Money Matters - Part 11

Yep, Sally. We've seen too how all the colleges have some kind of discretion, with little to guarantee the same from year to year. What does it really mean if they promise to meet 97% of demonstrated financial need? The policies and formulas are easily manipulated, and tuition can always go up. It is hard for us to say, no we can't actually afford the big Jesuit colleges for freshman year because their endowments are so depleted. If it's important enough, we say go to the state school for one year.

There's an atmosphere of fear about college costs relative to the economy, except the parents of Division 1 and 2 athletes. I know of lots of talented kids who weren't accepted into the state flagship universities because of the large numbers of applicants. All the New England schools said they had record numbers and record scores this year, and the numbers going to the most selective schools from our high school and from the other high schools in the region have all reduced in one year.

We're hoping our language oriented DD1 makes a good financial decision. DD2 who wants medical school has a reason to consider a more intimate college setting to do research, also considering her temperament, so her selection looks to be a little more costly than state megaversities, but she's working very hard to find employment too. DS found the college listed by the economics research think tanks as the "Best value school in engineering in New England." The other best value school in engineering was---Harvard. We're very proud of his judgment to go to Lowell, since now he's completely free to gain a deeper understanding of calculus without distraction.

Kids don't understand about procrastinating on airline reservations either. This is perhaps one of the most stressful times in our lives.

I look at all the soccer fields full of littel kids and wonder which one in ten thousand? is going to play up to college, and if the kid enjoys it.

Gee Rosemary- after all college only IS the most important single thing in life...Just teasing of course, it IS important, can't be denied, yet there will be many years of life and many possible major events to come, after " the next year of life as a college freshman." It's hard to decide on perspective.
I'm glad you said its very stressful; that explains why we feel so stressed... A lot of life changes in the family at this phase.
Choose your credit cards with an eye to reaping mega rewards with tuition payments.

Yep, stress. I'm out in the garden whenever possible, getting "grounded." I have heard too many stories of families who pursued the expensive college, then had health crises, or their basement flooded and the mold caused asthma, and insurance wouldn't cover it, or their child decided to be teacher and had to go back to the state college anyway, etc etc.

Ugh - was just told my the accountant we will be owing a couple hundred dollars for both Fed and NYS this year. Normally, no biggie, but was expecting a refund given the past two years with this acct. He has been bad in estimating the quarterlies. But quick look just at the tax owed and what we paid and I immediately found errors! Now I will have to check the past two years. Basic mistakes that should not be made. I have always done my own taxes but figured it would be wise to let him do it when my wife became a partner. Figured he would know more deductions, etc. Geeze.

How frustrating and a huge error on the "professional" part

Ugh, so annoying!!!

Saw $4.19 here yesterday!!

Gas down a few cents here
?????

Down 1¢ here yesterday; haven't been out today to see if it's gone up again, and probably more.

it's $3.59 here. I don't think that will stay long.

I think it's $4.25 for the lowest octane stuff here.

The U.S. debt is higher than that of the entire Eurozone plus the UK. Incredible.

I drove up to the next town today (~40 miles away), my monthly trip to get cream for my coffee. Only place besides a cow that I know of to get cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized. Anyway, I got a smidgen of gas for $3.75; didn't have enough $ to fill up. sigh.

Best and worst jobs list.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303772904577336230132805276.html?mod=e2tw

Actuary?!! Zzzzzzz.

Duh - I realized the acct did not make a mistake. I did! (Good thing he does them now. ^_^) Sucks to owe AND have to pay the quarterlies at the same time.

Been there, done that on owing & paying the quarterly tax. Yeouch!
Oh well... if we didn't make money, we wouldn't have to pay money.

$3.85 per gal here...

$3.80 here in Texas

Podiatrist? Yuck.
Janitor is somewhat ABOVE chld care worker. I beleive I was both when my kids were little...

All of the above for parents!

