In 2017 and 2019, I superfunded two 529 plans for my two children. Since then, my wife and my parents have also regularly contributed to the two college savings plans. You would think with all this aggressive saving, I would feel confident we'll have enough saved to pay for college. But I'm still unsure.
Given the pace of college tuition price increases, it seems like only three types of students and families will be able to pay for college without taking on massive student loans:
- The rich
- The poor
- Geniuses
The poor will get tuition adjustments, which is great. I'm always rooting for the poor to gain more education to break the poverty cycle. Geniuses will land enough free merit aid to make college affordable. Meanwhile, the rich will be able to pay for college through savings or cash flow without a problem.
The middle class or mass affluent class, which is most of us, however, are screwed unless our kids are geniuses or highly practical. We must pay for the full cost of tuition for four to five years. This expense will take a big chunk out of our retirement savings.
A 529 Plan Is Not Good Enough To Pay For Its Intent
Given my kids aren't geniuses, we've only got two options if we want to comfortably afford college. We either need to be poor or be rich.
I've decided to select the rich route by saving as much as possible and forgo any chance my kids will get financial aid. We don't get healthcare subsidies and we pay a boatload in taxes every year. So it would be foolish to assume any institution will ever give us any help with college tuition.
Yes, some middle-class families try to game the FAFSA application by reducing their income a couple of years before their kid attends college. However, unless there's a way of legally hiding assets from the FAFSA, we can't make ourselves look poor.
The main way we are saving for college is through 529 plans. However, after almost seven years of contributing to one, I don't think a 529 plan is enough to pay for college.
Given the all-in cost for attending a private university for four years will likely cost $1,000,000 by 2044, each kid needs to become a future 529 plan millionaire to pay for college from savings. Pretty absurd, right?!
Saving $750,000 For College For My Son By 2036 Is The Target
In 2036, twelve years from now, my son will likely attend college. It currently costs about $90,000 a year, or $360,000 for four years all-in, to attend a private university. Therefore, if I assume a 6% compound annual growth rate for 12 years, the all-in cost in 2036 will rise to $725,000. Over his four years of college, prices will rise even further.
To be conservative, I'm assuming a worst case scenario for college costs. This means no community college for two years first, no public university, no free grants, and no working while in school. My hope is that by assuming the worst, there will be upside.
I’m an old and tired dad. By 2036, I will be 59 with zero desire to work to pay for college. By then, I want to live a life of leisure with the time that I've got left. My other goal is to give him the gift of a fully-paid for college education instead of just money.
Praying For Public College
If he goes to a public university, then the four-year all-in cost in 2036 will be closer to $320,000 versus $155,000 today. As a result, he'll hopefully have a lot left over in his 529 plan. We will leave the remaining 529 balance for when his children go to college. A 529 plan is a great generational wealth transfer tool.
I'm a big fan of attending public university given that both my wife and I went to The College of William & Mary and did fine. We both could have paid for our tuition with minimum-wage summer jobs.
Our all-inclusive cost of $9,500 per year on average compared favorably to the $30,000 per year route for a private university. But I’m not sure I’ll be able to convince him of the merits of a public school education when the time comes.
529 College Savings Progress
With a target of $750,000 by 2036, below is how much we've saved in his 529 plan so far as of January 2024. This is after starting a 529 plan in mid-2017.
$356,821 saved means $393,179 left to go to reach $750,000 by 2036. This means the 529 plan needs to achieve a 6.5% compound annual return for the next twelve years if no contributions are made. There are two problems with this goal.
- The 529 plan returned only 10.8% after the S&P 500 returned 24% in 2023. That is some serious underperformance because I chose a target date fund by Fidelity based on age. I can't believe how much foreign stock (27.3%) the 529 plan holds. Ugh. And of course, bonds have done terribly since 1Q2022.
- In California, once the 529 plan reaches a balance of $529,000, I can no longer contribute. In addition, I no longer have the ability to superfund the account.
I did my best to build up my son's 529 plan with contributions from three people. Yet, despite our best efforts, I assign only a 65% probability the plan will get to $750,000 by 2036.
In other words, after almost seven years of saving for college, I'm not confident we will save enough. In fact, I feel some despair since I also have my daughter's college tuition to save for. Her college cost will likely amount to $800,000 for four years starting in 2038!
For those of you with more than two children, please tell me your secret for saving enough for college.
Game Plan To Save More For College
For those of you thinking of having kids, please be aware of the financial stress involved in raising them. College tuition is no joke. If you don't plan accordingly, your relationship will your significant other will be negatively affected.
It is a difficult challenge to save for your own retirement while also saving for your child's college education. This is why many parents can't even think about retiring until after their kids graduate college. This also why many parents stop after having two children.
Here is my game plan to increase the chances we will be able to comfortably afford paying for two college tuition bills.
1) Invest new 529 money in an S&P 500 index fund
In a bid to potentially increase the likelihood of my son's plan reaching $750,000, I've opted to adjust the 529 plan contribution percentage to 100%, directing the entire gift tax limit amount I'll be contributing ($18,000 for 2024) into an S&P 500 index fund.
While contemplating whether to shift the entire 529 plan balance to the S&P 500 Index, I find myself hesitant about the associated risks. As a result, I like this hybrid approach.
Over the past decade, U.S. equities have consistently outperformed foreign equities, and I hold the belief that this trend will persist. Maybe I am suffering from home country bias, but I believe the U.S. will continue to lead the technology revolution due to artificial intelligence. Consequently, I am comfortable allocating approximately $100,000 of new 529 plan funds into the S&P 500.
2) Increase 529 plan contributions sooner to hit the max
One strategy to increase earnings is to have more money invested. For instance, a 10% return on a $50,000 529 balance amounts to $5,000, while the same return on a $500,000 529 balance yields $50,000.
While the future performance of stocks and bonds remains uncertain, my plan is to swiftly reach the $529,000 limit for our son's 529 balance. Achieving this involves encouraging my wife and parents to contribute $18,000 each annually. With three contributors providing a total of $54,000 per year and assuming a 5% annual growth rate, our son's 529 balance should reach the contribution limit within two-and-a-half years.
Upon reaching the limit where additional contributions are no longer permitted, there should be a sense of psychological relief, as there will be no further actions possible from a 529 plan standpoint.
