loans? I guess the more money borrowed, the lesser the interest can go to still make sense for a lender. All they have at risk is that you are a crappy dentist and obviously you aren't if you are making the money to acquire more properties. Good for you.
 
Started accounts for my children as soon as we found out my wife was pregnant. What they do not use they can put towards a down payment on a house. Rather have them not work as they go to school. Summer jobs/internships fine but studies come first.

Daughter bombed out a few years ago. Spent a few years working miscellaneous jobs and is now going back to school. She is looking at buying a house now also.

Son just graduated from UC Davis. Worked part time doing programming stuff as he went to school. Did an internship with Tesla last summer. Applying for jobs now and interviewing. Through school he paid to service his car and put tires on it. Even though I told him I would.

Only problem with working hard and saving for their education is you are last in line for everything at the university.
We did the same. Started an acct when they were born and tried out best to add $50-100-200 a month what ever we could afford at the time. when your first starting out it’s rough. Glad we did this because our first is graduating next week. Has a nice little nest egg to go off with. And luckily he would be using much as he is graduating as valedictorian and received a couple full ride scholarships. ??

My wife went back to school 18 months ago and was just accepted to nursing school. So paying for another to attend school at the same time would be tough. Loans in my book are not an option because it seems that starting out in a pile of debt is just a setup for trouble. Just glad our oldest decided that be smart was a good job to have and will hopefully save him a ton of $. ?
 
Cool story. Really is. Doesn’t change the fact your biased and focked up view regarding Indian reservations and recipients of welfare.

I could teach you some things about not having any debt, having no student loans, owning a company that grosses over 10 million every year and proving financing for customers without having to own any property.

Do you own your own practice? Must be a dentist thing to take out as many lines of credit as possible. Regarding the medical field dental clinics are by far the hardest to get paid from. Almost all ask for financing which we do at 6% and they are almost all generally late on payments.

#humblebrag
Ok teach me…. Lol?
 
My bad....you seem like you really did well loan wise. How did you get such low interest rates? Was that due to your serving in the Nat'l Guard. My best friend in high school is a doctor and he graduated with a Biology degree and then gave 4 years to the Navy. When he was out, they paid for his med school and he owed them another 8 years....with no insurance to pay whatsoever. It was a really good deal for him. His brother is a dentist and does pretty well. My question is the low rates.....how did you find lenders to give you these loans? I guess the more money borrowed, the lesser the interest can go to still make sense for a lender. All they have at risk is that you are a crappy dentist and obviously you aren't if you are making the money to acquire more properties. Good for you.
I refinanced them through our state bank. If you’re willing to be a resident they have some great rates. Again, it was all a business decision from the moment I went into it and that all factored into it. I knew I could make a good living and knew the state bank had good rates and that made it a lock for me. I have classmates who borrowed the max (over $500k) and have chosen NOT to refinance them and stayed on income based repayment. The current program says the government (you and I) will forgive them when they reach 30 years of income based repayment. Most of them have chosen to live in places that are saturated (Utah, AZ, CA and east coast) and they don’t make **** so their loans are wracking up 6-8% interest and they aren’t even covering their interest payments with their income based payments. Us as taxpayers are going to be on the hook for their student loan debt at the end of this to a tune of about $2-3million for each of them after compound interest. It’s a F ing mess and the current administration isn’t going to make things better for taxpayers.
 
I refinanced them through our state bank. If you’re willing to be a resident they have some great rates. Again, it was all a business decision from the moment I went into it and that all factored into it. I knew I could make a good living and knew the state bank had good rates and that made it a lock for me. I have classmates who borrowed the max (over $500k) and have chosen NOT to refinance them and stayed on income based repayment. The current program says the government (you and I) will forgive them when they reach 30 years of income based repayment. Most of them have chosen to live in places that are saturated (Utah, AZ, CA and east coast) and they don’t make **** so their loans are wracking up 6-8% interest and they aren’t even covering their interest payments with their income based payments. Us as taxpayers are going to be on the hook for their student loan debt at the end of this to a tune of about $2-3million for each of them after compound interest. It’s a F ing mess and the current administration isn’t going to make things better for taxpayers.
When you started college, what were the percentage of the loans you got? You said you refinanced them so they had to be higher than what you are paying now. You are saying you got a personal loan at 3.2% Or is that considered a business loan? I own a commercial building and commercial rates are a joke so I'm sure it's not a commercial loan. I wonder if your particular situation is different than your standard college student that is a biology, ag or business major. My daughter is starting PA school in September and she has $50K saved which will almost pay for 1 year. She'll need to get a loan for the 2nd year. That is why all the questions.
 
