8 ms·

I keep going back to the debate with myself. Do I give my now-young kids 500K in an ETF in 14 years or do I send them to college? And the debate is not about ho

I keep going back to the debate with myself. Do I give my now-young kids 500K in an ETF in 14 years or do I send them to college? And the debate is not about how they will spend it (I can hold on to it too), it’s about whether to spend the money or just pass on the wealth to them. People have given me tons of reasons why college is good for them - independence, etc etc. I can find a way to give them independence without spending 500k. I haven’t settled the debate but articles like this are not helping the college path.

alecco 3mo ago
Trust fund?
shepherdjerred 3mo ago
Would it make sense to keep that money in a trust and pay a portion of the interest out to them each month/year? e.g. assuming $500k/yr at 4% interest, that would be $20k/yr which is not enough to live on but is still a nice cushion
scruple 3mo ago
I have the same sorts of thoughts rolling around in my head, and also agree that the college path is looking grim right now.
latentsea 3mo ago
Send them to a country where college is much cheaper and then also be able to give them like $400k ~ $450k
s1artibartfast 3mo ago
My father offered me a similar deal 25 years ago. I chose college, but itsnt clearly correct. 250k (my offer) would be 2 million today, which is more than my savings from 20 years of work. I would have needed a different career, but that could be better or worse. If I had that and was an electrician for example, I would be far better off
laughing_man 3mo ago
I'm childless, but I go through that with nieces and nephews. I decided to give them a lump sum as a high school graduation gift to do with as they please. IMO you could learn a lot more, as a young person, starting a small business than you'll ever learn at college, and it'll cost less even if you fail. So I don't want to make it a "college fund" or anything like that.
class3shock 3mo ago
I strongly believe college is oversold but mostly because kids are told they just need to get "any degree", which is a blatant lie. It can totally be worth it if you are objectively looking at what outcomes a specific degree will get you.

alecco 3mo ago

Trust fund?

shepherdjerred 3mo ago

Would it make sense to keep that money in a trust and pay a portion of the interest out to them each month/year? e.g. assuming $500k/yr at 4% interest, that would be $20k/yr which is not enough to live on but is still a nice cushion

scruple 3mo ago

I have the same sorts of thoughts rolling around in my head, and also agree that the college path is looking grim right now.

latentsea 3mo ago

Send them to a country where college is much cheaper and then also be able to give them like $400k ~ $450k

s1artibartfast 3mo ago

My father offered me a similar deal 25 years ago. I chose college, but itsnt clearly correct. 250k (my offer) would be 2 million today, which is more than my savings from 20 years of work. I would have needed a different career, but that could be better or worse. If I had that and was an electrician for example, I would be far better off

laughing_man 3mo ago

I'm childless, but I go through that with nieces and nephews. I decided to give them a lump sum as a high school graduation gift to do with as they please. IMO you could learn a lot more, as a young person, starting a small business than you'll ever learn at college, and it'll cost less even if you fail. So I don't want to make it a "college fund" or anything like that.

class3shock 3mo ago

I strongly believe college is oversold but mostly because kids are told they just need to get "any degree", which is a blatant lie. It can totally be worth it if you are objectively looking at what outcomes a specific degree will get you.