3) Get the kids to work to build up their Roth IRA plans
A Roth IRA stands out as the optimal retirement savings vehicle for kids and young adults. The objective for every eligible working kid is to earn an income falling between the maximum Roth IRA contribution limit and the standard deduction for the year, thereby paying no taxes.
Given that the standard deduction consistently exceeds the maximum Roth IRA contribution limit, contributing the maximum to a Roth IRA allows for tax-free contributions. The kid can then withdraw the money tax-free after five years if desired.
For 2024, with the standard deduction limit per person set at $14,600 and the Roth IRA contribution limit at $7,000, my plan is to engage my son in our online business, helping him earn some money for his Roth IRA. While he may not reach the full $7,000 at his age, any amount earned is a step in the right direction.
Fostering a strong work ethic and instilling the habit of saving and investing for their future is invaluable. Their Roth IRAs will serve as their skin in the game if their 529 plans fall short. It would be great if they could work for a decade and build up a $100,000 Roth IRA balance by the time they're 20.
4) Teach kids practical knowledge and skills before going to college
Lastly, the more time I spend teaching my kids practical knowledge and skills, the greater the chance they'll achieve a higher Return On Investment from college.
Consider the many college graduates who complete their education without acquiring practical skills. While they may possess extensive knowledge of American history, it's challenging to build a career spitting facts about dead presidents.
Hence, my objective is to educate my kids on subjects such as marketing, writing, speaking, business, sales, business development, branding, and Mandarin. By doing so, they may graduate college sooner, like my wife did by six months, or feel more confident that a more affordable degree is sufficient for them to live a good life.
Teaching children not only benefits them but also enhances the ROI of my own college education. This is one of the reasons why writing books and articles on Financial Samurai brings a sense of fulfillment.
In addition to business knowledge, I will teach my kids everything I know about being a rental property owner. This includes buying property, screening for tenants, writing a lease agreement, painting, remodeling, plumbing, electrical, negotiating, and landscaping.
Going into the trades is a great option if they so choose.
5) Pay off my rental properties by the time the kids are 18
One of the best real estate goals parents should have is owning one rental property per kid.
Ideally, you buy the rental property when your kid is born and pay off the mortgage by the time the kid goes to college. If you do, then cash flow from the rental property can help pay for college. In addition, once the kid graduates from college, s/he can either earn semi-passive income or live in the place.
think about all the property your parents should have bought when you were born. How much would they be worth today if they had? You can avoid your parents mistake by investing today.
Don't Just Rely On Your 529 Plan To Pay For College
Relying solely on a 529 plan to cover a child's college education would be a mistake. It's essential to calculate the anticipated cost of your child's college, assess the progress of your 529 plan, understand its investments, and estimate potential shortfalls based on different return assumptions.
Counting on substantial financial aid or assuming your child will attend a public or community college could also prove to be a mistake. In some regions, such as California, gaining admission to the UC system can be extremely competitive, even after years of paying property taxes.
Just as we acknowledge that no one will save us in retirement, we should adopt a similar mindset regarding college tuition – recognizing that no one will rescue us from the financial burden of higher education.
Embrace The Reality Of Being Average
Our children, like yours, are likely to be average, and average individuals often don't receive grants or make optimal financial decisions. Given this reality, it's prudent for us to proactively save a significant amount of money beforehand to prevent them from facing financial challenges post-college.
Throughout my time running Financial Samurai since 2009, I've encountered numerous highly educated readers who regret the substantial expenses they incurred for their education. Some feel a sense of guilt for not achieving more in their lives and are burdened by the fact that their parents had to sacrifice their retirement for their education. Some even find themselves still living at home, relying on The Bank of Mom & Dad well into their late 20s and 30s.
While I am currently frustrated by the exorbitant cost of college, I also feel trapped due to numerous unknown and uncontrollable variables in the future. Consequently, the only way to alleviate such concerns is to continue saving and investing. When the time comes to pay for college, I'd rather have enough saved versus too little. Alternatively, I could just revolt and bypass college altogether.
A big challenge will be to save enough for college while also not sacrificing too much of our lifestyle during the process. I’m facing a race against time. Unfortunately, time is currently winning.
Related posts:
Retiring Early With Kids Is Nearly Impossible
Roth IRA Or 529 Plan To Pay For College
The Best American Life Hack: Take Advantage Of Canadian Colleges
Reader Questions
Do you feel like saving in a 529 plan is enough to pay for your child's college education? How are you planning to afford college, especially if you have more than two children?
Is it really only the rich, the poor, or geniuses that can afford to attend without taking out major student loans? Who else feels trapped by growing college expenses?
Recommendations To Help Afford College
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I have two kids, one just graduated and one is starting junior year in college. I had 529 plans for both children. I would not count on funding all of college with a 529 plan. If you are using Cost of Attendance as your guide, there are several items in that COA that cannot be paid with 529 plans (transportation, parking, personal items, etc) – Also, only the allowed estimated Room and Board as calculated by the University can be withdrawn without worry of being audited (unless in is on campus housing and paid directly to the school). Once a child goes to off campus housing things get more complicated. Your child will need more spending money outside of a 529, so plan on it. My kids worked and saved for their spending money and worked breaks and summers. You also can’t cover living expenses for the summer months (those off campus options have 12 month leases) unless the student is attending summer school. Sometime my kids chose to attend summer school for that reason. They also started claiming themselves on their taxes as soon as they became students. We gave up the claim and possible exemption because it was better for them to claim. It is also better to issue withdrawals directly to the school or to the student so the tax forms are all in their name, reported as their income and their expenses. Lots of things to consider. But after doing this, I would do things differently and have some money outside the 529 for items not covered (deposits, application fees, and the things I listed previously – car, gas, parking, personal care items, cleaning supplies, etc). My daughter graduated in 3.5 years and drained the 529 and worked all through college to supplement her spending. She did come out debt free, so that’s something. My son will come very close to draining his going for 4 full years. Schools don’t have enough on campus housing and off campus housing is expensive. The area he is in, housing cost have gone up 50% in 4 years and the published COA by the university doesn’t reflect this.
Thanks for your color and good to know! Graduating debt-free is awesome for your daughter. Can you share how much you guys saved in each 529 plan and or how much College cost for each child?
