 Quote:
Originally Posted by youbet
Whether it's college, vocational school, helping a kid start a business....... whatever, it's just another expense to account for in determining your FIRE status. I think the real question is the change in flexibility caused by going FIRE while you still have dependents at home. If something changes (kid's health, plans, etc.) while you're still working, you still have the option to continue on (ugh!) if necessary. Once you walk out the door, at least for many of us, it might be difficult to undo the decision.
I didn't FIRE until I had the finances for my commitments (mainly a trust fund for a grandchild with special needs) locked up. I probably would have handled the commitment to help with the kid's college the same way although in my case I had my family early and was an empty nester at RE time.
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This describes what we did.
However, I wonder if anyone has considered this approach? With a higher income and reasonably bright kids going to private schools, we didn't qualify for any measurable "needs based" aid. Suppose I had quit work before the first started college, and gone back to grad myself. The FIT that I wouldn't pay plus the big increase in college aid would have replaced more than half my salary. If I could have had a modest assistanceship on my own, I could have afforded a late-life career change.
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Hybrid Mode
