Quote:
Originally Posted by Scanner
Okay, I think you guys keep dodging the issue. I am trying to get a sense of what a priority is here.
Let's say you get to the end of the year and you only have $500 left over. Again real scenario. Maybe it's because you didn't manage your money the best but you fully funded your retirement, you had 1 car repair emergency, and you now have $500 left over and 2 kids.
Now. . .what do you do?
EDIT: and btw, I am not judging people who put vacations over college. Some people don't think college is "all that" so they get to have the vacations and their children enter the workforice/armed forces upon graduation and work themselves towards an education. That is totally fine. It's just not what I see with parents of 18 year olds, who the majority want their kid to go to college but don't have 2 pennies to rub together for it.
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That's a tough question and truly impossible for me to answer since I've never been in that situation. I'm not sure what I would do if faced with that decision. I'l like to think that I'd save what little I had, but I can also see how folks living on the edge like that could really use the break and enjoyment that comes from getting away for a few days and having some good family time.
I don't mean to keep repeating the same thing, but even with $500, I think one could do both. We've done plenty of inexpensive trips. It depends where you live, but we live within day trip distance of the Jersey Shore, NYC, D.C., Baltimore, Lancaster, Hershey, Philadelphia and other interesting and fun destinations. We could do a couple of good day trips and spend maybe $100 total and still invest the rest.
So for me, education is a priority, but so is travel and family time. There will always be ways to finance the education but you can't ever replace the family experiences you didn't have. And I firmly feel that travel IS education and is part of the big picture that includes more than just what happens in the classroom. For example, reading a book about the Holocaust is one thing. Visiting the National Holocaust Museum adds a whole other level to the understanding of those events.