Thanks so much for having me for this discussion, Nicole! I really enjoyed getting to read the other moms' answers. We all need to talk about money so much more, let's demystify all of this!
Happy birthday!!! Thank you for including me in this thoughtful discussion, I loved reading the other responses. I'm also enjoying the discourse in the comments and keeping this conversation going with people in my circle, too.
I enjoyed this conversation so much Nicole, but from the perspective of someone who has a new college graduate and another going into her junior year. So it was interesting to hear the approaches, the concerns, the anxiety about not knowing what college will cost in the future. I remember that anxiety really well. So many thoughts! Especially as I am about to pay for Fall tuition in a few days and it will end up being the most amount of money I have ever paid for anything. It is WILD.
As someone who is on the other side, I cannot stress enough how much compound interest will be on your side. We opened 529 accounts for both our kids at birth and contributed very modest sums at first. Just $50 a month. We never made a lot of money in our household (and we live in NYC, a high cost of living area), but even when we had huge expenses, or layoffs, etc. I stuck with the monthly contributions because I figured I could do $50 a month. Over the years I upped it incrementally to 100, 150, etc. until I hit about $400 a month for each as they entered high school which is where it stayed until they left for college. Even with market drops in 2008 and 2020, the magic of compound interest was beautiful. They each ended up having enough in their accounts for at least state universities (about $130k).
My oldest did go to a state university, so she was covered (and we have 9k leftover). My youngest is at a private college (yes, COA this year is at $95k), so we only had/have enough to cover 5 semesters. Her last 3 semesters I will have to use other assets. Private schools with large endowments gave us more aid than we anticipated. It was doable. The sticker shock of this year is that with the oldest out of college, our aid went down considerably. Something to keep in mind. Tuition does go up every year and financial aid does need to be applied to every year so that anxiety about what our bill will be returns! But at least I know what I'm dealing with, and that settles the anxiety. I just don't know how the rising costs will be sustainable. We already have some colleges crossing the 100k mark.
Anyway, if anyone has any questions to someone who is currently in the trenches let me know!
Jenna! For some reason Substack rudely did not notify me of any of the comments on this post and I am just now stumbling upon your incredibly generous and very, VERY helpful comment. What a gem this is, and is making me realize I can put small amounts aside at a time and it WILL add up. Thank you, thank you—I sense this community wants to hear more from you (and I do, too). Expect an email from me soon(ish). xx
Nicole, that's the point I wanted to make - small amounts do add up. It's about the habit of saving more than anything and also to make some smart decisions in how you invest, which does include being somewhat comfortable with risk. Merit scholarships, need-based financial aid is all very tricky and I have learned a lot. I will be very glad to be done with it as this is the last year I will be applying for financial aid within the next 8 months.
Interesting to read various perspectives on the post as well as in the comments. I always thought my kid would pay for school on their own/scholarships since I was a big believer that college is overrated. I’ve since changed my opinion and now believe that college is a right of passage not very dissimilar to high school a generation or two ago. We now have enough funds to pay for her future college(4 yr public and most pvt schools ) but constantly struggle with the question on whether it’s enough.
Fantastic post! I thought this was going to stress me out but it actually makes me feel relieved a bit. One commenter mentioned compound interest, and I really hope that pans out for my kids.
Thanks so much for sharing this. A few additional thoughts:
1) I wonder whether other parents feel as overwhelmed as I do by our inability to predict future college costs. Haley kind of addressed this, but it just blows my mind how much the cost of an education has increased since we were in school, and I don’t feel like we can accurately predict what it will look like in 10-20 years.
2) I worry about the pressure on kids surrounding college and was encouraged to see these parents discussing the importance of options. I grew up middle class and midwestern, and while most of my friends went to college, we weren’t test-prepping or choosing extracurriculars for the college apps. Where I live now, the vibe is…different. I want my kid to know that success doesn’t have to mean, like, the Ivy League.
I feel extremely unsure of where things are going. I do see more students leaning into trades lately, and I think that’s going to be more common (at least in the next five or so years). I also think community college partnerships with 4 year universities will be more appealing in the next few years. College can be awesome, but it’s not for everyone and it shouldn’t be a financial burden. I love what you said about having a definition of success that isn’t just the Ivies — your kid will be so lucky to have you when they’re discerning their next steps.