Sam hasn’t understood money creation and inflation. The stock market gains look good but hardly keep up with inflation. Meanwhile bitcoin is a true hedge against inflation in the long term with a publicly limited supply cap. Add 5% or 10% bitcoin to any portfolio from past years and compare the results. Prepare to buy the dips, the ETF’s are here and that will take things much higher. I love living in my minimalistic 2 bedroom apartment in Santa Monica for $2800/month while I rent out my larger home for $4300 to an older woman with too much stuff that she needs a big house for. Buying bitcoin will result in higher appreciation than any property for the next 10 years. That’s why I still rent. Property tax sucks, we never really own our homes.
Let’s say you own 50 bitcoins that you bought for under $2000 each. How much would you sell today?
I’m glad you’re happy you’re renting. Landlords need renters to generate the passive income.
How did you convince your wife and children to rent? That’s one of the toughest things I found were families don’t want to rent because they want stability and a chance to build equity.
Over the past 30 years, the S&P 500 has performed inflation by a lot. Not sure where you are getting your information.
Thx
I sold just a couple bitcoin recently around 67-69k, although it could still spike higher and I may sell more if it does. Only to buy back more bitcoin when it corrects to 50k or lower. There is no reason to sell the ultimate savings currency that appreciates against all other currencies.
There was a time it was good to buy a home. I paid 330k for my manufactured home 2200sq ft, worth about 1mil 24 years later. My smaller bitcoin investment has surpassed the home value 20x or more by today. I have 10 years left on my mortgage, and have no intention of paying it back early as the bitcoin keeps appreciating faster than my 4.8% loan cost.
My current girlfriend came from China to live with me again for the past 6 months. She is plenty happy to be in my clean updated nice apartment 3 miles from Santa Monica beach. She doesn’t have to work, I support us and work minimally at home or remotely. We go biking everywhere. If we had a child the 2nd bedroom would be enough space, but 2 kids would prompt an eventual upgrade to at least 3 bedroom/2 bath. I don’t date a woman who demands more unless she also pitches in more! Women want equal rights well they should contribute their equal share. After watching the documentary Minimalism twice many years ago, it triggered a deep change in my desire to have less stuff and pretend I’m moving eventually, or traveling perpetually with my bitcoin. If I don’t use something for 6-12 months, and it’s not gaining significant value over time, I sell it. Now I sell stuff for neighbors all around the area as a side hustle for 50% commission, love those ebay sale alerts.
Btw I’m 48 just a bit older than you. I immigrated from Germany with my parents at age 5 and grew up in midwest Indiana small town. Moving to Socal was a huge change as you can imagine. Get some bitcoin for your kids, it will pay for their education (which is a scam anyway) and their future home (or rent haha).
Got it. So maybe I will hold on to them for longer. To me, it’s just funny money. But I did buy a forever home in 4Q2023 which I’m enjoying,
Keep on saving and investing aggressively and you will eventually get to financial freedom.
Curious why you chose this post on 529 plans to save for college if you don’t have kids? If you’re looking to have kids one day, I highly recommend them. They give life more meaning IMO.
Yes HODL for at least 10 years or longer. I have been enjoying financial freedom for several years. Haven’t had the desire to make babies though, maybe if I met the woman that can change my mind though! I really do enjoy my free time.
I didn’t know how to find the link to the current article I meant to respond to, but this article was one of the links in it.
Makes you wonder if it is even worth saving in a 529. After thinking about it, I’d rather contribute to an UTMA account so when my kids are 18, they will have a heavy nest egg. Maybe they will decide they can do better with a boat load of money and no college degree. Even if they got a normal job to pay their regular expenses, that 6 or 7 figure nest egg would grow to make them financially independent very early in life, if invested smartly.
3 kids with 2 in college right now, and 3rd is a sophomore in high school. Only way to make it work was setting ground rules early and talking about them regularly.
1 You Have enough in 529 for 4 years a state school not 5 or 6 years.
2 Want to go out of state or private get scholarships or loans
3 Graduate schools is on you, or if you have any money left from 529 you can use.
4 Fail out 1st year you are done
Wife and are both state school grads and are doing fine. You get out of college what you put into it. Kids have embraced these rules, and actually oldest is 1st year grad student with full scholarships and 25K left to cover misc expenses. 2nd went out of state but got the extra tuition charge waived and got scholarships were tuition is almost free 2k a semester.
Good stuff! I can only hope my children are as smart and as disciplined as yours. I just assume the worst and hope for the best. I’ve been a stay at home dad for almost 7 years now and I feel like the time I spent with them has been helpful. But I really won’t know for sure until they become adults.
You never know with your kids. Oldest was an average student with above average test scores we gave her a 50/50 chance of finishing college, but she really exceeded our expectations starting sophomore year when she found a major she loved. Love them and support them, but in the end they have to do the work!
Isn’t a golden visa in Portugal 250k? That’s get you citizenship for the family which allows the kids to attend EU Universities essentially for free. As a smart investor, you’ll likely make a return on your 250k as well. With the numbers you are presenting, private college in the US doesn’t make sense anymore.
Not sure. But dang, $250,000 is still a lot for uprooting one’s entire family with no language skills in Portuguese.
We’re going to learn Mandarin instead.
You don’t need residency in Europe to take advantage of their universities for free. In France for example, studies are free, even for foreigners on study permits. The issue is, this is the case for public universities, but you’ll struggle to get a good paying job if you don’t go to school in the higher end private schools. So the french end up taking advantage of a program to access french speaking universities in Canada at a fraction of the price of other foreigners… Americans can study in Canadian universities paying full foreigner tuition, but it’s still chump change compared to the theft happening in USA universities.
You make me feel a bit better. Thank you for your transparency, especially as successful as you are. It’s comforting to know even professionals don’t always have all the information, and make “educated” mistakes as well.
Once I “took over” my 401k in a “self-directed” fund, the returns have almost quadrupled. As you succinctly pointed out, I thought those few options (offered in my 401k) were my only options, and they kind of were, until I discovered I could “manage” my own account by “offloading” it to our “partner” brokerage firm (for a fee, of course ). (So many quotation marks, sorry. ♀️)
It’s frustrating when you don’t even know there is a question there to be asked. But better late than never, even if it is difficult not to imagine what my returns would like if I had started four years earlier!
I should note as well, the returns aren’t a result of me “cracking” some code. They are what they are, based on the growth funds I chose, that’s it. When the market tanked on the tail end of Covid, they did too, sharply, so you have to have the stomach for that, and right now I do.
