paying for your kids' college and/or car?

[jred321]

are you planning to pay for your kids to go to school? are you going to buy them a car when they turn 16? discuss.



my personal thoughts are unless i'm making $250k+/year that i'm not paying for either. i may help out but not pay for

 

[LEXi73]

well since i was young i have had a college account that gets a deposit each year since i was born. The money was invested and it ended helping my out greatly! i will probly help buy a car but put more emphasis on school.

 

[crispixoo7]

i'm 21 and a struggling student/employee...welcome to real-life.

kids will never learn if they have everything given to them.

My plan for when i have kids is to teach them that they must fend for themselves...but if they absolutely can't, or if they're going through hard times...i'll be there for them.

 

[BradC]

Car? Not unless I am living debt-free (maybe a mortgage payment) and it would still be a piece of s*** for their first car.

College? Again, most likely no unless I have no debt. The money would be better spent to pay down higher intrest debt. They can get a student loan at a very low APR, as opposed to whatever I would owe at that point in life.

Ideally though, I could afford to do both!

 

[vindication]

well as long as they deserve it than I will. It's a european thing. Just like my parents who pay my insurance and my college tuition. I paid for car but that's about it. As long as the kid deserves it than I see why not, after all you are parents and are supposed to help your offspring.

 

[Katya4me]

I paid for most of my college myself and my parents bought me a $3K car to get me thru college since I commuted. My brother moved out after high school and he got nothing. I would probably do the same if I had kids, if they go to school, they get a cheap reliable car.

 

[GrandBelialKey]

I just plan on doing better for my kids than my mother was able to do for me (ya cant give what ya aint got)

 

[gapeachsp5]

Well I plan to stay in Georgia, so hopefully the HOPE scholarship, or something of the like, will still be in effect by the time I have college-age kids. (As long as you keep a 3.0, public in-state tuition is paid.) If that isn't an option, I'd help them out as long as they were in college. I'm not helping out a deadbeat. lol. That sounds awful.

As for a car, my mom bought me a car at 16, a $4000 MX-6. I don't see any harm in buying your child a car, but I don't see spending more than 20 grand on something they have a huge likelihood of trashing, and they need to learn the value of money.

 

[kickniteasy]

I'll prob. give my kid whatever car I'm driving at the time and use it as an excuse to upgrade (glare) . I'll start a college fund for sure but I'm going to be a teacher so I won't have the funds to pay for it all I'm sure. Hopefully all the hanging around the college of medicine will pay off though and I'll snag a sugar mama =). I got my protege because I got a full ride to FSU so my rents/grandparents used some of the money they were both saving for my college to buy me a car that would make it from NE to FL and whatever other road trips needed to be made. Plus they wanted me to have something under warranty since I was living at the dorms and wouldn't have anywhere to work on the car. I'm very grateful for what I've been given/earned (scholarships) and I hope my kid is fortunate enough to realize that buckling down in highschool pays off big time when schalarship time roles around.

 

[nazgul350r]

Using the florida pre-paid plan. Then when graduated we will see about the car

 

[kickniteasy]

Florida Bright Futures......ftw!

 

[peepsalot]

Pay for college and a POS beater. They can buy their own nicer car when they are ready. I was lucky enough to have my parents do this, and I'd try to do the same, assuming I ever have kids.

My parents were never what I would consider rich, but they were very smart with their money. They prepared and put money into stocks for my education since I was born. I remember as a child I once earned a $20 bill for some reason. I was excited and showed it to my dad. He took it from my hands and told me it was going into my stocks. Many gifts I got for holidays and such were simply a card saying that money was added to my stocks. Or sometimes my grandparents would send me a check for my birthday, guess where it would go. Ah, bittersweet memories.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

(werd)

I would pay for both cuz I dont think a kid should have to worry about paying for school or what they have to get around. Im not saying I'd get them a bimmer but I wouldnt get them a POS. I would definetly want them to have something reliable & safe. My only thing would be the same as my parents did to me...if they want to drive they have to get a part time job to pay for gas/car insurance

Florida Bright Futures......ftw!

 

[theDRIZZLE]

Its fun being a broke college student! im joking. i dont pay for college cause of the hope scholarship and i got a job for everything else.

 

[98b/w pro]

I'd like to not kick my kids out of the house with nothing after achiving a 4.2 weighted GPA in H/S but thats me.And I'm bitter. But I'm poor to. They'll atleast get a honda and comunity college on my buck.

 

[mixmaster_matt]

my parents bought me a pos car in high school, and it got me to senior year. But since I had a very good paying job as a senior, i didn't worry about money from my parents for community college or my mazda. then I moved to south florida, and finished up school down here and paid for it with student loans. I would hope my kids do the same, i will help when needed but they are going to be paying for the majority of school. Unless I am really really financially secure by then.

 

[Chiguy_2002]

I think I would pay for college and help with the car, or get an inexpensive car. The kid would not be spoiled. They would have to work part time to help pay for the car. Student loans will be an option...

 

[txrxs]

my personal thoughts are unless i'm making $250k+/year that i'm not paying for either. i may help out but not pay for

Thats extremely selfish. I have no idea how old you are or weither or not you have kids. But you drive a car that is considered a car of excess. If you would rather have nice stuff for yourself over providing for your kids that's ****** up. First cars are cheap, mine was $400 and lasted 3 years. College on the other hand isn't cheap, but i dont think in any way should your kid be limited in his education because of money.

 

[ZoomVT]

i'll be paying for college tuition for the first few years. If he is an A student, i'll pay for the 4 years. If he is going to be a doctor or lawyer i would help with tuition too. Education is something you cannot deny your kids, it is their future and their livelihood. It is your responsibility as a parent to educate them and give them the opportunity to improve themselves. Plus it is a gift that keeps giving, and it will be an investment with a great return when you retire with no SS but your kid can afford to maintain you.
The car on the other hand would depend on the kid. I wouldnt get them anything expensive or new and i would make hiim work for it. Or if he doestn work because he is studying and getting As and he is a good kid i have no problem paying for it.

 

[freekwonder]

I plan to help my son as much as I can. My wife and I are already putting money to the side for our son when he goes to college. When he turns 18 he will have three choices.
a. Join the Military.
b. go atleast 3/4 time at a community college
c. get the **** out of my house

We will help him as much as we can, we may not pay for the full school, but with the money we are putting away now, he would be able to get a part time job and have some money to live off of. He needs to learn responsablity some how. but I will help so he doesn't have to have $50,000 in school likes (like me, since my parents couldn't help me)

as for a car, i plan to buy my son a car when he turns 14 or 15. Because its going to be a peice of s*** that he will have to work on for 2 years to make it run right and look right. So he will have more respect for it and take responsability for it. Plus it gives me a chance to teach him the ways of the
Garage Gods.