<p>I was stuck behind* a car a few days ago that had the license plate that said, “CLLG FND” or something like that. A cute little red Ferrari with the roof panels off. I wonder how true it was? It also had a little frame around the license plate that said, “My other car is a Prius”. I know that’s not true! </p>
<p>*full disclosure - I changed lanes just to get behind that car.</p>
<p>We have certainly sacrificed to make paying for college possible, but we feel it is worth it. We did not want kiddo to be in debt after college, but he is on his own if he chooses advanced degrees. He is also responsible for most spending money. We have been very careful for years, and I do not regret it although I confess to some “wish” moment - mostly around travel. My hope is that the wishes will come true in the years to come - after DS is gainfully employed!</p>
<p>Greenwitch- I actually think that’s a cute license plate (CLLG FND). I think many of us have things we enjoy and places we might sink money, if we are fortunate enough to have some, that differ from where others might want to sink money. My sister and brother in law, for example, have several “extra” homes that I would not care to own, but weren’t willing to pay for private colleges. (Their kids did fine at state schools.) Their choice. I can pass on a Ferrari, but I sure like my jewelry and clothes!</p>
<p>I am hoping with my forced saving, I could get a seat on my kid’s private plane someday. Of course I would settle for an invite their house for a dinner too.</p>
<p>Yes, it would have been nice to have all the money we spent on the kids’ college educations so we could have put it toward perhaps a housing account so they can have a place to live, but we don’t begrudge them the educations they obtained that has allowed S to get a job he’s happy with and is able to save a significant sum at. We’re hoping D will also be able to land a good job (or any job that she’s happy and helps pay bills). </p>
<p>If S keeps his job for two or more years, it will be significantly more than our share of his college expenses, so that seems like a better investment than we could have made pretty much anywhere, so we’re happy.</p>
<p>Since D is in a creative field, the future is somewhat less certain, as we do not have experience in that area at all. We’re happy she’s getting a degree in something she loves and hope good things will continue to happen for her as she moves out of the university environment.</p>
<p>Well, quite the opposite situation here. We are giving our s. the money that is in his name that was earmarked for college (he got a scholarship so there is a decent amount still in the coffer), the investments that are in his name and the savings bonds that are in his name. He’d initially planned to go to grad or professional school and was going to use the $ for that, but has decided against that for the time being. So DH feels (I am not so sure I agree, but the $ is in DS’s name and he is of legal age) that we will give the $ and the control over it to DS as is his wish (he has already accepted a well-paying job to begin after graduation so will not be living off this money). Two main caveats-- no fancy car and no time in a casino. So I hope there will not be a red ferrari with the license plates “unused cllge fnd” on it.</p>
<p>S does have control over the savings that were in his name, that were accummulated from the day he was born, especially since he got a scholarship and saved a good amount. So far, he has made no move to spend it and is trying to learn about investing. Hopefully it will help with his housing fund. </p>
<p>D also has control over her savings, which unfortunately is smaller but also her expenses were larger (she has been full-freight). She may need to live on the funds or we may continue to help her if she is unable to pay her bills upon graduation.</p>
<p>jym - I am not sure if I would feel the need to turn over the money that’s not spent to a child. I kind of feel it is my responsibility to pay for my kid’s education, how ever much that is, and if it should cost less then it is for me to buy a handbag for myself.</p>
<p>I want him to invest it wisely, make lots of moolah and take care of me in my old age. I think its our money that we earmarked for the boys. DH feels its “their money”. He put it in their name. They are over 21. I lose. :(</p>
<p>The money was supposed to be earmarked for education. If they didnt spend it on education, I think I can get a great education touring ancient Greece or the Outback :)</p>
<p>Jym: too bad they already are spoken for…haha;jk</p>
<p>…we are doing the same thing actually; Bat Mitzvah $$ goes to them for investment as they see fit when they graduate…(not nearly college tuition $$ but something!)</p>
<p>jym- I would save the money for later on in case they need bail money or to pay for lawyers! 