The only observation I’ve taken from this experience is that target funds, based on age, and years until retirement, are basically conservative in general, no matter where you are on that journey.
I would advise my nieces and nephews, just finishing school and starting careers, to be more aggressive in choosing, and not default to the status quo on offer. I hope they can benefit from my mistakes, leaving no money on table, lining their own pockets more, with the value-add of time plus patience.
Thanks, Sam!
Cheers
I’m also investing for my children over a similar time span – my mother’s will only lets them have the money when they are 23 – but haven’t and wouldn’t put everything on the S&P500. The index has done very well but again is very expensive on a global basis and so I am diversifying globally (still a big weight to the US) and adding bonds, infrastructure etc. I am based in Australia so there is also a currency risk to just betting on the US.
Since you want to live in Hawaii, Sam, I recommend you move here when your kids are in high school. This will improve their odds of acceptance, in particular for East Coast liberal arts schools seeking kids from every state. Our kid, who is a very good student, but no genius, was accepted at eight colleges, with sizable merit aid at places like Grinnell, Kenyon, Lewis and Clark, and UC Santa Cruz. He ended up going to another very good college, for which we’re paying full freight. He’s very happy with his profs and studies and fellow students. Given this, I think the ROI is worth it. My main point: move to Maui, pay less for private high school than in SF, and your kids will have a small but meaningful leg up in college application process… if you do indeed care about where they attend college (and it seems you do).
That’s the plan! But to Oahu where we have a house and family.
Congrats on your son’s college acceptance!
I have number 4 way to pay for college… be an amazing athlete and get open athletic full ride scholarship.
Sounds like a plan! 1% of HS students get college sports scholarships.
Good to be part of the one percent in something.
It’s less than that…most athletic scholarships are not “full” – i.e., most sports are not headcount sports. The 1% stat includes partial scholarships – which may be as little as $500.
Wait, so you’re saying we have a chance!
True, but less than 1% of the US also can save as much money as Sam is alluding to needing to save for college… So Athletic scholarship pursuit is probably better odds for low income families than trying to save a ridiculous amount of money on low incomes.
Parents of many of the kids who do get athletic scholarships spent many thousands of hours and dollars and on their kids’ athletic development, e.g., travel teams, private coaches.
I don’t suggest counting on a positive payback of such investment in terms of athletic scholarships. Where it can pay off is opening the door for acceptance to schools that would not accept the kids were it not for their athletic abilities.
Great point about the amount of money spent getting your kid to be an excellent athlete before potentially getting the scholarship. So there is a cost of that for sure. But hopefully, the kid really enjoys the sport and can appreciate the lifelong school they develop. I still play tennis two times a week at age 46 based on the skills. I learned when I was a kid.
Why are you stressing ? Why do you have to spend so much on college? Send your kids to California State University. The tuition is like $6800 a year. By time your kids are 18, it will only be $20k a year. Are you going to be one of those high expectations parents? My son is 15. I just plan on sending him to Penn State Harrisburg, which has a high acceptance rate. You’re just putting so much stress on yourself and your kids in the future for no reason. You don’t want to stress yourself out over money and get a heart attack or cancer…. My net worth is way less than yours. My husband’s retirement incomes is less than $100k a year. House is paid off. I’m not on social media staring at people’s vacations, homes, nothing. I don’t care… The reason why people are depressed, stressed and or broke is because they want to show off or say their kids went to Ivy League and are doctors. What if your kids don’t want to work like that ? What if they have mental illness like a lot of Gen Z?
I actually feel sorry for you, but more so your son. Having a mother just expect their son to go to Penn State Harrisburg is such a waste. 86% acceptance rate and he’s going to graduate and work a minimum wage job or be unemployed.
You should try to push your son to do more and be more. No wonder why each generation get softer and softer and then complain why I don’t have enough money to buy a house and survive.
A waste? Most PSU grads I know who studied engineering enjoy a huge network of employers and make just as much as a lot of IVY leaguers who studied liberal arts.
You sound very elitist Janice. Not everyone needs to have 3 vacation homes, a CEO job title, and a garage full of sports cars to be happy.
Not PSU Harrisburg graduates. Many end up unemployed or underemployed. Instead of wasting 4 years at PSU, it would be better to go to trade school.
Harvard grads make a median salary of $86,000. Those who have family connections end up with the 7 figure jobs like Jared Kushner. You do you. Feel sorry for my son and I. Then you’ll have to feel sorry for the 90% of Americans who are not doing well and live check to check. I feel sorry for Sam and his family to live under pressure just to strive for a bigger home or get his kids to become millionaires and they may end up with $60,000 jobs.
If you read your comments, you are projecting your own securities a lot.
Again, I feel sorry for you and your son. I want to provide the best possible opportunities for my kids. You are OK with providing below-average opportunities because you don’t have enough money to live elsewhere but Central PA and PSU Harrisburg.
When your son asks why you and your husband couldn’t provide more as he’s stuck working a minimum wage job, you must explain to him way.
Life is not a dress rehearsal. Your son only has one shot at college.
Janice, I have earmarked $250k cash for my son’s college, but my son will get VA disability benefits to pay for most of his college. In addition to that should he choose to do post grad degree then state of Virginia or Alabama will pay 100% of his tuition until age 31. I wasted 6 years in undergrad and then 4 years in pharmacy school because I didn’t know what to do. I knew a lot of my classmates and colleagues got out of school with $200k loans. That’s not going to happen to my son. I have so many different options than you and I will probably spend minimal on my son’s college. Columbia University and William and Mary have sent him mail. I’m NOT paying for him to go to those schools..My son is Afro Hispanic and probably has a lot better chances than an Asian who oversaturates the job market. If my son is medical school caliber then he can go to a med school in VA, Alabama. If he gets a half tuition grant or scholarship after Penn to Stanford or MIT then I will pay for that. I do not plan on spending the full $250k for my son when he has so so many options as the son of a veteran. I could give him this money as a deposit for a house. I’m ecstatic to be the wife of a veteran. You don’t know how wonderful it is not to not be a slave to a boss or have to worry about bills or taxes.
“ My son is Afro Hispanic and probably has a lot better chances than an Asian who oversaturates the job market.”
So you’re racist as well? This explains a lot about your low expectations for life and for your son and why you are lashing out in this post at people who want to do better.
