We’re 4 years out from college, but after going through a CSU, UC, and private university’s net price calculator, we need to have a more realistic picture of our savings. The problem is the online calculators I have found suck. The best one is Merrill Edge but it does not let me change assumptions on the second child (because we will be done with one child’s college and change up the savings midway through). The calcs I’m finding don’t have that kind of complexity. Anyone know of one or have their own?
You need a financial calculator. There are some online but many are put in place mainly to capture your info and sell you something. I have been able to find various calculators online. If you have a friend who has a fin calculator or know how to use one you can easily figure out:
- How much you currently have.
- The likely cost in 4 years ( based on historial data)
- Inflation ( if you want)
They actually aren’t that expensive to buy. Do you have a CPA or someone you use to do your taxes? You could have them run the numbers for a small fee if they are willling.
For total flexibility, you may want to consider using a spreadsheet, whether standalone or cloud versions. All of them have built-in functions for what you need.
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