The costs of giving our children everything they want
Tuesday, November 7th, 2006This link came up on Digg this morning, and is a perfect example of why I don’t support parents paying for their children’s expenses all the way through college. I’m not against keeping a reserve fund in case your child gets into trouble, but there’s no reason your child can’t work two jobs to pay for school if they are truly going to be a successful human being.
November 7th, 2006 at 10:10 am
Thanks for sharing that article. You sure do know how to freak out the mother of nearly college-aged children. Consider your audience, Brent!
Let me start with this - you do not have enough space for my comments on this matter. So, I’ll try very, very hard to be as brief as I am able on this topic. And, I will no doubt blog on this for fourteen weeks on my own blog when my head clears.
That is the point of the article worth noting. Prepare your children for the world they are heading into. If you are able and willing to fund college, prepare them for those boundaries. If you cannot, prepare them for that eventuality.
When Madi and Sam became freshmen in High School, we opened a checking account for each of them and I started depositing a monthly allowance. They are responsibile for clothing, gas, movies, etc. Magically, $200 jeans were never needed after responsibility changed hands. I believe we will set up a credit card soon for Madi. She will be a Freshman in college next year.
We will pay for tuition and room and board - the money set aside is sufficient for a state college education. If they want more, they assume the debt. If they live at home, they keep the extra money. We *frequently* discuss these matters and how there will *not* be good money thrown after bad.
My kids are very fortunate. Let’s hope they cash in their good fortune and exchange it for a good future. That choice is theirs, not mine. But, I will make available the opportunity and remove financial concern. I will also do my best to help them prepare! Then, I will get out of their way and see how well we did together - all of us!
November 7th, 2006 at 10:29 am
I’m so glad to hear that you gave your children financial responsibility to early. No matter how smart/dumb kids were in high school, the ones who were financially aware turned out OK in life because they knew how life worked by the time they were cut loose.
It sounds like you have a lot to be proud of.