am i being fair to my daughters? i told them i would support them...

[ForteKitty]

I had a lot in scholarships and grant money, so my entire school loan was only $21K (subsidized, no interest until 6 months after graduation). It covered all of my living expenses as well, so I didn''t really have to work. I got bored so I got a job anyway... worked part time while going to school. All that money went to savings. Graduated, and paid off my loans in a lump sum. My mom didn''t have to pay for a cent of my education, so she bought me lots of diamonds.

 

[Sparkster]

Date: 3/13/2005 4:10:52 AM
Author:Dancing Fire
through college(if they make it

) and pay their tuition,no... i''m not gonna kick them out of the house after graduation but,i expect them to find a job so they can support themself.

In my last two years of high school, I worked as a check out chick to earn extra money. By that time, my mother had retired and was on a pension. It was never expected of me but I helped my mum out by paying board. I didn''t go to Uni but went to TAFE (technical and further education) instead. During this time, I was living off Austudy (grant for poorer families so they could continue their education). If I had gone to Uni, there was no way that my mother could have helped me pay for my education. I stayed at home until I was 26 and by that time had been working for 5 years - during which time I paid board to my mum. I wouldn''t have dared expect mum to pay for my living expenses when I had a job - I did not want to be sponger.

In Australia, you can either pay upfront for your uni degree or pay it off by HECS (higher education contribution scheme) whereby you pay nothing up front. When you get a job and earn over a certain amount (I know know what the figure is) you start paying extra taxes to cover the fees.

If parents can afford to and if they want to, then by all means, pay for it if they want to. But I don''t think that parents should have to go into debt to do so.

 

[Blue824]

I think that is a great way to support your children. They will graduate with out loans and not have that added stress of rushing into a job they dislike!

My parents paid for virtually everything while I was in college, and after I graduated I moved back home (like most of my friends actually). I know they don't regret anything. Some people just aren't in that position, and while I grew up rather naive about money, when I went away to college I met people from all backgrounds that made me really respect my parents and the work they did to provide the opportunities I had...studying abroad twice, unpaid internships, etc. and after graduation I wasn't forced to rush into a job I disliked because I did not have loans or a rent to worry about. I had many friends wish their parents supported them more during college, sometimes work had to take precedence to class because they needed to earn money for food. I think the problems come when people take it for granted.

 

[JCJD]

Date: 3/14/2005 7:32:14 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
2 summers ago my older daughter (16 yrs old) earned like $4000 so i kept 3k and i was gonna open a roth IRA account for her but, i was told you can''t open a roth for a minor

got to teach them about financial planning early in life.

My dad DID open a Roth IRA for me when I was 17. My sister''s actually still claims she is a minor (she''s now 21) although she''s tried to get it changed for several years... I didn''t fully understand what in the world the IRA was or would mean for my future, but now (I''m 23) I am so glad my dad chose to do it! Everyone should!! The amount of interest I''ll have acrued (sp??) from that initial investment alone by the time I turn 60 is mind boggling!

 

[mostlywatching]

The state I went to school in has a WONDERFUL program called the HOPE scholarship, which, for those of you unfamiliar with it, uses money made from local lotteries to pay tuition and a small book allowance to for students that kept a "B" or 3.0 GPA.

For a state school, full tuition would be paid. For a private school. the scholarship topped out at $2000. This enables a LOT of smart kids whose parents could not afford college a chance to go to school.

My mom didn''t have the money to offer to pay my tuition, but she did offer to take out a loan for me. I absolutely would not let her do that, so I took out federal loans to cover my housing and had part time jobs to cover groceries and entertainment etc.

I knew a lot of people whose parents paid for EVERYTHING and this is not the way to go. Those kids had no respect for the money and no responsibility with it either. As a parent you want to do everything you can for your kids, but giving them everything isn''t always the way to do it.

A child is lucky if they can escape college with no debt, but I don''t think anyone should be given a completely free ride while away at school.

As for after graduation, I moved right back home, because with all the hoopla surrounding graduation, there was no time to find my own place. I did move back on the condition that it was temporary until I got a job and found a place. I paid for all my own expenses while back at home. I think it''s fine to offer your kids some ahort-term assistance with the transition from school to workforce.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 3/15/2005 10:12:21 AM
Author: JCJD

Date: 3/14/2005 7:32:14 PM
Author: Dancing Fire
2 summers ago my older daughter (16 yrs old) earned like $4000 so i kept 3k and i was gonna open a roth IRA account for her but, i was told you can''t open a roth for a minor

got to teach them about financial planning early in life.

My dad DID open a Roth IRA for me when I was 17. My sister''s actually still claims she is a minor (she''s now 21) although she''s tried to get it changed for several years... I didn''t fully understand what in the world the IRA was or would mean for my future, but now (I''m 23) I am so glad my dad chose to do it! Everyone should!! The amount of interest I''ll have acrued (sp??) from that initial investment alone by the time I turn 60 is mind boggling!

i try to open an Roth IRA trading account with ameritrade but i was told i can''t do it for a minor.

now that shes an adult but no earned income from 2004 so i still can''t do it.

 

[mellyjm]

I have been in college for 6 years. I''ve been to two different universities, and I have paid for it all on loans and small scholarships. The first university I went to was out of town from both of my parents (whom are divorced), so I got a job my second semester of my first year. I have stayed with the same company since then. I moved about a year ago to live with my mom because I started pharmacy school. I still have my job and pay for everything, books, tuition, car insurance, and anything else I need. I even pay rent to my mom. Of course she buys all the groceries and cooks me dinner, which I am so grateful for. My first semester of pharmacy school I still worked and even made the Deans list. I am glad that my parents have not really paid for anything for me, but at the same time it would have been awesome to have them pay for tuition! I know that I am going to have to pay back some hefty loans, but then again I will graduate with my Pharm.D degree and should be able to pay them back and still have money left over at the end of the month!