(not that your boys ever would…but it gives you an excuse to hang onto the money!)</p>
<p>DS loves to waive around his AAA bail bond card… sould he ever need it (gosh I HOPE NOT!!)</p>
<p>Who is spoken for, Rodney? My younger s is still available. Older one seems to be in a pretty serious relationship.</p>
<p>We told DS how much we had in the UGMA since he was a jr in HS. And continued on. Eventually he asked for the MSMoney file that tracked his UGMA.
Turn over most of UGMA when he had a rare weekday visit and were able to get notarizations. </p>
<p>We told him that the he would be responsible for the PLUS payments, (he always did since the payments were coming out of his UGMA). We pyramided the PLUS loans. Should have done more of it-and he would be wealthier for it if did. </p>
<p>We still have one small UGMA account (DRIP) that we are in the process of transfering-not easy thing to do.</p>
<p>Buy the offspring, Life Insurance. Something that they would never do or have the experience in doing. Parents be the owner, kid makes the payments.</p>
<p>Both kids will get their UGMAs and savings bonds at graduation. (Total for each is less than a semester at the flagship, but is enough for some combination of an apartment deposit/car down payment/furniture.) They both still have Bar Mitzvah money in savings (again, not much – enough for 1-2 semesters of books). S1 wants to pay off his Staffords within a year, though DH has been talking to him about present value and building up a credit rating, so he might take a bit longer.</p>
<p>Unless a parent has PLUS loans for a college student, why would one buy insurance on one’s young adult? I don’t have an insurable interest!</p>
<p>DB, am also getting antsy to start doing updates on the house. We have deferred maintenance since we bought the place so we’d have equity to help pay for school. Have started treating myself to some small things (nicer clothes, but on serious sale). Four semesters (S2) and one quarter (S1) to go…</p>
<p>
Please say more about this. This new to me. It would never occur to me that a childless, single adult could need life insurance. But, I’m eager to learn about any financial idea that makes good sense. Thanks.</p>
<p>Hi, original poster here, been away from CC a couple days & I’m enjoying everyone’s comments now. (especially Alynor’s… if I had been eating anything I would have spat it all over my monitor laughing over the rice and beans remark). As far as getting kids thinking about college goes, I realized the other day that it was the exact family dynamic we get when its time to plan vacations. Mom (that’s me) basically spends hours over days on the computer researching the options. Then while trying not to intrude too much on TV time for H, S, & D, bounces ideas off of them:
“So guys, are you ok sleeping in a rented teepee on a platform for four nights? Otherwise we can do a hotel but it’ll mean a shorter vacation.” Hey, are you guys ok with not doing any Disney parks this time? 'Cos the Island of Adventure package is really a steal and we don’t have to wait in any lines." “So, guys, this might be the only time you ever go to Europe, should we do Italy or Ireland? Alright, since you don’t have a preference let’s do Ireland because the weather will be better in July. How many castles is too many?” And so it goes. It seems to me they agree to whatever because it will get them back to watching TV more quickly than anything. OK, some of you are thinking I am probably an overbearing mom and they know if they suggest the opposite of what I secretely want I will browbeat them until they say my preferred choice is best, but I really don’t think I do that. Anyhow, when my daughter was watching old Friends episodes the other day I asked if I was Monica Geller, and she said I wasn’t. And I wasn’t even standing in front of the TV. My son says it’s just that I plan such great vacations, they don’t need to be involved.</p>
<p>Anyhow, back to the college thing. We do slowly gain ground. S wants a big nationally known school, doesn’t have to be elite as long as it is well respected. Oh yeah, and they have to want him for their sports team. D apparently wants to be around interesting people, at least some of whom should be intellectual, and the campus should be pretty with a cool town within reach. They are a junior & sophmore respectively and I know it’s WAY early for her to seriously start thinking college. For S however, for recruiting we are right on schedule and well, I’d really like to save some time when we visit some of these schools by bringing D along too. But S & I did an NY trip a couple months back to take in Cornell and Binghamton and I didn’t force her to go along. (He took a buddy and I got to listen to them talk about which girls were potential homecoming dates for four hours straight. Don’t know if I feel honored or sick.) If D decides in a couple years she wants to see Cornell I’ll just have to eat at the Moosewood Restaurant a second time. </p>
