Retirement savings? College savings? Does anyone else NOT have these in place?

[Ann.without.an.e]

It came up in a conversation with someone the other day and they looked at me like I had three heads. Then, they said "why do you homeschool when you could send your kids to ps for free?" Their opinion is that having a homeschool budget (however small it may be) should not even be a consideration unless we also have a retirement and college plan. It just made me wonder....

 

Are we the only ones without those things?

 

 

Let me clarify, it isn't that we are wasting our money on entertainment, eating out, etc. We simply don't have it. We don't have much debt either (a very reasonable mortgage and one reasonable car payment).

[Desert Rat]

We have a very small amount in retirement, no college. The recession hit us hard. You aren't alone.

[Starr]

Dh will have retirement but we married and had kids late, clergy salary and nothing saved for college. The college situation is very difficult but we loved home schooling.

[nukeswife]

We have a very small amount in some ROTH IRAs for retirement, but it's not that much. We have maybe $1000 total in some educational IRAs for our two oldest (that's total not each) but we are still working on getting some debts paid off and we never intended to pay for our kids to go to college. It just wasn't something we were ever going to be able to do so we weren't planning on killing ourselves to do that. The only reason we have anything is because of gifts for the kids we were requested to put in those accounts.

 

ETA: also contrary to what the person in OPs post said, PS isn't FREE.

[Mommyof4ks]

We have both savings in place, but public school is not free. My friends with kids in ps often complain about how expensive it is.

[Joker]

Nope. We just started our retirement this year. We knew going into it that me staying home after we had babies would require a sacrifice of those things. We didn't know then that we would homeschool so we've been slower to start them that we'd planned, but we're getting there. We are fortunate that dh's last job came with a pension plan. He just recently left that company but the information we received about the plan is better than we'd hoped, so we also started a few different things on our own and through his new job. It doesn't amount to anything right now though and there is not, nor will there be, a college fund. My parents had nothing for us and dh had nothing given to him but we all made it through ok. We will help our dds as much as we can, which means we will keep sacrificing but I'm ok with that.

[Joker]

 

ETA: also contrary to what the person in OPs post said, PS isn't FREE.

 

 

This. I'm already saving now for what I know will be required this fall when both dds are in ps. Right now, it's only our oldest but it is just as expensive as homeschooling.

[Janie Grace]

This. I'm already saving now for what I know will be required this fall when both dds are in ps. Right now, it's only our oldest but it is just as expensive as homeschooling.

 

 

Please explain... what are these "hidden costs"? (We may have one is ps this fall.)

[unsinkable]

 

 

Please explain... what are these "hidden costs"? (We may have one is ps this fall.)

 

 

Sports, clubs, photos, trips, logo clothing sold by school, collections for gifts...

 

This is off the top o f my head for DS ' s private school

[Anne in CA]

Depending on where you live the cost of ps can be horrific. The local school in my town has a $600 for family cap on sports cost, but each sport is $200. In elementary school it was about $150 a year when you do a basic registration fee and buy one item for each sale, and do everything in the smallest way possible. My IL's have several boys all playing sports in a town that has no family cap. They pay several grand a year for basic sports. Some towns do have a cap on the total sports cost a family must absorb, but many do not. My oldest had about $250 a year for art classes, PE fees, that sort of thing. She never played a sport so I got off cheaply. But there was no year my oldest attended ps that I could not have purchased used curriculum for the amount of money I spent to register her.

[Tita Gidge]

In my area parents are expected to purchase most of each child's school supplies - crayons, ziploc baggies, tissues, construction paper, teacher dry-erase pens, etc.

 

My sister shells out $150-200 at the beginning of each school year, and is still asked to contribute more throughout the year. She's in an affluent community, and name-brand supplies are requested.

 

My friend is principal at a low-income school in the next county, and she says her kids are given a list of supplies to purchase also. Many don't or can't, so the teachers eat the cost.

[Joker]

Sports, clubs, photos, trips, logo clothing sold by school, collections for gifts...