It’s tougher. It’s human nature not to appreciate things that are given to you. Look at our welfare system and Indian reservations. My parents were financially able to pay for my undergrad tuition but didn’t. I am appreciative for the lessons that I learned from that much more then anything I learned in school. I graduated with over $400k in student loans and could have paid if off many times over if I hit it hard. I also had a good business plan going into school and it’s paid off. I’ve chosen not to pay aggressively on my student loans as they are low interest and I get zero equity from having a paid off student loan. If you’re gonna help your kids fiancially get them something that creates some equity so they can get that ball rolling as soon as possible.
Yikes. How many years of school for the $400K?
 
Cool story. Really is. Doesn’t change the fact your biased and focked up view regarding Indian reservations and recipients of welfare.

I could teach you some things about not having any debt, having no student loans, owning a company that grosses over 10 million every year and proving financing for customers without having to own any property.

Do you own your own practice? Must be a dentist thing to take out as many lines of credit as possible. Regarding the medical field dental clinics are by far the hardest to get paid from. Almost all ask for financing which we do at 6% and they are almost all generally late on payments.

#humblebrag
I really don’t give a crap what you “gross” every year. I don’t owe a penny toward my practice. As you know, the “assets” of a practice are poor assets, just tech and goodwill. The goodwill I built myself and the tech I pay cash for. Again, my cash goes toward tangible assets, namely real estate. Land is fun, I get to hunt it, pays killer dividends and has gone up about 20% annually the last couple years. I don’t owe a penny on debt over 3.2% and inflation is doubling my money on that as we speak since it’s all invested in assets.
 
Wife went to community College that offered a specialty for right around 25k. She worked 3 jobs also. Now makes right around 100k on her own and supports us while I get my BA degree. I'm very happy that my parents did NOT pay for my college because it teaches me what life really is. Loans, working my A$$ off, not having them to fall back on so I knew that I had to succeed or it was on me to figure it out.
 
When you started college, what were the percentage of the loans you got? You said you refinanced them so they had to be higher than what you are paying now. You are saying you got a personal loan at 3.2% Or is that considered a business loan? I own a commercial building and commercial rates are a joke so I'm sure it's not a commercial loan. I wonder if your particular situation is different than your standard college student that is a biology, ag or business major. My daughter is starting PA school in September and she has $50K saved which will almost pay for 1 year. She'll need to get a loan for the 2nd year. That is why all the questions.
All good questions. My current student loans are technically considered “student loans” just refinanced through our state bank. I suppose they are personally guaranteed since there’s nothing they can take from you in this case. I think that’s specific to individual state programs though. One of the benefits of living in a cold flat place I guess. My loans when I came out were $160k in federal staffords ($40k a year x 4) at 6.8% and $240k in grad plus loans at 7.5%. Those are absolutely ridiculous interest rates and it’s obviously hugely beneficial to refinance them. I know there are a lot of place out there offering that and they had competive rates in the past, although I don’t know what they look like now. The government backed loans are truly set up to create a welfare state by forcing you to hold them if you want to do any of the student loan forgiveness programs but sticking you with huge interest rates thus completely screwing you in the process. Most kids qualify for some subsidized loans to a certain point but after that they skyrocket or atleast did when I was in school but that was over a decade ago.
 
When you started college, what were the percentage of the loans you got? You said you refinanced them so they had to be higher than what you are paying now. You are saying you got a personal loan at 3.2% Or is that considered a business loan? I own a commercial building and commercial rates are a joke so I'm sure it's not a commercial loan. I wonder if your particular situation is different than your standard college student that is a biology, ag or business major. My daughter is starting PA school in September and she has $50K saved which will almost pay for 1 year. She'll need to get a loan for the 2nd year. That is why all the questions.
Congrats to her on PA school. She’ll get out and wipe those loans out in a hurry if she decides to. If she’s interested in something like the national guard or Public Health Service there’s some good programs out there. That being said, I think the best use of her time is to get through school and get out and start making money and then decide if she wants to attack student loans or not based on the current economy.
 