RIGHT! When our financial advisor told us how much we would need to "budget" to cover college at the current rate of things we were mind blown. I definitely agree that we are not going to be able to predict what this cost actually looks like, and that's definitely a big worry for us.
Happy Birthday! And I really enjoyed this post. I read every word. The topic of college savings has kept me up at night more than I’d like to admit. My husband and I were both incredibly lucky to have college paid for by our parents. We really want to give that to our children, but it just seems totally impossible with our income + inflation + higher education rising costs. I did get some ideas and notes from everyone here. Thanks for writing!
Thank you for having this conversation! To make anyone feel better my husband and I have not started a 529 for our son and have 0$ towards his “college funds”!
This is actually after meeting with a financial advisor who has working towards different goals at the moment. My husband has such a different mindset towards university. He went to trade school in Europe for fashion and design for FREEEEEE.
Thank you for this discussion Nicole! This is an incredibly important topic and IMO not talked about openly. It's comforting to know I'm not alone in this and many of us are in the same boat. The cost of childcare seems to be the common denominator for many of us.
Thank you so much for creating this resource, Nicole! I, too, have saved $0 toward college funds. We're focused on saving for a move and upcoming childcare costs, but I learned so much about how we might start saving once things settle down in a few years.
Love this! Been wondering what the culture around college will be in 18 years and I love how much more open minded these moms seem than the parents of my generation. I have a 2 month old!
Curious your process for a Substack interview too! I have an idea for one in mind. Was this a zoom call that you took notes on? The group setting must have been an enjoyable one
Thanks so much for having me for this discussion, Nicole! I really enjoyed getting to read the other moms' answers. We all need to talk about money so much more, let's demystify all of this!
Happy birthday!!! Thank you for including me in this thoughtful discussion, I loved reading the other responses. I'm also enjoying the discourse in the comments and keeping this conversation going with people in my circle, too.
Happy birthday!!! and thanks for including me, I loved reading the other answers
Happy Birthday Nicole!!
Thanks for this conversation — we need to be talking more about this with each other (and our kids, eventually).
I enjoyed this conversation so much Nicole, but from the perspective of someone who has a new college graduate and another going into her junior year. So it was interesting to hear the approaches, the concerns, the anxiety about not knowing what college will cost in the future. I remember that anxiety really well. So many thoughts! Especially as I am about to pay for Fall tuition in a few days and it will end up being the most amount of money I have ever paid for anything. It is WILD.
As someone who is on the other side, I cannot stress enough how much compound interest will be on your side. We opened 529 accounts for both our kids at birth and contributed very modest sums at first. Just $50 a month. We never made a lot of money in our household (and we live in NYC, a high cost of living area), but even when we had huge expenses, or layoffs, etc. I stuck with the monthly contributions because I figured I could do $50 a month. Over the years I upped it incrementally to 100, 150, etc. until I hit about $400 a month for each as they entered high school which is where it stayed until they left for college. Even with market drops in 2008 and 2020, the magic of compound interest was beautiful. They each ended up having enough in their accounts for at least state universities (about $130k).
My oldest did go to a state university, so she was covered (and we have 9k leftover). My youngest is at a private college (yes, COA this year is at $95k), so we only had/have enough to cover 5 semesters. Her last 3 semesters I will have to use other assets. Private schools with large endowments gave us more aid than we anticipated. It was doable. The sticker shock of this year is that with the oldest out of college, our aid went down considerably. Something to keep in mind. Tuition does go up every year and financial aid does need to be applied to every year so that anxiety about what our bill will be returns! But at least I know what I'm dealing with, and that settles the anxiety. I just don't know how the rising costs will be sustainable. We already have some colleges crossing the 100k mark.
Anyway, if anyone has any questions to someone who is currently in the trenches let me know!