 

This is off the top o f my head for DS ' s private school

 

This. Our oldest will have three trips next school year and she will be going on at least two. That in itself is a lot of money. Youngest will have one trip. Then, there are pictures (class and band are separate) and yearbook. There is also a fee every year for band and this fall that will be for both dds. I have to buy more clothes (including school issued pe uniforms) and shoes than I would buy if we were only homeschooling. Teacher gifts - not for all but their favorites. Not to mention the supplies and all the projects through the year. It's never just the initial school supply list.

 

ETA: The trips are not field trips. One for oldest is a week long trip in DC. The other trips are overnights. They're obviously not necessary but they want to do it and we want them to be able to go. On the week long trip it is double because we pay to be a chaperone.

[Jenny in Florida]

We don't have much in the way of retirement savings. Back when I was working full time (pre-kids), we were each contributing decent amounts to 401K plans. However, thanks to a boatload of expenses incurred during a legal mess created by some members of my extended "family," we ended up cashing out everything we had. By that point, we had two kids and I was home full time, and we've never recovered, financially.

 

My in-laws left us a small chunk of money, some of which has been spent just keeping our heads above water during the last few lean years. What is left, we are trying desperately to leave untouched, since it's most of what we have for retirement.

 

When my daughter was 11-ish and starting to ask what our plan was for college for her, we set up a savings account and automatic debits with the idea that it would be her college fund. However, she ended up jumping into an early entrance program long before we had enough in the account to handle any meaningful portion of her tuition. She got a nice scholarship, and we paid as much as we could out of pocket for a couple of years, then took loans to allow her to finish her degree.

 

Now, the payments we make on those loans take up most of the discretionary funds we might otherwise be stashing away to pay for our son's college. He is unlikely to have the specialized need she did, one that could be served only by an out-of-state, private program. So, while we do intend to do everything in our power to pay for his education, we are strongly encouraging him to look at in-state schools. And I am working with him to make sure he qualifies for our state's scholarship program and any other aid that might be available. I also assume, since he's our youngest, that I will go to work once he's done homeschooling and that most of my paycheck will go toward his college expenses.

 

We'll make it work. We always do. I long ago gave up any hope, though, that we would be within reach of the stereotype of retirement about which most folks like to dream. And that's okay, as far as I'm concerned. I'd actually go crazy doing nothing by playing golf and bugging our kids about grandchildren.

[Excelsior! Academy]

Don't forget school lunches and supplies. With multiple children it adds up quickly! Also teachers sometimes request things throughout the year...monthly snacks in Pre-K, more school supplies after Christmas break, field trip fees, yearbook, fundraisers, PTA. Things like soup labels and box tops also add up. You might purchase brands that you wouldn't normally just to donate.

[LucyStoner]

Retirement- yes. We put most of our wedding money into it and got started at 21-22. It's an A-1 priority and my husband's employer gives a generously sized contribution on top of that each year. We also have 40ish years to add to it as we are still early on in our 30s. We'd be in better shape if we had bought our house after the bubble burst and if we did not pay extensive costs for my parents over the years, but on the whole for our ages I think we are doing well.

 

As for college? Aside from gift money and what my MIL set aside for the boys we have no college savings. We will get them through college but consider retirement to be a higher priority. While I know college costs are high, I do expect them to work and perhaps earn scholarship funds. Because we live pretty simply (no consumer debt, no car loans, small home) we anticipate being able to contribute quite a bit with our earnings at the time they need tuition paid and we will help them pay off any loans to the best of our ability. And because we have saved for retirement, we are far less likely to be in a situation as seniors where we would be a financial drain on our kids when they are working adults. While I don't resent supporting my parents, I don't want to put my kids in that same position. We know there is no certainty and things can go south but we do the best we can with what we have, hope for the best and try and indemnify the best we can against some of the worst possibilities with long term care insurance and term life insurance. ETA- it also helps that my idea of retirement is living a quiet life. We don't plan to do expensive travel or snowbird on a golf course or what not. We've learned to live on lentils as the saying goes...

[Tita Gidge]

We do have a retirement fund in place but mostly because my husband retired from the government once already, but still works. He'll retire a second time around the age of 55 (he says) or 60 (I say), and be pretty well set. I've always worked outside of the home, and my employer matches up to 5% so I've always contributed to that. I've been with that company for 15 years and my income is "fun money" and not something we use towards day-to-day living, so it's been easy to save.

