We went to a high school graduation party on Saturday night for our neighbor’s son. Grad parties are a really big deal in Minnesota in late-May & early-June. We have another one next weekend. At this grad party, a neighbor and I were talking about kids and how to effectively launch them into the world of adult finances. He has one daughter graduating now and … Continue reading Launching Graduates
We are very proud of our son who graduated from college this past weekend with his degree in computer science. He finished ‘on-time’ – completing his studies 4 years after first walking through these arches as a Freshman. He’s all set to start working a week from today as a software/web developer at a local software company. He interned there last summer and got a … Continue reading Post-College ‘Raise’?
University classes started for my son last week and today we went into his 529 College Savings Plan to transfer money to the college for his tuition. Surprise – after paying for his Fall Semester’s tuition, the account is now empty! We started saving for his college tuition when he was just a baby, so this is a pretty big personal finance milestone. Other than … Continue reading College Savings Completely Spent
One of the many ‘rules’ most financial experts advise is saving for your own retirement before saving for your kids’ post-secondary education. The idea is like when you are on a plane – you should put on your own oxygen mask before helping your little ones with theirs. The curiously paradoxical thing about this financial advice is that no one I have ever met seems … Continue reading Save For Retirement Before College?
We dropped our son off at college yesterday to start his sophomore year. Naturally, I am reflective this morning about him and his adventures. He really had a productive summer. He worked part-time at a retail store and took three summer classes to get ahead on his Bachelor’s degree. My wife an I were astounded at how responsible he is. We met when we were … Continue reading FIRE Station Fun – Back To Campus
Well, it looks like “the Boy” – our seventeen year-old son is set for where he wants to go to college. I’ve written before on the cost of college, but wanted to share a little bit about how we have saved & planned for his matriculation into post-secondary education. Many people can’t conceive of retiring before your kids are done with college, but I feel confident that we are well set in that department. How did we do it? Continue reading “Retire Before Children Head Off To College?”
My son is a junior in high school and starting to look at colleges. He’s a smart, thoughtful kid who doesn’t seem to be stressing too much about where he goes off to school. At the same time, since my DW and I have been good savers in the 529 plan we set up for him when he was little, we’re not too stressed about … Continue reading The College Paradox
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