If you wanna break the cycle of low expectations, try to have higher expectations for your children. Using race to try to get ahead, will only take you so far. At the end of the day, meritocracy wins.
I’m Asian but there is no way in hell I’m going to have him put that on his college applications because despite getting rid of DEI, most companies would rather choose the more diverse candidate. If your kid is Asian or white, then good luck! Lol. I feel sorry for your kids. It sounds like you’re ramming your kids hard to excel into getting into some Ivy school. You’re putting so many expectations on them. Do not do that. I do not do that with my son.
Don’t you worry or feel sorry for my son. We are wealthy and debt free. I do not live off my stocks either. My son could be offered free grants and scholarships, I don’t know. The world is literally his oyster.
Angela, I’m sorry for your frustration and pain.
I would be better if I was laid off from CVS for a 20 something year old as well. It must also be tough living in central Pennsylvania and having a husband with a disability.
I would recommend that instead of venting on to strangers, define a support group of other mothers. Even one or two friendly mothers will make a difference in your mental health.
Life is not always going to be easy as you know, but having friends to commiserate with, and laugh with helps alot.
Lol. I get the same responses on MSN when I talk about how I have not suffered in Bidenomics. No one believes me.
The thing about the VA disability is that a lot of people get it. My friend and neighbor has a husband who gets disability, military retiree pension and works so she also doesn’t work. So every day we talk about how people can’t manage to save but she and I have. She and her family doing well. She hasn’t worked since she was 38 and is now 51.
I also had a lot of neighbors in Virginia who got the VA disability money, retiree pension and WORK for the Fed govt as contractors so there are a lot of veterans who are doing quite well.
Janice, lol, I’m happier than 98% of Americans. I am in the top 2%. I live in central PA in a huge house (paid in full and no prop taxes) just so I can have MORE liquid assets. I’m not going to argue with you anymore because I’ve gotten the same responses on Yahoo and MSN. People find it hard to believe there are millionaires on disability. Lol.. If only you knew. There are plenty of them in the DC metropolitan area. Veterans on here, I’m sure y’all know what I’m talking about.
Have a great life working until, you’re 65!
Janice, my friend next door with the disabled vet husband who has 3 sources of income (and works)? They owned 4 properties. She sold one of them in DC and now owns 3 properties. You have no idea how many millionaire veterans there are out there. There are plenty of us.
Yes, she and I do laugh a lot. We laugh at all the Republicans who complain about Biden. We are hard core liberal elites, both from the DC area. How do you think I discovered Financial Samurai? I Google median net worth, median savings, and how many people live check to check. Sometimes my neighbor gets irritated because I can end up sounding like a braggart or smug, but I’m pretty much top of the food chain compared to most Americans.
My neighbors are Hershey executive, VPs, lawyers, and doctors. In fact my husband’s doctor lives a block away. There’s nothing to commiserate over.
Janice, your kids will become mentally ill because of you. What will you do when they don’t get into a good school or make anything close to $100k? Abandon them for being losers ?
Where did you go? You can’t stand the truth? I suspect that you are suffering financially or mentally for you to have your mindset. You are obsessed with a name brand school,but there is a backlash to anything remotely Ivy because of their extreme antisemitism.
Janice, I feel sorry for your kids. It sounds like you’re Asian and they will end up being just average or laid off just like my son or Sam’s kids could. Living in America is very unstable now, unless you’re heavily connected and related to someone in the top 1% then most Americans will die in debt and live check to check. I got out of the rat race as did Sam. Sam has a lifestyle but could do much better. Our kids will probably have to work until they’re 70. I doubt your kids will be in the top 2%.
Janice seems like a miserable human being that’s jealous of anyone succeeding in life without being gifted an small inheritance from their parents toward an IVY league education. I find people who succeed despite their modest backgrounds to be much better employees and harder workers in life. As an employer I seek out people that didn’t grow up with silver spoon in their mouth like Janice’s kids.
Thank you, Silver Spoon! I didn’t go to anything close to Ivy League schools and my veteran husband is a high school drop out (Army made him get GED) and here we are in top 2 % of net worth in America! Zero DEBT here. No mortgage, no car loans, no credit card debt. One can be a millionaire simply by being a teacher who makes $60-70k and investing in 401k and living below their means per Dave Ramsey.
My neighbor is also a former DC resident. Her husband is also a disabled vet. He has his military retiree pension as well as work. They owns 3 houses. She’s in the top 5% club and she says her kids can do two years in community college! She’s not paying for an overpriced school because they may drop out. I have known 4 family members who have dropped out of college.
Janice counters my comments saying PSU is an inferior school or I must be frustrated I live in Central Pennsylvania with a disabled husband. Lol. There are so many vets who get disability yet they also work & buy second homes, go on European vacations, etc.
I seriously doubt Janice has as much wealth as I do and I also doubt her kids will even score well enough or actually get into any Ivy League school. She may be broke with a MORTGAGE and struggling & it feels better for her to disparage me and veterans.
Where are you, Janice? Figuring out your budget for the week? Get this, I DO NOT BUDGET like you or Sam. Bidenomics has not hurt me. I’ve never budgeted since 1999. Lol.
And Janice, ha, I got a Harvard grad who lives one house away from me. It’s hilarious because when my husband first talked to him, he was so busy showing off he had graduated from Harvard and asked my husband where he went to school. My husband said he was a 10th grade drop out and got his GED! As Sam says, sometimes life is about luck. Even if you go to a better school than 99% of population, you could end up on the same block as a high school drop out!
See: What If You Go To Harvard And End Up A Nobody
Sam, I just hope you don’t put too much pressure on your kids. I’m not. For your kids to excel they can also become teachers and save slow via 401k as Dave Ramsay always says otherwise they’ll have to become engineers, physicians, neuroscientists. Pretty soon AI or robots will be financial advisors.
I’m 52. I got into GW university and University of Southern California in 1990. Unlike Janet’s advice I went to GMU. I didn’t want my parents to pay too much. I went to a school that Janice would consider subpar. I’m not going to sweat it if my son ends up min wage or underemployed. It is what it is. What if your son doesn’t want to be a nuclear physicist or tech CEO? What if he wants to be an actor or nothing? Each kid is different. There are no engineers or physicians in my family. They are all average people who got business degrees and do office work.