 

College money, we have a small amount set aside. I wouldn't have saved any, but my family works differently in that I pay money now to send relatives to college (I have one cousin, two sisters I currently help send to college) with the expectation that they'll help my kids down the road. That's how we've done it for as long as I can remember. My husband grew up with a different mindset. His wish is that the children enlist for military duty and earn college that way, with his small savings set aside to assist them beyond their stipend. I see one or two of our kids doing so, but not the rest. The rest will rely primarily on my family as well as themselves, should they choose to go to college.

 

ETA: I tell my kids that THEY are my retirement fund. I'm not entirely kidding. I know that's not a popular mindset with everyone, including my husband and his family, but it's how I grew up and how I'd like to end up.

[Dustybug]

We have a retirement fund, but we only started it about two years ago. It doesn't have much in it yet. College is just not something we can save for at this point. I don't stress about it. I paid for and found the money for my own college education. If necessary, my children can do it as well. We will help if we are able, of course.

[VeganCupcake]

I have read numerous reports that a very large percentage of Americans have little or no retirement savings, so no, I don't think you're alone in that.

 

Financial advisors always suggest prioritizing retirement savings over college savings, since there aren't any loans for retirement (except reverse mortgages), and many people are not able to work past 65 because of health concerns. My MIL is really suffering now because she is not able to work and is 60 years old, and has virtually no savings.

 

We have retirement accounts that we contribute to monthly, and DH's employer matches contributions. We also have college savings accounts that we contribute small amounts to each month for each child, but that will only be a portion of what they need, I'm sure.

[2squared]

Retirement is a non-negotiable for me. If we couldn't adequately fund retirement on dh's salary, I would be working.

 

College savings is heavily on my mind right now. I just started working very part-time, and I expect I will need/want to work more to help fund college. I graduate college with no debt (thanks to myself), and I would really, really like my kids to start their professional life with minimal debt. We do have a 2-4 year plan to position dh for a large salary increase, but no guarantees there. I really, really hope it works out.

[VeganCupcake]

ETA: I tell my kids that THEY are my retirement fund. I'm not entirely kidding. I know that's not a popular mindset with everyone, including my husband and his family, but it's how I grew up and how I'd like to end up.

 

DH and I have been MIL's disability and retirement fund for the last few months, and it is difficult not to be resentful sometimes. But that is a cultural thing--I did not grow up in a culture where elders were completely supported financially by the next generation. I think if I had, I would feel differently about it.

[cathmom]

 

 

This. I'm already saving now for what I know will be required this fall when both dds are in ps. Right now, it's only our oldest but it is just as expensive as homeschooling.

 

I disagree. It's been about the same or less for me. And since they no longer need outside activities for PE or to meet other dc, it's probably cheaper. They would eat anyway, so lunch isn't really more. I basically ignore fund raisers, I would have bought the same supplies, I bought a few more secondhand clothes, etc.

[cathmom]

Oh, and we got nothing, OP. as dh says, "We're doomed."

[DianeW88]

 

Please explain... what are these "hidden costs"? (We may have one is ps this fall.)

Fees. In our PS, certain classes have fees attached. Anything extra-curricular will cost you. Most of my friends say that their "free" PS educations costs about $600 per year, per kid. When my dd did drill team at our local high school (and that was ALL she did), it cost a little more than $3,000 for the year. Yeah, public school isn't even CLOSE to free.

[DianeW88]

As to the original question, we have substantial retirement savings (IRAs, 401K, etc.) as well as insurance policies (life, disability) and some other investments. We have saved for our kids' college educations, but they still work and they both have scholarships which cover their full tuition.

[Tita Gidge]

DH and I have been MIL's disability and retirement fund for the last few months, and it is difficult not to be resentful sometimes. But that is a cultural thing--I did not grow up in a culture where elders were completely supported financially by the next generation. I think if I had, I would feel differently about it.

 

 

As with most things, I think some hybrid of the two opposites would be the ideal. It's what I'm aiming for in my own family. I am the first generation to marry outside of my culture, but not the only one of my generation that has. We've not yet fully crossed into these waters because my/our parents are still healthy, and all of our spouses' parents are still self-supporting. It'll be interesting to see how things play out, and what the next generation (our kids) take from it all in eventually deciding how to handle us in our own elder age.

