@LuckyCharms913 - pet sitting was for cat…for neighbor across street whom we know well and single family income so my daughter doesn’t charge more. She also dog sits and gets paid more for that as it involved a bit more work. I’m hopeful that more jobs appear when she turns 16…as we have our own zoo at home…I thought it would be great for her to get a job at local PetSmart…but their min. age is 18. We’ve hit that block with other jobs too.
@amNotarobot – yes, we know of CNU…but their NPC stickter is actually higher…you are forgetting to include room & board + meals. While it is on our list…this is what I got…
Academic Year: 2016-17
Estimated tuition and fees $13,054
- Estimated room and board charges (Includes rooming accommodations and meals) $10,914
- Estimated cost of books and supplies $1,244
- Estimated other expenses (Personal expenses, transportation, etc.) $3,544
Estimated total cost of attendance: $28,756
- Estimated total grant aid (Includes both merit and need based grant and scholarship aid from Federal, State, or Local Governments, or the Institution): $2,000
Estimated Net Price After Grants and Scholarships: $26,756
I’m not sure how accurate the information is but I read somewhere that if you are over 50 when your kids enroll some colleges will not take your pension or home equity into consideration when working out your expected family contribution.
@Jon234 Found this…http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1478770-pension-income-affecting-financial-aid.html
Re the cat sitting at a reduced rate: your D sounds like a good kid. Maybe a pet boarding place would hire her at 15 or 16?
@LuckyCharms913 – we’ve checked a few…18 
– I’ve actually been checking around for teen job opportunities…she could get a job at some of the stores at Tysons Mall, but to be honest she makes more money dog sitting and babysitting (and doesn’t have to pay taxes on it!) - also anywhere outside of our neighborhood requires parent taxi service or getting her own car/insurance.
Aside from a “real” job looking good on college apps, I honestly don’t expect them to make all that much…summer nanny is something she’d be good at when home from college …but again…almost all require car for transporting kids…so if home from college and trying to make $2K over the summer…she would need a car. @AroundHere
I found this piece in an article about why teens have stopped getting summer jobs…this is very true…especially in our area. That does not mean I don’t expect my kids to work…I do…but I am realistic in expectations.
“…reason why teens work less today is that employers are more reluctant to hire them. First, the rise of low-skill immigration in the last few decades has created more competition for exactly the sort of jobs that teenagers used to do, like grocery-store cashiers, restaurant servers, and retail salespeople. Second, older Americans stay in the workforce longer than ever, and many of them wind down their careers in office secretary and retail jobs, which used to be the province of 16-year-olds in the summer. Third, the number of federally funded summer jobs, where students work temporarily with their local government, has declined. At the same time, the minimum wage has grown, which may have discouraged bosses from taking on young inexperienced workers who are only “worth” hiring at a salary that’s become illegal. Together, these policies have reduced the number of temporary paid jobs for teenagers in the public and private sector. Fourth, companies have caught on to the fact that if they want to hire teenagers, they don’t have to pay them, at all: There has been an extraordinary rise in unpaid internships over the last decade. Although these teenage interns are clearly working, they don’t show up in the official employment statistics, because they’re not getting paid.”
A 529 account can only have one beneficiary. Do you have a 529 account for each of the twins? If so, are they equally funded?
If she has more than $433 in net earnings in any one tax year, she does have to file a tax return, so that she can pay the self-employment tax that will be owed. Yes, I understand that many people (especially teenagers) do not file a tax return when they make money from odd jobs that totals more than $433 net, but that’s not because they “don’t have to.” It’s because they’re either ignorant of or intentionally not complying with the tax law.
@BelknapPoint - separate 529 for each twin…roughly $31K in each.
I believe you are misinformed about tax requirement…A dependent who doesn’t have unearned income only has to file a separate tax return if earned income is above—$6,350 for 2017. https://www.schwab.com/resource-center/insights/content/teen-tax-return
How strong will their stats be…SAT or ACT, and GPA?
It’s still a couple of years away, but if they are very strong students, one or both might get a scholarship that covers tuition…leaving you with room, board and expenses to pay…at an out of state school. For example…top students applying to University of Alabama have guaranteed merit aid awards based on the student stats.
At this point, you don’t have that stats info…but it’s something to think about.
You are also fortunate to live in VA which has excellent and varied public universities. While merit aid at UVA and William and Mary would be very competitive, your twins might garner merit aid at another one of the VA schools…maybe Old Dominion or George Mason or VA Commonwealth. Folks from VA can chime in.
@scoutmom2002 , you didn’t read far enough down in that Schwab article. Your daughter would be considered an independent contractor.
The earned income standard deduction for a dependent of $6,350 applies to income tax. Self-employment tax is a different tax and it covers FICA (Social Security and Medicare) that are normally paid 1/2 by an employer (7.65% of earnings) and 1/2 by an employee (7.65% of earnings, paid through a payroll tax). Since a self-employed person has no employer, the self-employment tax covers both parts of the contribution (15.3% of earnings). Generally, if your daughter has more than $433 in net self-employment income in any tax year, she should file a tax return with Schedule C or C-EZ, and Schedule SE, to compute and pay the self-employment tax.
Not sure where you got this information but it is NOT accurate. I don’t know one college where this is the case…maybe there are “some” but no one should count on this being the case. Income…is income…and pension income is income…regardless of the parent age. Same with home equity.
There is a different asset protection allowance as folks get older for FAFSA purposes…but it doesn’t eliminate assets like home equity.
Please site your source and the colleges to which your post applies.
@scoutmom2002 I think you missed this VERY important part of the article you linked in your post above.
If your daughter is self employed, by herself, she wouldn’t issue herself a 1099. The folks who are PAYING her would do that. When she dog sits or whatever…she is a contract worker for that family. Unless the amount exceeds a certain amount, they wouldn’t issue her a 1099. But even if they don’t, she WOULD be considered self employed for tax filing purposes, and should be keeping track of her self employed income.
@thumper1 – they are average B students (one on an IEP) and unfortunately in a HS with uber competitive students taking all APs/Honors and have GPAs above 4.0. I’m not banking on any merit/scholarship aid…not to say things can’t change but unfortunately they are competing with a class of students who are over achievers…it’s true what they say…the average kid is screwed if coming form NOVA/FFX County. I’ve heard that college admissions group apps by HS and look at the HS and compare stats with those of your peers. If either happens to get some merit/scholarship aid then that’s icing.
That’s part of the reason I’m not ruling out OOS…that way my average kids (by the way, I’m very proud of my average kids!!) have options other than VCU, ODU, CNU, Longwood or Radford (these mostly for my daughter) I have friends with average kids and one is at Kentucky Univ. and the other at Ole Miss.
My daughter, while she would probably get in to these schools, really wants to go somewhere with a football team so that leaves only ODU and CNU. CNU, yes…but ODU I’m not a fan of.
O’k so it is far too early to worry about future summer jobs. I certainly wouldn’t be buying cars for them if you’re worried about finances. You’ll never break even when you factor in car purchase, maintenance, gas and insurance. Freshman often can’t even bring cars to college anyway. If they commute, cross that bridge when you get to it. Future summer jobs could be anything including staying at college and working there, being an RA and getting free room, being a residential camp counselor (you mentioned girl scouts). You have a mental goal of them earning 2k a year for their COLLEGE.
Ole Miss could be a good deal for you. Run the NPC.
Check University of West Virginia also. Prices are modest.
OOS privates might give need based aid but the price is higher too.
OOS publics won’t give need based aid most likely for that income level, so unless merit is possible those might cost $40,000or more.
VCU has a good reputation for health science and art I thought.
Thanks all for your advice and comments!!