No problem. No need to justify your decision on not pushing your kids. It’s all good.
Each kid and family is different. The goal is to spend time with them, open their eyes to different opportunities, and help them fulfill their dreams.
See: Community College Is The Way
Sam, did you read about the Indian family, the Kamals in Dover, Massachusetts? I don’t work and I Google and read true crime daily online as well as watch “Dateline” and documentaries and read true crime books.
Anyhow, there is an Indian family named the Kamals. They were living a lie. The husband pretended that he had graduated from MIT and the wife lied that she graduated from Harvard. They sent their daughter to a tony private school and some college I never heard of in Massachusetts. They also bought a 27 room mansion. The house was foreclosed & they were supposed to move out this month and the husband shot the wife and daughter before killing himself. They were living an extravagant life like the Murdaughs or Chris and Shannan Watts,but could not afford it.
There was another murder in the Philly area. A mother, Ruth Dirienzo Whitehead, was a realtor and sent her preteen son to Germantown Academy. Well, she must have been losing money from not working much and she strangled her son to death because she didn’t want him to suffer financially! She said her son was distraught that he could not go to the private school because she told him she could no longer afford it. This boy was spoiled his entire life with many vacations, MLB games, vacation house, etc. She owned a beach house in Cape May, NJ! There were so many options these people had besides murder! The way people are frantic about their kids having the best lives are ridiculous.
Parents need to chill out. C’mon. I was a public school kid. My middle school wanted me to go to Thomas Jefferson High in Fairfax County, which is one of the top 5 public schools in America. I had the common sense to know that just because I am Asian, I’m not that brilliant and I did not want to suffer with a rigorous course load. I refused to go there and went to my sub par public high school. I turned out ok. I could return to work now but after not working 7 years, I’m spoiled and too lazy to deal with irate humans or bosses.
A 529 is plenty when I realized, too late, that most US universities are cesspits of antisemitism and for my children’s own safety they should live at home, go to community college, and then transfer to the nearest 4 year university to finish off their degree. Actually, we saved way too much given I don’t want my children living in a dorm where the university might or might not protect my children, as it “depends on the context.” Fortunately, we can now convert 529s to IRAs.
Dear Sam,
Your insights on 529 plans in the context of AI’s impact on education highlight an important point. While these plans have their merits, I’ve already been advised to explore other options that offer immediate tax benefits, given my 50% marginal tax rate. This advice aligns with my perspective on the shifting educational landscape.
As AI reshapes career and educational pathways, I am increasingly convinced that traditional college saving strategies may not align with future realities. It’s an interesting time to rethink how we prepare financially for our children’s future.
Thanks for shedding light on this evolving issue.
Best, JG
Sam, I think you’re worrying yourself too much! My friend and I were debating the other day about her state’s prepaid tuition option (MI MET) where parents are allowed to pay for future higher education at today’s rates.
Back in 2018, she paid $65,000 upfront for 4 years of public-school tuition when tuition at our alma mater, Michigan State University, was $54,360 or $13,590/year or for 4 years. Based on the CPI Index, $65,000 in 2018 is worth $80,440 or $20,110/year.
HOWEVER, the actual 2023 tuition at MSU this year is only $15,648/year or $62,592 in total. She would’ve been better off putting that $65k into a 529 account invested in the S&P 500!!
We performed this calculation on Northwestern University (a private school) and noticed their tuition increase from 2018-2023 wasn’t on par with CPI increase neither despite costing 4x as much as the flagship state school.
Therefore, I feel that the general 7% increase based on your analysis above cannot be used as a catch all for all universities tuition increases and you should take it easy considering you’ve already super funded both kids accounts and there is a possibility they may not even spend it all!
We home educate 5 kids.
Our oldest is graduating the University of Washington in April with likely about a 3.98 GPA.
He earned his HS Diploma and Associates degree at a local junior college before transferring to the university.
TOTAL cost of a 4 year degree? (Living expenses covered by a part time job).
$45,000 (including a month in Costa Rica at an immersive language school).
His two younger brothers are finishing up 6-month commercial dive welding school next month.
TOTAL cost for both of them? (Including room and board)
$80,000
They are all in their early 20s and will have zero debt, because we saved diligently for the higher education since they were born.
Sure, the cost of education may continue to skyrocket over the next 15-20 years, but the Law of Diminishing Returns is increasingly self-evident for many (which may result in decreased demand).
There are alternative ways…
Great stuff and good to hear. Homeschooling 5 kids is no easy task. Well done!
I hope there is upside to my cost analysis. Fingers crossed.
Regarding teaching your children practical skills, please teach them Excel. We get so many interns from Cal and all the local schools who don’t know any Excel. It’s a serious time suck for me to teach them. At least at this time, kids with intermediate Excel skills are going to stand out as interns no matter what field they are studying. You’d think they could at least watch Excel dictionary on Instagram or something. You don’t even have to be that smart to master enterprise software, whatever it is, in whatever form it happens to exist in, when your kids are college age. As long as huge corporations and governments exist, there’s always going to be demand for people to keep that corporate machine going and those people can make a decent living.
Will do. Thanks for the tip! Good thing my wife is an Excel guru.
I’m an entrepreneur, so I have different opinions about college. It may not be the best route for my two boys (degrees have certainly had diminishing returns, and free speech is on a rapid decline). If it’s to be a doctor, lawyer, or something that requires it that’s one thing. Otherwise, it’s an extremely questionable investment.
I’m paying my kids through my business to get tax free money to them, and then getting an overfunded WL policy on them up to the MEC limit. Pay in for 7 years, and they’ll have hundreds of thousands (millions if they don’t touch it) of tax free money to use for funding college, buying a house, investing in a business, or anything else.
Cost for college is no joke. I have a friend who sold one of her houses to pay for her two kid in public schools in California. Some of my friends pay for college by income from rental houses. Some bought rental houses specifically for college when kids were born and transferred the house to kids once they’re grown to live for 2 years ( to avoid capital gain tax) and then the kid sold it to pay for student loans.
I like the strategy of owning one rental property per child. After 18 years, if purchased at birth, it could be paid off and generate a lot of cash flow.
See: A Real Estate Goal Every Investor With Kids Should Consider
Let me add this to the post as a way to pay for college. Thanks for the reminder.
