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Home > Snowflake, Repair & College Thoughts

Snowflake, Repair & College Thoughts

February 27th, 2014 at 04:10 pm

The Swagbucks and Pinecone snowflakes arrived in our checking account. Is it me or is Paypal getting quicker at sending money? I have already scheduled this $28 to go to the mortgage principal. Less debt!!

So that washing machine part arrived today. I did a load yesterday and no leaking occurred after. Well maybe a slight drip or two. I'm doing another load now. I wonder if all that dripping the other day was a fluke? I don't want to spend time and money replacing the part if it isn't necessary. We won't get to the part replacement until this weekend, so I have some time to contemplate it.

We are making plans to visit a college in another state over spring break. My daughter has some interest in it. Since she is a Junior this year, it is time to start looking. I attended this institution for two year but transferred to another city, same state and university system to complete. A little looking shows that my graduation, her ACT score (29) and GPA (4.0) might make her eligible for a large scholarship that would easily reduce tuition to the in state amount. My husband also has Post 911 GI bill benefits that could be used for her as well.

I think it would be best to use the GI bill benefits for our older daughter, as you never know when the benefit could be pulled or changed. I think it could virtually make her college cost zero. We then could transfer what we have saved in her ESA to her sister. Right now we have over $30K saved between the two of them. Our youngest daughter won't go to college until Fall 2018, so we have over 4 years to continue to save and for that money to grow.

My best friends son, who is a senior, just decided to attend a private school. His grades are high, but ACT was 24. The school did offer some grants and reductions in tuition. In fact, because they waiting awhile to decide the school actually offered MORE money. My friend and her husband will take out a parent PLUS loan and their son will take out the maximum student loan allowed of $5500. I think that makes their portion around $20K for ONE year. My friend said he will work all summer and have to apply all his earnings to reduce the amount of their portion. They are putting their son on notice that this is a one year trial basis. If he isn't accountable, they won't pay for this private college. Considering they are still paying on her husband's college at the tune of over $600 per month, I'm amazed they are taking on more debt. Although I shouldn't be. They finance EVERYTHING! But they do both work full time and also have part time work as well, so they do seem to make it work.

We expect my husband to get promoted this year. I expect that extra income will help us with the college costs when the time comes. I hope this allows us to at least cash flow the room and board portion of college.

It feels good to be on track to handle college. Are you saving for your child's college? Did you help them with college tuition? If so, did you take out loans or cash flow the cost?

5 Responses to “Snowflake, Repair & College Thoughts”

  1. wife of the deacon Says:
    1393518250


    College. That is a scary thing to think about. My oldest is a sophomore and the college info is already rolling in. She has a 3.7 (and isn't happy about being below a 4.0 - she has AP World History, Honors English and Chemistry - next year more AP and Honors classes, though she will be dropping Honors Physics). She's going to attend a youth leadership program this summer for science college credit through George Mason University, and has already defrayed her high school tuition with scholarships. Her braces are coming off, so she's been told she can make about $325 an hour in Chicago modeling, and if she's lucky enough to go to New York for fashion week that is major money. We're in a quandary about her money and our money and how it will all pan out.

    I hope that your college visit goes well! Sounds like you've got a good plan in place.

  2. NJDebbie Says:
    1393518287

    We cash flowed DS#1's college tuition. He chose to go to our community college (considered to be one of the best in the state) and then he applied for admission to a state university nearby and commuted. My son never wanted to dorm at school so that saved lots of money. In all, we spent close to $50K; he was responsible for textbooks and parking fees, gas money, etc.

  3. creditcardfree Says:
    1393518697

    I think my daughter actually would like to live at home if she could and maybe that option will come up. I've mentioned the community college, but she wants to do march band and we know most community colleges don't have those! It will be interesting to see what ends up happening for her.

    @wife, my daughter is definitely eligible for AP classes, but didn't really want the stress of them after we moved. She will take AP English next year though. She easily could have taken AP History this year. She has taken three dual credit classes, so she already has college credit we didn't have to pay for and she didn't need to stress!

  4. OldAndInTheWay Says:
    1393528828

    Well my situation is a bit different that most. I have 13 kids. 1 is done college, including her Master's and is working in her profession and doing great. She is also married and they bought a nice foreclosure in our town.
    The next 4 kids are in college now. 2 graduate this May. 1 of them will be starting Grad school right away for Physical Therapy. The other is job-seeking.
    How we do it:
    We don't. Our kids basically do it all. They get grants, scholarships and other aid. And all of them have been working since they were 12. Grass cutting and babysitting at first then real jobs when they get to be 14 or 15. I should mention that my kids are homeschooled and there are LOTS of chances to make money during the school day. Mainly babysitting, dog-walking and nanny type work.
    All my kids have graduated debt free, we don't do student loans. This will change for the one that is starting Physical Therapy school. Even though its an instate-school its still $$$.
    All the college kids go to community college for the first 2 years, it works out to be free cause its: cheap and they get scholarships and aid.
    After community college they then transfer to an in-state 4 year school. Some live at home and commute. Those that go further away rent a dump with some friends and get buy. They all work during the school year and work a few part-time jobs in the summer.
    So far so good.
    They also pay for their own cars, gas, insurance, cell phones etc...

  5. snafu Says:
    1393544638

    We are nearly at the opposite end of that spectrum as we will celebrate DSs 1 & 2 completing university at convocation in May. DS2 will have a small SL that he believes he can clear in 18 months. Both DSs are entrepreneurial at heart and found ways to earn money since participating in a government sponsored entrepreneurial program in middle school. They started researching awards, bursaries, grants, scholarships as sophomores and discovered there is an incredible amount of funding available. Many are small amounts but cumulatively they are significant for a reasonable amount of effort. The unanticipated benefit was the experience gained researching, applying and interviewing for financial assistance.

    DSs both have part time jobs while in school, full time during summer and major holidays. We've agreed to this primarily
    because it forces them to learn to prioritize and manage their time so that deadlines are met and they have invested some 'sweat equity.' DSs have a MF that was started by their grandparents when they were infants. It's quite substantial and they use sums as needed.

    I acknowledge that since DH and I both are professors/lecturers we are often disappointed by students who are so smart but decline to do the work. If there is a good [2 yr. general studies program] community college some students will benefit from identifying a career they care about. I don't mean it to sound sexist but some boys aren't mature enough to take on the independent, uncaring world of a large university fresh from high school. The catch is to make sure that the Community College's general studies program is totally transferable to University.

    sorry for being so wordy

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