44 year-old parent of 3 looking to (semi) retire early

[NUalumn]

I'm 44 and a parent of 3 elementary-school kids. I've worked hard to get to a pretty good spot, but it seems like the fish just keeps growing to the size of the fish bowl.

My objective is to pay off the mortgage in time to get all three kids through good colleges. And then to be in a position to change things up - I don't want to full on retire, but I'd like to pull back and get to be more selective about the work I do (e.g. consulting on projects that I'm genuinely interested in).

 

[module4330]

Those are great goals! Future college costs sure make me sweat.

 

[SnowballCamper]

Welcome! I think the decision about career/major is much more important than which college to attend...for the vast majority of people. I'm very pleased with the decent state school my daughter is attending at a very reasonable cost. And it is a good fit for her. On the other hand, an ambitious entrepreneurial minded student with high aptitude would certainly benefit from the networks that higher cost schools facilitate.

Are you using a 529 or ESA yet? In my case, the American opportunity tax credit turned out to be worth more, and the tax software had me paying the tax on gains.

 

[Koolau]

Welcome to the forum.

My "advice" regarding higher education is to use the state-supported Junior College system (close to home if possible - maybe live at home) for a couple of years. Obtain all the required courses for the field of study and THEN transfer to a large State University from which your child will receive his/her diploma. Our youngest did that and it saved a bundle - and she still got the degree from a "prestigious" (though State) University.



When you get a chance, please tell us more about yourself.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Welcome aboard!

 

[pacergal]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[HarveyS]

IMO you are missing out if not contributing to 529 accounts today. Yes, the fish will grow to the size of the bowl. If I understand the comment, i would add that you control the size of the bowl. You don't have to spend everything you make. As you earn more you can increase your savings rate instead of your spending rate. LBYM

 

[indiajust]

College will be dirt cheap in 15 years, prices already dropping and schools closing. I expect most of the mediocre middle will be converted to nursing homes for the elderly. Not sure if the Ivy League will ever recover its reputation. My fondest hope is to burn FAFSA the way boomers burned draft cards. If you can avoid the "college" trap you can start changing things up even sooner.

 

[Koolau]

College will be dirt cheap in 15 years, prices already dropping and schools closing. I expect most of the mediocre middle will be converted to nursing homes for the elderly. Not sure if the Ivy League will ever recover its reputation. My fondest hope is to burn FAFSA the way boomers burned draft cards. If you can avoid the "college" trap you can start changing things up even sooner.

That's an interesting picture of the future. I'm not sure I agree - but the winds of change may well bring it to pass. It would be kinda nice to live long enough to see it happen but I guess we'll see.

Off Topic!!

It would be nice to watch the unwinding of the massive college-system bureaucracy that has developed since I was a student at a very good state school. In my humble opinion, the layers of bureaucracy have been added ever since the gummint got (more and more) involved and FAFSA was created to "help" students find money to pay for college. That very bureaucracy is (IMHO) a major reason students now need massive loans to get through school. Before the bureaucracy "absorbed" all the extra FAFSA money, a college education could be had by anyone with a summer j*b (and just maybe a part time j*b during school).

No bureaucracy ever voluntarily de-layers itself. Someone with some clout has to do the delayering - and it's not pretty when it happens. I watched Megacorp go through that and (w*rking part time in the University system) I found out the politics at the university level put business politics to shame! The term "kicking and screaming" comes to mind as I think about what it would be like returning the college education to the affordable system it was when I was a student.

Returning you now...

 

[ncbill]

IDK, the expensive private universities my spouse & I attended have now changed their financial aid policy to income-determined.

So they would both be full ride for my kids to attend today given our household income.

That was not the case back when my kids were in college so the kids all signed with Uncle Sam.

 

[indiajust]

That's an interesting picture of the future. I'm not sure I agree - but the winds of change may well bring it to pass. It would be kinda nice to live long enough to see it happen but I guess we'll see.

Off Topic!!

It would be nice to watch the unwinding of the massive college-system bureaucracy that has developed since I was a student at a very good state school. In my humble opinion, the layers of bureaucracy have been added ever since the gummint got (more and more) involved and FAFSA was created to "help" students find money to pay for college. That very bureaucracy is (IMHO) a major reason students now need massive loans to get through school. Before the bureaucracy "absorbed" all the extra FAFSA money, a college education could be had by anyone with a summer j*b (and just maybe a part time j*b during school).

No bureaucracy ever voluntarily de-layers itself. Someone with some clout has to do the delayering - and it's not pretty when it happens. I watched Megacorp go through that and (w*rking part time in the University system) I found out the politics at the university level put business politics to shame! The term "kicking and screaming" comes to mind as I think about what it would be like returning the college education to the affordable system it was when I was a student.

Returning you now...

I totally agree with the off topic pronouncement. I had been reading a post from Persuasion and it convinced me to look up some supporting info from far before my time. I should have posted the influence and asked for input from there.

Here's the Persuasion post that swayed my judgement...

The University As We Know It Is Finished

That’s a good thing.

www.persuasion.community

I have yet to open a thread, but I am a willing follower of others threads...

 

[steakis4closers]

I am pleased the university is going out of business.

What if has become is a waste of tax dollars and frankly a bunch of liars.

It can be done cheaper and more effectively.

 

[Diogenes]

As an engineering professor, I very much hope that universities survive and thrive.. and that the traditional in-person format is never supplanted by Zoom or U-tube. A person could learn English, the humanities or social sciences, by going through stacks of books, more or less alone; no university needed. It's much harder to learn the Blasius theorem or the Zhukovsky transformation in aerodynamics, merely from books.

Regarding the OP, the operative question is, how early is early, with 44 as a vantage point? By 50? By 60? We much decry the dreaded "OMY", but each additional year can make a strong positive (or negative) difference.

 

[Semi-Retyrd]

My understanding is that most if not all of the top universities now have what they call "blind" admission policies. This means they decide admissions based on academic performance measures blended with measures of unique extra-curricular activities. Once they decide to admit a student, they work with the family to make sure the student and family are financially ok.
The result is most students receive substantial financial support from the these universities aided by their massive endowments.
So the challenge today is for a student to be at the top of their HS class based on rigorous and disciplined study or show nationally recognized athletic performance.

 

[Dtail]

No posts from the OP since the join date.