It is strange to me that one must NOT have anything paid for them to really appreciate it or feel they earned it. We don't pay for our kids things and not teach them life lessons along the way. Any parent worth anything talks to their kids....explains everyday situations, life happenings that they are sure to encounter along the way. It has nothing to do with "we pay for their stuff so they are ungrateful kids". I believe that you will value something you worked hard for much more than something that was given to you. My kids completed the work to earn a degree and THAT is the entity they value. THEY put in the hard work to earn that degree....we just paved the way so they could be successful. I guess it is how you want to look at life I suppose. I choose to help my kids NOT struggle to get through the early stages of life but at the same time, teach them to be upstanding humans and be self sufficient when they are adults. I have no lazy kids. Proud of all 4 of them.
 
Congrats to her on PA school. She’ll get out and wipe those loans out in a hurry if she decides to. If she’s interested in something like the national guard or Public Health Service there’s some good programs out there. That being said, I think the best use of her time is to get through school and get out and start making money and then decide if she wants to attack student loans or not based on the current economy.
She's already got job offers from 2 of her cardiologists at UCLA so she'll get out already making a good income. She will knock out whatever student debt she has in no time. It has been an educational convo. I appreciate it.
 
All good questions. My current student loans are technically considered “student loans” just refinanced through our state bank. I suppose they are personally guaranteed since there’s nothing they can take from you in this case. I think that’s specific to individual state programs though. One of the benefits of living in a cold flat place I guess. My loans when I came out were $160k in federal staffords ($40k a year x 4) at 6.8% and $240k in grad plus loans at 7.5%. Those are absolutely ridiculous interest rates and it’s obviously hugely beneficial to refinance them. I know there are a lot of place out there offering that and they had competive rates in the past, although I don’t know what they look like now. The government backed loans are truly set up to create a welfare state by forcing you to hold them if you want to do any of the student loan forgiveness programs but sticking you with huge interest rates thus completely screwing you in the process. Most kids qualify for some subsidized loans to a certain point but after that they skyrocket or atleast did when I was in school but that was over a decade ago.
400k in loans and he lives in a state with no mountains? ????????
 
I thought the Dems were going to forgive all student loan debt? I think 2 of my grandsons are counting on it. :ROFLMAO:
 
400k in loans and he lives in a state with no mountains? ????????
Meh. I like the prairie. Besides, I bust my ass 9 months out of the year and can afford to spend more time “in” the mountains then the guys I know that live in them, and I get to have the good tags in my pocket when I’m there.
 
Meh. I like the prairie. Besides, I bust my ass 9 months out of the year and can afford to spend more time “in” the mountains then the guys I know that live in them, and I get to have the good tags in my pocket when I’m there.
I can’t complain about North Dakota too much. We don’t own an acre there but get oil royalties. ?. Never understood why they call cucumbers pickles there tho. Wtf they are not pickles until they are pickled IMO.

Good luck this fall!
 
400k in loans and he lives in a state with no mountains? ????????
still trying to wrap my head around- owns his own dental practice, has real estate investments doubling and tripling his wealth daily, could have paid his 400k loans off several times over he’s so wealthy and won’t send his own kid to college??

Each his own I guess…
 
still trying to wrap my head around- owns his own dental practice, has real estate investments doubling and tripling his wealth daily, could have paid his 400k loans off several times over he’s so wealthy and won’t send his own kid to college??

Each his own I guess…
My parents could have afforded to pay for my undergrad, but I’m grateful they didn’t. They gave me the tools I needed to succeed in life and that’s far more valuable in my opinion. I’m not saying every kid who covers their own school is going to be an success, nor is every student whose parents pay for it not going to appreciate it. However I did notice when I was in school the kids who failed out and or didn’t complete or do anything with their degree tended to be the ones who hadn’t paid a penny toward it. That’s purely anecdotal from what I saw. Like you said, each to his own.
 
still trying to wrap my head around- owns his own dental practice, has real estate investments doubling and tripling his wealth daily, could have paid his 400k loans off several times over he’s so wealthy and won’t send his own kid to college??

Each his own I guess…
You know that kid growing up who never pitched for gas on a trip? Or the kid that always mooched your beer? They grow up to be dentists. I’ve yet to meet one that wasn’t living on credit. Hell @fullcry has a couple dental buddies that want to kick my ass because of what I typed on here awhile back. Dentists are the Karen’s of the medical world…
 
You know that kid growing up who never pitched for gas on a trip? Or the kid that always mooched your beer? They grow up to be dentists. I’ve yet to meet one that wasn’t living on credit. Hell @fullcry has a couple dental buddies that want to kick my ass because of what I typed on here awhile back. Dentists are the Karen’s of the medical world…
I buy the beer on all our trips, and the landowner tags if you’re someone I like. My net worth is way into the black so congrats, you’ve just met your first one that doesn’t live on credit. Glad I was able to change your mind on something.
 