 

My in-laws want to move to a retirement community and die there. They see anything else as being a burden on their two children. My parents wish to die at home, among family. We don't see this as a burden, but just as what is done. It's easier because my family is so much bigger and can pool more resources between us. I think my in-laws' plan is probably best for them and their family dynamics; that's a lot for two kids to take on, and knowing my husband he'd just as soon write his sister a check and let her deal with the day-to-day. That's too much for one person to assume on her own, and if I were her I'd be resentful towards him (my DH). As she should be.

 

I have a friend who has been supporting her MIL for the past few years, and she is extremely resentful. In her case, she should be. Her MIL has long been financially irresponsible and has come to rely on her kids to bail her out due to some imaginary sense of filial duty she feels she's owed. I would be resentful, too. In my case, my parents have continued to contribute to our family so that our family as a whole succeeds. Mom retired to watch our kids so they've never known daycare. In return, we "pay" her room and board and send her "home" to the old country a few times each year. When we were kids, it was my grandmother who watched us while my mom worked. Very different dynamic.

 

I think sometimes resentment is warranted. I commend you for doing what you're doing, especially because it's not something you grew up with. In your shoes, I'd find it hard to not be resentful at times, too. ((hugs))

[deannajo]

We have a retirement fund, but every time I log into it, Wells Fargo tells me (in big letters) that its underfunded. Sigh. We contribute every month and dh's company matches to a certain percentage, and its basing what it thinks we need to have on what we make now (adjusted for inflation), but I think come retirement, we won't need that much - our house should be paid off, we won't have kids in dance schools, etc., so our expenses will be much lower. I think, barring any unforeseen circumstances, and if we continue to contribute at this rate (or perhaps a bit higher, I tend to up it a wee bit when we have a good year) we should be absolutely fine come retirement time. We just started contributing to a Roth as well, so if we have to, we can take from it for college, but for dedicated college savings, we don't have much at all, 3 kids still at home, ages 8-13, and we have less than $2000 saved for each of them. Sigh. The oldest will probably have enough to cover the cost of her books by the time she gets to college :bored: I kind of expect to absorb those costs, and, unless they are displaying special needs or goals, I will encourage them to attend a community college first, and stay with in-state schools...they won't qualify for financial aid, and I'd really like to help them do it without incurring any debt, if at all possible.

 

And I agree, PS is NOT free.

[Joanne]

Your friends presented a false dichotomy.

 

However, I have recently started a retirement savings. I am going on 50 (47 next month). I do not have a working husband to fund our retirement years (nor a working ex husband that consistently pays child support). I believe I made a mistake in not funding retirement sooner.

 

My kids are teens; I can not fund their college. :( Life circumstances have prevented that.

 

Edited to add that while PS is not "free", putting kids in school so that both parents can work solves some money issues. Sure, it's not a lifestyle change people *here* often make, but I doubt the friends of the OP were thiinking of the cost of homeschooling as much as the "opportunity cost" of homeschooling.

[Frances]

As to the original question, we have substantial retirement savings (IRAs, 401K, etc.) as well as insurance policies (life, disability) and some other investments. We have saved for our kids' college educations, but they still work and they both have scholarships which cover their full tuition.

 

Same here.

[Giraffe]

Oh, and we got nothing, OP. as dh says, "We're doomed."

 

Us too. I'm hoping to start at least a college fund for DD soon. I'm interviewing for a job teaching so I can be earning at least a little money while DD is in school.

 

And no, neither public school nor private school is free (forgetting private school tuition for a moment). School uniforms, lunches, field trips, activities, bake sales, school supplies (here we are expected to provide everything, down to blank copy paper!) - it all adds up.

[Laura Corin]

We have college savings from when we had a bigger income - it will cover the boys' fees at a UK university, but they will need a loan for living expenses.

 

We have very little earmarked retirement savings, but we have a rental property in London and about 2/3rds of a government pension each; we top up the latter when we can.

 

I am now working in order that our existing savings are not reduced too far - Husband is out of work.