<p>@KKMama, my prior post about the state schools was kinda toungue-in-cheek and I’m sorry if I offended. The truth is I liked the school a lot more than I thought it would. Everyone looked happy and I saw quite a few kids wearing their school colors. If my kids KNEW, just KNEW that they wanted graduate school I think I’d begging them to go that route to set aside the $ for the next round. What haunts me is another college search site that has a pie chart for each school stating how many students would attend it over again. The schools in the PA state system have depressing figures like 50%. For some its worse than 50%. Places like Colgate and Penn score an 80 so obviously you’ll always have some people that for whatever reason, the school didn’t click for them.</p>
<p>@HudsonValley, I’m with you 100% on the going-away thing. All too soon kiddos will be entrenched with mortgages, 50 hour office jobs, lawns to mow. They are likely to settle here just out of inertia. This is their big chance to go experience Boston/Austin/Denver! And as for gap years, D is so all over the map about how she might want to live that she should really take one. Maybe two.</p>
<p>Final comment, I was intrigued by the several parents who are turning the leftover money over to their kids, if any. Last year when I worked out how much I felt H and I could spend, I floated the figure in front of the kids. Assuming we have no family financial crises over the next several years, we are willing to foot the bill for a certain cost of attendance. If kiddo chooses a less expensive school/bags a partial scholarship and the figure is less than the aforementioned number, they will receive a large portion of money back towards a worthy cause (down payment, grad school, NOT wedding). H and I will pocket the rest while congratulating ourselves for raising thrifty kids. If on the other hand their dream school is over that figure, we will borrow some and they can borrow some up to a point. But there will definetely be a ceiling beyond which NO degree with worth that kind of debt!</p>
<p>About the offspring life insurance, will be interested to hear the details myself. I know I’ve head some nightmare headlines about parents who have to pay the college debt for their tragically deceased child…</p>
<p>I’m in the same mind set as jym626–it’s S’s Money in the UGM account(s) and, as trustee, I have told him he can have the balance of the education trust money any time he wants. </p>
<p>However, I have placed no conditions on his actual or intended use of the money. He “earned” it by his scholarships and not requesting or needing it during college (he gets more bang out of a buck than I did at his age). He is very aware that this is all the money without attachments there will be.</p>
<p>If he takes it and then wants financial assitance, any such assitance most likely will have strings and conditions. It was pretty much that way since he was old enough to work. He earns it, he controls it. He asks me for it, it may have strings.</p>
<p>^^the scenario in which it makes sense (to me) for a parent to have insurance on an adult child is when the parent is liable for debt incurred on behalf of the student (i.e, a parent co-signer on a loan). <em>Stafford and Perkins</em> loans are forgiven if the student dies. PLUS loans where the parents are co-signers are not. Another reason is to have burial funds for a young adult.</p>
<p>My sister just lost her 24 yo son in a motorcycle accident. She had a small policy on his life which will cover final expenses. His credit card and vehicle loan balances were forgiven at his death since there were no co-signers.</p>
<p>S1 has been discussing his employee benefits package with us and we’ve discussed the differences between employer-provided term life and his own policy and the timing of getting same.</p>
<p>OMG CD!! I am sooo sorry! When did this happen??? Condolences.</p>
<p>I started a separate thread earlier today about giving DS total control of all his $$. Am very interested in thoughts/comments/input <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1257760-would-you-give-your-child-total-control-over-all-their-funds.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1257760-would-you-give-your-child-total-control-over-all-their-funds.html</a></p>