I buy the beer on all our trips, and the landowner tags if you’re someone I like. My net worth is way into the black so congrats, you’ve just met your first one that doesn’t live on credit. Glad I was able to change your mind on something.
Hey buddy....did you say YOU buy the landowner tags? LOL
 
I buy the beer on all our trips, and the landowner tags if you’re someone I like. My net worth is way into the black so congrats, you’ve just met your first one that doesn’t live on credit. Glad I was able to change your mind on something.
I haven’t met you.
 
Dude said:
Depends on the kid but trade schools make a lot of sense these days. there are going to be 300 computer geeks for each guy who knows how to fix their Prius.
People in the trades are going to be able to name their price. hell they are already.
___________________________________________________________________
Again Dude does not know what he is talking about. My oldest grandson will be finishing up his college this year with a degree in computer engineering. He attended a private college in Washington and at the start of the course there was 9 students that enrolled for the computer engineering degree. My grandson and one other student will be the only ones to graduate this fall. The others all washed out or quit during the first or second year.
My grandson has already picked the company he plans to work for in Colorado and will be starting out with a salary of just over 100K per year.
Yes I am for trade schools, but there will not be 300 computer geeks for every mechanic as Dude over stated.

RELH
 
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Living with debt is something a lot of people do today. Look around and you will see those people making what you make a year. But they are always driving new cars, have all the latest toys, and traveling everywhere. I know people that have done this and went bankrupt a few times. It might boost the economy in the short run, but it makes everything I buy cost more. And when the economy drops they all start to cry wanting the government to help them.

To me the goal is to retire without debt. Paid my house off before the last election, no car payments, no loans out.
 
There isn't one right way to accumulate wealth, and not all debt is the same. I can understand not being in a hurry to pay off 3% tax deductible interest.

There is some really great advise here, helping your kids establish credit and starting to save as soon as possible for their education.

In full disclosure, my parents paid for my undergrad. But they made sure I was getting a major that could get a job. I paid for my masters, since I had a full time job making decent money I didn't qualify for student loans, so I actually used a credit card (which sucked). But I had it paid off within 6 months of graduation, 18% can be super motivating.
 
Cool story. Really is. Doesn’t change the fact your biased and focked up view regarding Indian reservations and recipients of welfare.

I could teach you some things about not having any debt, having no student loans, owning a company that grosses over 10 million every year and proving financing for customers without having to own any property.

Do you own your own practice? Must be a dentist thing to take out as many lines of credit as possible. Regarding the medical field dental clinics are by far the hardest to get paid from. Almost all ask for financing which we do at 6% and they are almost all generally late on payments.

#humblebrag
What does your company do?
 
Great advice Wiz. My wife and I both graduated from Cal Poly SLO. Love that school. We are now on our second daughter going to college, and we actually supported them on choosing out of state colleges. The first went to Arizona and the second one is in Texas. If they keep a 3.0 or better, we pay in state tuition. We did tell them if they lost that scholarship, they would have to get student loans and pay for the difference. They both work/worked while they were in college as well.
On a side note to all the "trade school" guys on here, my first daughter is making 6 figures her second year out of school. It does pay to go to college. It's not for everyone, but if you can afford it, give your kids the chance.
 
  1. 529 accounts...
  2. Student load debt cancellation may eventually pass Congress in some form. Sure, pay off the private high interest loans early. But I wouldn't be paying off Perkins/Stafford or anything subsidized federally unless you are also OK with being the guy who paid his bar tab early when a fat cat walked in and paid off everyone else's. And remember, you might be losing your student loan interest tax deduction if you pay off early.
  3. Employer tuition reimbursement programs - especially for post B.S degrees. But even a part-time employee at CVS (e.g.,) gets $3K/year for any degree program (no relation to job required). No questions asked. Starbucks and others also.
 
The government paying off student loans is BS in my opinion. I went through school on my own working, and I helped put my children through school. If someone can not afford to pay off THEIR loans, they should NEVER of took out the loan in the first place. This lack of responsibility for one’s actions must stop.
 
The government paying off student loans is BS in my opinion. I went through school on my own working, and I helped put my children through school. If someone can not afford to pay off THEIR loans, they should NEVER of took out the loan in the first place. This lack of responsibility for one’s actions must stop.
Agreed - from another guy that paid off his bar tab too early.

