Posted on 12/17/2004 12:15:42 PM PST by Constitutionalist Conservative
Try this on for size. You’re seventy five years old. You live in the comfy home you’ve always lived in. You play golf in good weather. In bad weather, you travel to where it’s warm and sunny. When your grandchildren call, you take them out on the lake in your new boat. Your wife takes classes in the local college and paints. This is your life in retirement and it’s everything you always hoped and dreamed it would be.
Or, try this scenario: you are seventy-five years old. You live in a tiny apartment with the smell of boiled cabbage and noisy neighbors all around. You live in a scary neighborhood and you dare not go out after dark. Eating at restaurants is just a dream. Your apartment is too small to have your kids or grand kids visit. If you get sick and you have to spend time in nursing care, you don’t know how you’ll afford it. Your life is pure fear.
The fact is that if you are a baby boomer, one of the 77 million racing towards retirement, you have -- to a large extent--your choice of which of these retirement outcomes is yours. You get the good outcome or something like it if you start early, get a sensible, solid financial advisor, make a solid sensible plan for retirement savings, stick to it through thick and thin, accumulate diversified savings of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, real estate, variable annuities and foreign investments. You should accumulate an amount equal to roughly fifteen to twenty times what you need annually to live on–with allowances for pensions and social security. It’s a tall order, and it’s a bit scary to think about, but if you even come close to it, you get to have that great retirement life.
The point is, making sure you have a swell retirement is up to you. Not to Uncle Sam, usually not to your employer, not to your kids. You have to max out your IRA’s, your Keoghs, your 401K’s and do it sensibly, and then some. And you have to start with that all important plan.
Or, you can just be the happy go lucky grasshopper in your working years, not think about retirement, and then later, you get to live in terror. Which sounds better to you? I thought so. No matter how old you are, get started now and do the best you can.
Oh, you should know I am honorary spokesperson for National Retirement Planning Week. And, yes, I get paid for preaching to you. But your doctor also gets paid to tell you to stop smoking and eat green leafy vegetables. That doesn’t make us wrong.
Topsail? I love visiting Topsail Island area...
Dear hophead,
I don't know how your private high school figures out how to give financial aid.
For college, home equity doesn't count.
However, if you have a significant sum of money in the bank, or in investments that are not in retirement accounts, they'll look for college tuition to come signifcantly from those sources.
sitetest
Tell me who your brother's accountant is....I need to give THAT name to a divorced girlfriend of mine - her a** of an ex refuses to contribute AT ALL to his two kids education (he's remarried, after carrying on with her first)....anyway, long story short, my friend can get NO HELP from the gov't (loans) for her kids education, because she almost owns her house, even though she makes only about 30K a year.
I agree with you.
Dear goodnesswins,
Well, student loans for college are generally available without means testing. I found some information here:
http://www.ecampustours.com/payingcollege/studentloans/federalstudentloans.htm
Here is an excerpt:
"Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
"Unlike Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans, Unsubsidized Stafford Loans are not based on need or income. Students and families of all income levels have access to federal guaranteed loans for college. Loan limits and interest rates are the same as the Subsidized Stafford Loan; however, you are responsible for all interest from the day the loan is made. Many lenders can capitalize the accrued interest (add it to the principal) when repayment begins. This saves you money because you will not be repaying 'interest on interest' while in school.
"Federal PLUS Loan
"Federal PLUS Loans (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) are also available for your educational costs if you are enrolled at least half-time at an eligible institution, but the loan is made to your parents. Eligibility is not based on need or income, but parents must not have an adverse credit history. A parent may borrow up to the cost of education less any other financial aid awarded with repayment beginning within 60 days of loan disbursement."
Here are some government links about these programs:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp?tab=funding
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parentloans.jsp?tab=funding
As you can see, student loans are available to pretty much anyone, although subsidized loans are means-tested.
However, if your friend truly has an income of only around $30,000, and she has two children in college, I have a hard time believing that she would not qualify for the subsidized loan program.
sitetest
THANK You.....It just donned on me the reason she cannot get loans is because the ex COULD fund their education, but refuses to......
Dear goodnesswins,
Even if she can't qualify for subsidized loans, the unsubsidized loans are available to anyone. She can get these.
If her ex-husband has the means to pay for her children's education, and her children are still under 21 (in some states, even a bit older), most states will permit her to ask the court from which the divorce was obtained to order child support for college.
sitetest
If you were in debt then the gov't would have more 'control' over you. Don't pay on the car and we'll take the house.
Be proud to be independent and not stuck under their thumb!
And your request for government programs is O.K. and the seniors isn't?
These government programs are O.K. and seniors are thieves? I don't get it?
THANKS...Her ex "Claims" to be unemployed.....Probably has his money go through his current wife, IF he is getting any income from employment.
"I plan on breaking even when I die"
"Breaking even would be easy, exactly what date to do that do you have in mind? that is the tricky part."
Well, he could always commit suicide on the day the money runs out.
"Harsh"?? Far from it. Let me tell you how this dad of seven is approaching it......
You want a car? Buy it. I'll put you on my insurance policy, but you pay for it. You WILL go to college.....and you WILL pay for it. You WILL get at least a B.S. degree....preferrably a masters.
Number one graduated with a B.S. and a commission in the U.S. Army. He's now married to a lovely, brilliant young lady and they're now at their first duty station at Ft. Lewis, WA. No college debts for him whatsoever.
Number two......oldest daughter........just graduated with a B.S. in Zoology, magna cum laude, with minors in Botany and Spanish.....not a dime in student loans, graduated totally debt free. She worked as many as three jobs at once, but SHE did it. She is now going to go straight through to her doctorate.....bypassing her masters completely.
Number three........second daughter.......halfway through her second year of college. She wouldn't let me pay for it if I offered; takes it as a point of pride.
The rest will follow the same pattern.
Kids are amazing; they rise to what is expected of them. I want them to APPRECIATE their degrees and their accomplishments. They do. If that makes me a throwback or a dinosaur, so be it.
I'm glad it's worked for you! I am hoping to be as successful with my own children.
That being said (with thanks to G.Mason for posting it), check this out. I suspect this is where some folks got the idea that we are "neglecting" our children with our stance.
http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/parentsrefuse.phtml
I hate to add this, but if her dtrs were to have a baby out of wedlock, they would get practically all college costs paid for by the govt or school.....no kidding......
We are not doing it that way......BUT every retirement expert will tell you to always take care of yourselves first so your children won't end up taking care of you.
Funny how the government seems to disagree! LOL
most people are middle income....that means they pay a lot of taxes and get few college bennies....
it is true that all your free savings and your kids is considered fair game when they apply to college...
its better to have a solid financial base for you and your whole family rather than trying to make special accounts for the kids....
someone said above which is true in our case.....
wouldn't you rather help them a little later in life, when they get married or buy their first house or have their first child...that's when there is little help available and that's when we hope to be able to share more of what we have....
Gov't wants you to spend spend spend......just like they do!!
wouldn't you rather help them a little later in life, when they get married or buy their first house or have their first child...that's when there is little help available
___________________________________________________________
That's my thinking, as well. I know I would have appreciated a helping hand then (or rather, now, LOL) Haven't yet bought our first home. An interest free loan with flexible payback schedule would be heaven sent. Thank goodness Mr. Ex and I both have VA benefits, so we don't really have too worry too much about it.
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