College Education

When long term real estate investors plan, it’s virtually always with retirement in mind. To show my command of the obvious, their goal is to retire sooner rather than later, with more income rather than less. Most folks assume there’s plenty of time to make their goals reality. Most of the time I find myself in agreement. Thing is, there are instances when their retirement timeline forces decisions they wouldn’t normally hafta make if choosing to retire much later. There are as many reasons for shortening the retirement timeline as there are people. Thing is, many of the hardcore deadlines have nothing to do with the investor’s actual retirement. Here’s an example.

Your Kids’ College Education

If they go to junior colleges then to four year schools for their degree, you’ll be gettin’ off relatively cheaply. Kids going to four year schools right outa high school can face some pretty steep tuition/boarding costs. We parents want the best for our kids, which presents the challenge. From where does that money emanate? From the bank of Mom ‘n Dad, that’s where. More and more parents are opting to at least attempt to pay for their kids’ college education lately. The very thought of an undergrad degree saddling Jimmy or Nicole with six figure student loans is depressing. Over the years I’ve spoken with investors whose student loan debt was barely south of half a million bucks. That’s exceptionally high to be sure, but holy cow!

The timing challenge comes when planning doesn’t begin ’til the kids are well into elementary school or beyond. Those with babies or toddlers will do much better starting at those tender ages. The real pressure arises when your sixth grader is not only demonstrably brilliant, but has already voiced excitement about college. At that point, many retirement plans hit the …read more