I meet young people regularly that are $200-$400K in college debt from no-name schools. Mostly unsubsidized debt at those levels - but they will make this a voting litmus test to erase the subsidized portions.

Many of them now also have mail-in voting and they have many more non-Bernie options that are making campaign promises relating to cancellation.
 
I paid off my own student debt of $22K in two years. Nine years of school, working part time, scholarships, grants, loans and the GI bill.

I don't think it is right for the government to forgive student debt as it creates (or further fosters) an atmosphere of not being held accountable for choices.
 
  1. 529 accounts...
  2. Student load debt cancellation may eventually pass Congress in some form. Sure, pay off the private high interest loans early. But I wouldn't be paying off Perkins/Stafford or anything subsidized federally unless you are also OK with being the guy who paid his bar tab early when a fat cat walked in and paid off everyone else's. And remember, you might be losing your student loan interest tax deduction if you pay off early.
  3. Employer tuition reimbursement programs - especially for post B.S degrees. But even a part-time employee at CVS (e.g.,) gets $3K/year for any degree program (no relation to job required). No questions asked. Starbucks and others also.
I love the ambitiousness to wait for the government to pay off student loans but is risking $300 per month in interest worth waiting for the government to MAYBE do something like that a good idea? Also, my wife and I make enough money that I can honestly say we would not be qualified to have student loans paid off in California. You know all that stuff only benefits those with little income or if you're skin is not white. C'Mon...we're in California guys. We invented White privilege.
 
My advice having two daughters who have already graduated from college and another going to enter next year, find what they are interested in (academics, athletics, music, etc.) and help them become very good at it. There are tons of scholarships out there. My daughters didn't go to the high profile schools but they didn't pay a dime. Graduating with no student debt and a job you are excited about makes for a pretty good jump start on life.
 
I think it is best to avoid student loans all together if you can. Parents cosigning student loans is a huge mistake in any circumstance that I can imagine.

Fortunately I'm in a financial position that I'm paying $$ for my daughters college so they don't have to take out loans like I did. I hope they continue to make good choices so I can pay for all their college expenses without causing them harm. My parents could have assisted me with significant $$ in my early 20's but didn't. Not giving me financial assistance was one of the best things they did for me.

I think every child is different. Some kids will be held back if you assist them too much financially after high school. Other kids will use that financial assistance as a spring board to improve their own financial future. Most kids are somewhere in the middle. You need to be careful with how and when you assist them. You should know your kids well enough that you can assist them as an individual.
 
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I don't think it is right for the government to forgive student debt as it creates (or further fosters) an atmosphere of not being held accountable for choices.
I totally agree. Forgiving student loans would be an insult to those of us who paid off our loans. There are also a lot of people that pay significant taxes that didn't waste time or money going to college that would be upset if student loans are forgiven for the irresponsible.

Without exception, everyone that has significant student loan debt that either can't or won't pay it off made a bad personal decision. The rest of us will be very upset if the government forgives student loans.

Unfortunately our government has a history of bailing out people that make bad decisions and will continue to forgive student loan debt. The federal government won't forgive all student loan debt with one single executive action but they will do it piece by piece to make it easier for the rest of us to swallow. They have already been forgiving student loan debt but the rate will increase sometime in the next decade when Demarcates/Socialists have the votes they need.
 
I think it is best to avoid student loans all together if you can. Parents cosigning student loans is a huge mistake in any circumstance that I can imagine.

Fortunately I'm in a financial position that I'm paying $$ for my daughters college so they don't have to take out loans like I did. I hope they continue to make good choices so I can pay for all their college expenses without causing them harm. My parents could have assisted me with significant $$ in my early 20's but didn't. Not giving me financial assistance was one of the best things they did for me.

I think every child is different. Some kids will be held back if you assist them too much financially after high school. Other kids will use that financial assistance as a spring board to improve their own financial future. Most kids are somewhere in the middle. You need to be careful with how and when you assist them. You should know your kids well enough that you can assist them as an individual.
I'm truly glad you are in a position to do that. I would help my kid if he were able to attend. Unfortunately for him, his worthless POS uterus owner wouldn't stop the crack and meth.

Government cheese isn't just a saying. I grew up on that cheese and jelly and powdered milk. Mom was blind and dad was disabled in WW II but worked whatever jobs on ranches he could find.


If I had to do it all over again, I'm sure a trade school would have worked out pretty good. It's all in how your apply yourself and keep moving goals forward.
 

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