We have 4 kids (2 in college now) in VA which has great college options here. We’ve told our kids we’ll pay for 4 years in state PUBLIC college. If you go outside that boundary (private, or OOS, or other), you’ll have to pay the difference. When your kids are in middle or at the latest early HS, tell them your financial limit. Husband and I both work and have made this (and retirement) a priority – not trading up for a bigger/better house, fancier car, etc.
Oh my, I’ve been afraid someone would say this. My kids are 12, 6, and 5, and I was targeting 200 grand for each of them. Maybe I need to go up? I do have it all invested in common stocks, so they had like a 25 plus percent return last year.
Hope they go to William & Mary, my alma mater. Great deal for in-state tuition. Feels like a cozy private university at times given it’s not that big and its campus is beautiful.
I LOVED my time there!
The cost of college is what parents make it, often thinking with their hearts and not their heads. Bragging rights, etc. Two years at a JC is free in Cali. That’s 50% of college paid for right out of the gate. Then, live at home and attend the closet state school. The cost is so minimal it’s pretty much inconsequential. From there, they are considered independent and use their own low income to get money for grad school. On top of that, if the kid takes enough AP classes in HS they can get their degree in three, effectively paying for only one year of college to earn the undergrad.
Is CC what your kids or what you plan for them to do? Will they agree if they haven’t gone yet?
Yep. Son just transferred out of a CC and on pace to get his undergrad in three like his sis before him. Kids certainly have the right to disagree and self-fund the “college experience” of their dreams. Just like a kid could kid protest a serviceable vehicle given to them at 16 if it’s not a Tesla. Pretty sure they are old enough to where their wants won’t hurt them by their late teens. Neither will have a penny of school debt and daughter will be wrapping up grad school which cost her almost nothing as an independent and will be interviewing for six figure jobs in a matter of weeks.
It’s great that grandparents are chipping in the max. My kids’ grand parents chip in $1000 per kid (x2) a year. That’s better than the other grandparents who have contributed $1000 per kid exactly once in 10 years. I guess it makes them feel good to know they “helped” but everyone is living in a dream world with these paltry contributions when the price of tuition, room and board is 35k per year at a public school today. To your point, that price will double in 9 years! I don’t look the gift horse in the mouth, and obviously appreciate any help, but I do sneeze at the size of the gift given the size of the challenge to fund their future education.
Sam, I think you should write an “OK Boomer” styled post about how old people can’t fathom how much more expensive stuff is today for younger generations.
I’ve tried to nudge them (the boomers) to accept that the transfer of wealth to my generation in 15-20 years is too late—by then I’ve had to do all the planning and prep as if it wasn’t going to happen. Even in a best case scenario, what good is an extra million going to do me when I’m 65 or 70?
I need it now so it can grow so my kids can use it in 8-10 years.
It is a good debate about passing on one’s wealth after death or while still alive.
It makes more sense to pass on wealth while alive when the money is more needed. Besides, it feels better to help your adult children when you’re still alive so you see where the money is going.
The cost of college is indeed ridiculous. Something has to change.
I find it sad that a guy as smart as you is worried about sending your kids to college for $1 million?? …seriously just start putting all that money in an index funding or better yet an REIT in the southeast and they’ll never have to work.
But the really the bigger question is why aren’t you solving the problem? You’re super smart guy? Instead of asking how are you saving for your kids college? Why not ask? Why aren’t there better alternatives than college?
For instance, if your kid wants to be an electrician they can go to trade school.. no problem… or an engineer they can go to college. But so much of college is BS degrees. There’s gotta be a third solution that’s not there yet.
It’s like why can’t there be a third option other than trade schools or college. It’s a way under served market. It’s a huge opportunity. You talk about being 57 and tired when you kids goes to college. If you’re tired at 57 you will be grade A bore. I’m 57 I’ve got five kids under 16. I know this problem but there’s not enough people trying to solve it the fact that you’re just going to continue to feed the machine your just perpetuating the problem.
Lastly, there’s not enough focus on all the other problems like and not limited too, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, fast food abuse, Overweight nation, numbness, and dumbing of our society….
Thanks Jim. Remember, you’re rich, as you have mentioned multiple times about your $20+ million net worth. So you’ll be alright. For most of us, we have to save and invest diligently for college.
Hope you’re able to spend quality time with your kids. Not sure after $20 million, spending time more time making more money is worth it.
Maybe you will be able to share back the $5,000 year end from our S&P 500 bet. Or maybe I will pay again! Exciting.
You didn’t take the bet,
But had you taken it you would’ve won!!
Regardless, it doesn’t matter regarding this blog. Why don’t you spend the rest of your life focusing on what could be better for kids other than college?
I’m not rich.
How about you figure out how to make things better for kids going forward?
Not just college not just straight school. How about a third option? How about you come up with a third option how about you be the leader of the third option
YOU COULD OWN IT…it needs a leader. Think bigger and better than just money.!
I did take the bet. I responded and there is a time stamp in the comment reply. But if you want to back out, I can’t stop you. Just know that I paid my bet when I lost and will always honor my bets. I couldn’t live with myself not being a man of my word.
If you don’t think you’re rich with a $20 million net worth, I can’t help you. I think it’s probably important to talk to someone as there could be bigger psychological issues at hand.
Less focus on business and more time with the kids is probably a good idea, especially with five kids at your age. I think you’ll miss them when they are out of the house more than you will miss making more money.
We have a bet!
I never looked back!
I won’t back out
Jim – Wow, you’re rude and you’re reneging on your bet? Sam confirmed in the comments section and I saw it too.
Don’t be like that. And if you have a drinking problem, seek help. You’ll end up just ruining your marriage and your relationship with your kids.
I had never checked back on that Bet. I thought we were talking about 2023 my mistake. Yes I do have a bet with Sam, 5k for charity . I will not renege. And you’re right alcohol is no good.
“Yes, some middle-class families try to game the FAFSA application by reducing their income a couple of years before their kid attends college. However, unless there’s a way of legally hiding assets from the FAFSA, we can’t make ourselves look poor.”
There is a way of legally “hiding” assets. You get the max PELL grant if your AGI is below a certain cutoff. No asset check done. It might be hard limit to fall under for people with a lot of taxable investments though. But shifting income for an early retiree is quite possible. For ’24/’25 the AGI cutoff for a two parent household of four is $48,563.
https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/202425DRAFTSAIGuideSupplementEligibilityforMaxorMinPellGrantResource.pdf
“To be conservative, I’m assuming a worst case scenario for college costs. This means no community college for two years first, no public university, no free grants, and no working while in school. My hope is that by assuming the worst, there will be upside.”