 

Laura

[SunnyDays]

Unfortunately, we need to finish paying DH's college loans before we can think too much about college for DS! :). We do plan to contribute, and it may be in the form of me returning to work part time when he is in high school, or sooner if we don't HS all the way through. We are still pondering it all.

 

We do have some retirement, and I'm not too concerned about that as long as we continue funding it, as we are at least 30 years away. The key there will be consistency and upping contributions as we are able.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I have never had kids in PS so the comments about the expense of PS are very eye opening.

 

Putting my kids in school so that I can get a job hasn't really been an option for us. First of all, it doesn't meet our family goals. Second, with four kids it would cost alot and I really don't have the skills/experience for anything that pays a decent wage.

 

I am a bit concerned about the retirement gap I keep hearing about. DH is 7.5 years older than me. I figure social security wont' exist by then anyway.

 

I have told my kids several times that they will probably have to move in and take care of us when we are older, lol.

[melissad2]

We don't have a ton but my dh works for the State of SC so he has a pension plan. I also have a pension plan and a small retirement account. As far as college, we don't have savings for that yet.

[Danestress]

 

 

Sports, clubs, photos, trips, logo clothing sold by school, collections for gifts...

 

This is off the top o f my head for DS ' s private school

 

I pay all of these for private school. However, I would say for my oldest in public school it really felt 'free' apart from choosing to buy a yearbook and prom tickets. I never paid anything for sports or trips. I had to buy an expensive calculator. That is the only non optional expense I can think of.

 

But I think when kids are in school it is easier to work and that can make the huge difference financially. I have no regrets, though, about the years when I homeschooled. None.

[bettyandbob]

I'm sure it depends on your school system, but public high school was significantly cheaper than providing equivalent academic rigor through home school for my ds. I could not provide high levels of foreign language instruction (my ds ended up with 6 credits of French). I have a degree in Chemistry, but ds's IB science classes went into college level work. Yes, I did pay for field trips, clubs and sports. I spent less than $500 a year on those fees. Freshman year I spent nothing, senior year I spent more because ds had a dual enrollment class and I had to pay the university fee. In order to provide the level of academics I would have spent thousands on tutors. And sports outside of school cost more.

 

My dd started high school this year at the same school. I've spent. $40 total covering 2 field trips and gym uniforms. Her extracurricular fees are the same because she doesn't do school activities. School activities would be significantly cheaper than her ballet studio.

 

Both kids where the clothing they would for homeschool. Ds wore cheap jeans and t shirts daily. Dd doesn't buy into the need for labels. She gets clothing when she needs it from target or kohls. Birthdays and Christmas she might get something extra that's trendy. So, I think people who say you have to spend significantly more on clothing have a distorted perspective.

 

Anyway, for my family ps is definitely cheaper. The only way for homeschool to be cheaper would be for my children to take a course load significantly less demanding and not do extracurriculars.

[Laura Corin]

 

And no, neither public school nor private school is free (forgetting private school tuition for a moment). School uniforms, lunches, field trips, activities, bake sales, school supplies (here we are expected to provide everything, down to blank copy paper!) - it all adds up.

 

FWIW, excluding fees, the only things I pay for are uniforms (there is a second-hand uniform shop that I use), educational trips, music tuition and the odd pound for a bake sale.

 

Laura

[JFSinIL]

Teensy amount in retirement (less than six figures) as we have had to pay for most of our one son's autism therapies out-of-pocket when he was little and in ABA for three years.

[Night Elf]

Please explain... what are these "hidden costs"? (We may have one is ps this fall.)

 

I had to buy a PE uniform for my 9th grader, but other than that we only pay for lunch. Considering what we were spending on going out so much while homeschooling, my dd being in ps is probably saving me money.

[Giraffe]

FWIW, excluding fees, the only things I pay for are uniforms (there is a second-hand uniform shop that I use), educational trips, music tuition and the odd pound for a bake sale.

 

Laura

 

Can I move to Great Britain?!

[Night Elf]

We have retirement but intentionally do not save for college. DH has been saving for retirement since way way before I knew him. I have never had a job that would have allowed me to save money. My mom doesn't have retirement. I'm hoping she can live with us if she outlives her husband.

[Laura Corin]

 

Can I move to Great Britain?!

