How much to save for kids' college? And what about life insurance?

[Snoopy2645]

Re: How much to save for kids' college? And what about life insurance?

Well we put a little away each week for the kids funds I told dh its so they can get a car so they can get a job so they can pay thier own way into college!! I will help though I will let them live at home & stuff like that I work with a women who works 3 jobs to pay for her kids room & board no way am I doing that I think the kids can work some too KWIM

As for life ins I have 100k policy I pay for & its to be left to my kids if I die. Dh has life ins for me threw his work plus he would get so much a month for the kids if I died so I figure that would be enough.

[cschin4]

Re: How much to save for kids' college? And what about life insurance?

I think Life Insurance is very important if you have kids. I have a 500k term on both myself and my husband. I want my kids to be cared for and financially OK if something would happen to either or both of us.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

life insurance and disability are a must. i have the maximum allowed for disability in my state 70% post tax on my dh.

LI well I have about $3M (possibly getting more) on him and $500k on me. I don't work. He does. But if something were to happen I need to be able to secure retirement, college, and time to get back into the workforce.

Our mortgage is $400k so I got that for him on me and I know that my mom or his would likely live with him or next door for a long time for free child care.

[moneybags]

I opened CJ's 529 in January that is linked to my UPromise account. A percentage of the cost of certain items I buy is deposited in to his 529 quarterly. Along with my monthly contributions we are looking at around $2k a year. CJ is 2 1/2 years of age. I imagine that will take care of a large portion of his university expenses, but he will have to begin his own monthly contributions when he reaches working age.

There is no reason why CJ, or any child of working age, cannot work to contribute towards his/her educational fundings.

I have a college aged child, so I'm a little familiar with current college costs. Your savings will be around $32,000+ earnings. Here are some current costs (and they rise like crazy every year): our best state college costs $30,000/year, other state colleges are around $22,000. A private college costs $40,000-$55,000/year.

I disagree with your point about a child of working age working. My kids don't work during the school year. I don't want them to; I want them to take difficult classes and do well in them. They are/were also active in sports or other extra-curricular activities. I worked during high school, and my grades definitely suffered because of it.

[Darly2004]

We contribute a pretty decent amount to our kids' 529, but never at the expense of our retirement. We make sure to max our 401s and IRAs first. We then contribute a fixed amount per month to their 529s. My husband was lucky enough to have his college paid for and I got enough in grants and scholarships to not have to borrow much in loans. I think that helped us start off in life a little easier. With that said, they are only guaranteed the amount we save for them. If they choose an expensive school, take 5 years instead of 4, or not be mindful of their expenses, they may be stuck with the rest of the costs. Also, if they want to go to get a graduate degree, that is up to them to foot the bill unless they have $ left in their 529.

As for insurance, we have a pretty ridiculous amount of life insurance for my husband ($2.5 mil) and in the process of getting the same for me. I do have very young kids though and we are relatively young ( mid 30s). I want it to be enough that we can quit our jobs. We both have very demanding careers and it would be hard to work and deal with the household by ourselves. Since our kids are young, I want it to be enough so that we can focus on raising the kids and not trying to make ends meet. Also, it needs to last long enough for retirement as well. Of course, this is what gives us peace of mind and probably not necessary for others.

[bp019j]

Budget and plan. Determine how much you would like to save annually for college planning. 529 plans are great saving tools for college planning with tax advantages. Some states have state income tax deductions for 529 plans. Check with your individual state, tax advisor or financial advisor.

Cash value life insurance could be useful as well. Remember that life insurance is insurance, and not an investment per-se. Cash value life insurance is comprised of term life insurance, and a cash value account. If you were to consider buying cash value life insurance for college planning, or otherwise here is a good way to approach it.

How much would you like to saving annually?

How much of of that annual savings target do you wish to allocate into a fixed account?

Then, determine how much of that fixed account could be considered for cash value life insurance.

Ask plenty of questions and do your research, as a properly designed cash value life insurance policy can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

[bjl584]

I hate when new posters dig up threads that are 7 years old.

I guess most of the info being presented is relevant though.

[asmom]

I hate when new posters dig up threads that are 7 years old.

I guess most of the info being presented is relevant though.

I can't believe I'm been hanging around here for 7 years, time flies!

Since I posted this, my daughter has started college. My husband and I are footing most of the bill although she works and pays her own rent, gas and pocket money. So that was the solution to my original question.