I don’t understand this way of thinking. You wouldn’t save for a high priced luxury car for your kids because they might want one when they come of age, right? I don’t see how spending on Ivy league colleges is much different. The rich do it I believe for status/social standing. And it feeds into the rampant nepotism in both college and later for employment. I guess that is called “networking” and maybe that is it? That is what you get for the additional cost? Perhaps I just don’t understand Ivy colleges. You even say how college likely isn’t worth it anymore.
IMO, most of the middle class doesn’t even consider ivy colleges (public or private) because of the additional cost when compared to an in-state public college. For instance, one of the higher cost public schools in my state shows total cost of attendance is $34,544 per year (23/24) including on/off campus housing and food. This is $138,176 for 4 years.
https://admit.washington.edu/costs/coa/
Thanks for the color. So no assets are needed to be reported at all? Fascinating.
Who said anything about Ivy League college? I already said my kids aren’t geniuses, so it’s unlikely they’ll get in.
I’m thinking of the second tier private universities like USC, BU, NYU. Even those are now almost impossible to get into.
Worst case scenario doesn’t mean getting into an Ivy.
How about you? How are you saving for college and where do you plan for your kids to go? I’d love to get more readers the points on what they are doing. Don’t be shy!
I have 3 kids and am saving for 4 years of the public school I mentioned. But I haven’t decided if I save 100%, 50%, or somewhere in between. 75% would encourage them to seek scholarships or work part time jobs to have some skin the game. And I want to give them options but if they want to go somewhere more expensive then they need to make it work out financially. Probably need a combination of working and loans. And many second tier or ivy leagues likely won’t be feasible.
Started 529’s when my kids were young with a vague intention of saving a bunch, then eventually settled on this as a do-able goal. First goal is to have 4 years of in-state room + board + tuition saved by approximately freshman year of high school. Then 4 years at an out of state school by approximately freshman year of college. Then if incomes and cost allow, private might be an option, by continuing to pay while they are in college. When they are a senior in high school, we can discuss, and they might need modest loans to do private school, but they will have choices (public school) that are free to them.
Sam, your numbers seem very high for most people. Today the average 4 year degree from a public university is $104,108 and between 2001-2021 (two decades) college inflation average 5% annually.
Using both of these, a child born today would need $250,548 to graduate with a bachelors degree from a public university. That’s about $750,000 less than your target number.
Perhaps a better question to think on is what’s the opportunity cost of a private college versus public university.
A hypothetical:
Child A: parents save diligently and pay $1,000,000 for a private college education.
Child B: parents save $250,000 for a public college education and invest the $750,000 into a vanilla S&P500 index fund the day the child is born for a graduation gift the day the child graduates college.
The results?
While kids get college degrees, Child B also has $6,105,206 in walking around money in his pocket on graduation day. If the child, now graduate, decides not to touch it it’ll be over 30 million at age 40.
Call me crazy, but if given the choice I’ll choose to be child B every time.
“Using both of these, a child born today would need $250,548 to graduate with a bachelors degree from a public university. That’s about $750,000 less than your target number.”
More like ~$500,000 less than my $750,000 target.
“Child B: parents save $250,000 for a public college education and invest the $750,000 into a vanilla S&P500 index fund the day the child is born for a graduation gift the day the child graduates college.
The results?
While kids get college degrees, Child B also has $6,105,206 in walking around money in his pocket on graduation day.”
Is this what you’ve done? I’m just trying to save and invest up to $750,000 by the year 2036 in the first place. I don’t have the $750,000 to start.
How much have you saved for college and what are your kids planning on doing?
Hi Sam,
We were blessed to have our second this year. We put 50k into her 529 account which based on projections above should cover college. We remain flexible and know planning 18 years in the future is just a best guess, we may contribute and we’re flexible with that.
Our plan now is to save and fund an Ira for the kids when there is additional funds we wish to pass down to them now rather then then risk over saving in a 529.
Hi Josh, congrats on #2.
What type of projections/assumptions do you have where $50K will grow to enough in 18 years?
My entire point of this post was that superfunding )$180,000 contribution this year,) is probably not enough.
I read your post but have a different opinion on assumptions.
My concerns are on:
1. The 10% penalty for over saving in a 529.
2. Opportunity cost of a private college.
We are saving for a 4 year public college degree. Our daughter was born in the last 4 months so we’re ball parking on 250k for public university. I posted the math above.
50k into a s&p500 gets us there in 18 years with average historical returns.
Lots of factors can change between now and then. Examples:
1. College could cost less. Current president is pursuing student loans forgiveness. What if a future president addresses tuition costs altogether and end up looking more like Canada or Europe?
2. Market can fluctuate and we may miss the mark.
Regardless we feel like putting any additional savings beyond a public 4 year degree into an IRA and then brokerage account gives us more flexibility for the unknowns.
Sounds good. I would budget to save closer to $360,000 for four years of public university in 18 years. The assumption is 4 years of a public university costs about $150,000 today using a 5% compound annual growth rate.
You can rollover $30,000 to a Roth IRA for kids if there is leftover 529 funds.
One last comment from me. In addition to risks of over saving in a 529 (10% penalty) is the opportunity cost of the private university.
“ Earnings are 14% better than at public research universities – a difference of $7,729 per year.”
You projected a private college will cost $1 million and I’m projecting a public university will cost $250k a difference of $750k. Just using the well known 4% rule you can get $30,000 in annual income from investing the savings from the public university, a 388% difference.
Not even factoring what you get if you invest the 750k in s&p500 and let it sit for 20, 30 or even 40 years.
Sam – thank you for another strong piece today (below).
A couple of ideas:
1: I cannot help but believe that “college” will look much different in 10 years – and hopefully – becomes more affordable (I am less sure about this aspect).
2: As one who has paid full freight for two undergrad educations and an MBA for our kids, you do not need to have the full amount on the first day of your oldest child’s college experience – you still have 3 additional years to save/invest/compound.
3: Your urgency around this topic is impressive – I love the intensity – wish others felt the same way. To many parents, paying for their child’s education is an after thought.
Thank you for all that you do.
Jim