Well Apple is going to get slapped with an anti-trust suit over their contracts "favored nation" status with publishers of e-books. Favored Nation means that they get the (at most) lowest price the publisher charges anyone else. Their stock is up today.

is there anything that doesn't send Apple stock up? sheesh

What's another 7 trillion among friends?

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/04/11/imf-warns-u-s-underestimates-costs-of-citizens-living-longer/?mod=e2tw

Unemployment numbers.

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2012/04/12/the-true-unemployment-rate-try-12/?mod=e2tw

Love the fact that there has to be a "true" report and the report that the government puts out


Reading label on my daughter's toothpaste "made in china" WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!!!!!

ack Jen! you musta been unwell the day that slipped into your shopping cart.

I would throw that away! I ended up not spending $20 of my weekly allotment and then I remembered that I had to charge my train fare into NYC Saturday night - so I actually came out even. I was so excited...

The Federal Stafford student loan comes in two types. Subsidized and unsubsidized. On one of them, we pay a 1 % fee to start, then no payments due or interest acccrued until graduation. Thats three years in this case. So if we feel confident we can repay right away at that time, why not? Very cheap loan. Unless we are missing some detail. We'd be happy to keep the 44oo dollars in our investments/ college savings plan longer.

Well once again I donated more to charity than the cheap vice president.

Haven't had a chance to keep up with this thread, but I thought this was too interesting not to share.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mega-millionaires--big-tax-bills.html

Karen

Sally, I consulted a financial advisor. They thought it was better to take the subsudized and the unsubsudized Stafford loans. It's also about getting credit histories started. I haven't learned much yet about Perkins or the other loans. This I know-- I'm not getting a Parents Plus loan, no matter how much a kid is in love with a college.

The colleges we're asking to review the package are telling us the review results will be with plenty of time to decide to enroll or not. I'll be traveling day trips and then a five day college tour at the end of next week. We parents are renting a car to drive it to the Jet Blue cities when we do fly.

Thanks Rosemary. So the student gets the credit history? We've just done credit cards to get them started and for convenience (and because neither is crazy enough to overspend) I haven't heard specifically about the other loans. Upromise (remember that, I joined when it was new and have made $89 dollars. ) Upromise send emails about loans through Sallie Mae that sound like Stafford on surface but seem to be different in rate etc. No thanks.

Karen- very interesting. And 'they' say the rich don't pay their fair share?
But , it assumed you give 50 million away to family. And it also said lump sum is the only sane choice? Why? I would take payments. What could be better than knowing you're getting a huge payday every year for 20 years? Still the taxes on that were something else.

victor- our VP--whats his name? Haven't seen peep outta him in ages LOL

Stafford loans are in the student's name, so they get the credit history, and ultimately the responsibility. I would be leary about most others, and I just haven't learned yet if any others are OK, though if we accept a college with Perkins loans we'll investigate that. Some colleges gave our kids work study (didn't say they were federal) and some did not, but we'd like to get that for sure also. We aren't going the credit card route, but giving our kids their spending money through a credit union with a debit card. That way we know they have to pay attention to money.

The megamillions post was interesting, Karen. When you see the figures, it becomes clear how so many jackpot winners go bankrupt. I'd take the annuity too, and that way spread out the taxes and stay disciplined and know I had retirement income. Don't annuities transfer easily when one passes on?

Rosemary, I wonder how they guarantee federal work study if one accepts it. So is that 'makework' the school has to make available? HAve you also noticed that often your first calls to various school offices seem to be staffed by (knowledgeable, capable) student age people?

I'm guessing the sort of people that play lottery most, therefore win most often, are the sort not to make the annuity decision either. Now forgive me if I seem to have profiled lottery players.

Yep, the very people who answer financial aid calls are sometimes the work study students. When we have visited, several also have said giving college tours was part of work study. I don't think all of the work study offers are federal, either. Some schools put a lot of kids to work. Some colleges claim a 100% demonstrated financial need met goal, but others don't. Anything federal is in the hands of the government, of course.

I will start a new thread.

New.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1252349/

Oops. Sorry. Thanks, Jen!

no problem