Jenna! For some reason Substack rudely did not notify me of any of the comments on this post and I am just now stumbling upon your incredibly generous and very, VERY helpful comment. What a gem this is, and is making me realize I can put small amounts aside at a time and it WILL add up. Thank you, thank you—I sense this community wants to hear more from you (and I do, too). Expect an email from me soon(ish). xx
Nicole, that's the point I wanted to make - small amounts do add up. It's about the habit of saving more than anything and also to make some smart decisions in how you invest, which does include being somewhat comfortable with risk. Merit scholarships, need-based financial aid is all very tricky and I have learned a lot. I will be very glad to be done with it as this is the last year I will be applying for financial aid within the next 8 months.
Interesting to read various perspectives on the post as well as in the comments. I always thought my kid would pay for school on their own/scholarships since I was a big believer that college is overrated. I’ve since changed my opinion and now believe that college is a right of passage not very dissimilar to high school a generation or two ago. We now have enough funds to pay for her future college(4 yr public and most pvt schools ) but constantly struggle with the question on whether it’s enough.
This was all so valuable, thank you ladies! Really appreciate all of the perspectives here! 👏👏👏
Fantastic post! I thought this was going to stress me out but it actually makes me feel relieved a bit. One commenter mentioned compound interest, and I really hope that pans out for my kids.
This makes me so happy!
Thanks so much for sharing this. A few additional thoughts:
1) I wonder whether other parents feel as overwhelmed as I do by our inability to predict future college costs. Haley kind of addressed this, but it just blows my mind how much the cost of an education has increased since we were in school, and I don’t feel like we can accurately predict what it will look like in 10-20 years.
2) I worry about the pressure on kids surrounding college and was encouraged to see these parents discussing the importance of options. I grew up middle class and midwestern, and while most of my friends went to college, we weren’t test-prepping or choosing extracurriculars for the college apps. Where I live now, the vibe is…different. I want my kid to know that success doesn’t have to mean, like, the Ivy League.
I feel extremely unsure of where things are going. I do see more students leaning into trades lately, and I think that’s going to be more common (at least in the next five or so years). I also think community college partnerships with 4 year universities will be more appealing in the next few years. College can be awesome, but it’s not for everyone and it shouldn’t be a financial burden. I love what you said about having a definition of success that isn’t just the Ivies — your kid will be so lucky to have you when they’re discerning their next steps.
RIGHT! When our financial advisor told us how much we would need to "budget" to cover college at the current rate of things we were mind blown. I definitely agree that we are not going to be able to predict what this cost actually looks like, and that's definitely a big worry for us.
Also grew up in the Midwest where we took the ACT, not the SAT lol!
Happy Birthday! And I really enjoyed this post. I read every word. The topic of college savings has kept me up at night more than I’d like to admit. My husband and I were both incredibly lucky to have college paid for by our parents. We really want to give that to our children, but it just seems totally impossible with our income + inflation + higher education rising costs. I did get some ideas and notes from everyone here. Thanks for writing!
SO glad you found your way here <3
Thank you for having this conversation! To make anyone feel better my husband and I have not started a 529 for our son and have 0$ towards his “college funds”!
This is actually after meeting with a financial advisor who has working towards different goals at the moment. My husband has such a different mindset towards university. He went to trade school in Europe for fashion and design for FREEEEEE.
Why is European EVERYTHING better!!
Seriously!!
Thank you for this discussion Nicole! This is an incredibly important topic and IMO not talked about openly. It's comforting to know I'm not alone in this and many of us are in the same boat. The cost of childcare seems to be the common denominator for many of us.
Thank you so much for creating this resource, Nicole! I, too, have saved $0 toward college funds. We're focused on saving for a move and upcoming childcare costs, but I learned so much about how we might start saving once things settle down in a few years.
p.s. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!
Love this! Been wondering what the culture around college will be in 18 years and I love how much more open minded these moms seem than the parents of my generation. I have a 2 month old!
Curious your process for a Substack interview too! I have an idea for one in mind. Was this a zoom call that you took notes on? The group setting must have been an enjoyable one
So happy to have you here! I actually conducted this via email and a Google doc!!! But I've also done transcribed Google Meets in the past :)
Oh wow it really reads like a live call!
such an important topic that is not talked about enough! i love hearing everyone's perspective on this. thank you!
Loved this, team 529. Love me some financially responsible queens.