 

I've always found the habit of requiring parents to provide supplies really bizarre: all those parents buying supplies individually at retail cost, rather than the school buying them at trade cost. My boys just bring their own pencils, pens etc.

 

Calvin is renting a calculator from the school because he's required to use a very expensive one for his IB course and it's not worth all the parents buying them.

 

Laura

[Lily_Grace]

We have retirement savings but not college. Bluntly put, we're not in a position to provide that yet for our kids. Dh and I follow the Dave Ramsey steps and college will be coming, but when or if we get there in time for our kids is up in the air.

[Mom0012]

We've put two years into a prepaid tuition plan for each kid. Our plan is to be able to offer them two years at the cc and then be able to pay for two years at the local university with the VPEP. Unless one of them gets a free ride, that is all I plan to offer.

 

We"ve also been saving since our 20's for retirement, putting in the max allowed and getting the company match. We're still nowhere near what we would need to live as well as we do now for more than a few years and my dh is nearing 50 .

[FaithManor]

Fees. In our PS, certain classes have fees attached. Anything extra-curricular will cost you. Most of my friends say that their "free" PS educations costs about $600 per year, per kid. When my dd did drill team at our local high school (and that was ALL she did), it cost a little more than $3,000 for the year. Yeah, public school isn't even CLOSE to free.

 

 

Absolutely true! Here's a list of what our PS charges:

 

Sports fee - $100.00 a yr. thankfully not per sport

 

Music Fee - $100.00 a yr.

 

Graphing calculator for Algebra 1 and higher - $105.00 (they require a specific model, order them in bulk, do not pass the discount on, and it's added to your bill if your child is signed up for math higher than remedial, business, or accounting), you can buy it on sale at Staples for much less, but they'll still attach it to your bill even if you don't take the calculator...it's an automatic charge. Of course, with the recession and nearly 20% unemployment rate in our county many parents can't afford it, but since the state requires all students to complete algebra 2 to graduate, you have to come up with the money or your kid is in serious trouble.

 

Lunches - very expensive, they've marked it up a lot to help make up for the low payback from the FEDS on free or reduced price lunch since they go in the hole to provide it due to the rising cost of food.

 

Locker rentals - YUP! The kids pay to use a locker now. $40.00 per year.

 

Library card - $10.00 a year

 

Parking fee for students who drive - $75.00 per year

 

Graduation package - Cap, Gown, Tassle, Six invitations, six tickets to the event, and one 8x10 of the graduating class. $500.00. If you cannot afford to pay for the package, you are not allowed to attend commencement and your diploma is mailed to you without a presentation folder or frame.

 

Art fee - $50.00 per class taken, presumably for supplies, but since they've downgraded the level of teaching so it's less expensive - ie. virtually no painting, sculpture, etc. so mostly drawing, I have a feeling this is a money maker as well.

 

AP course fee - $50.00 per course, however, that won't be around much longer because they are eliminating AP's in favor of putting the resources to more remediation.

 

This is for high school obviously. I really do not know what the fees are for middle or elementary.

 

Faith

[NotSoObvious]

We have retirement and I think it is going to be enough. Working for six years before staying home was probably the smartest thing I did. That money will be worth more than any I'm able to save later in life. We've made retirement a priority, so my husband saves a pretty big percentage every month. He'll wait tables before touching that money for anything, knock on wood!

College...kind of. Grandparents have small accounts and we have saved some, plus our rental property will be paid off around that time, so we're planning on a pay as we go situation.

Also, I do not think my kids need to go away as freshman. I'd be fine with them staying and doing community college first, depending on what is available to us. I did that and got accepted to the UC system, so it could be a good option depending on where we live.

 

We spend a lot on curriculum and field trips, but school was expensive too. I spent way more on clothes and uniforms, lunches, fees, projects, field trips, etc. Vacations were more expensive because we had to go at school breaks. My kids went to an excellent school, so extra fees came with the territory.

 

Oh, and I was talking to my mom about this last night and she reminded me that it's a good plan, but just DON'T GET DIVORCED! She had two divorces and even though she and my step dad have very good careers, they'll both work much longer than they would have wanted.

[Homemaker]

We have been saving for retirement since our early 20s thankfully. We have a little saved for college and need to up that. We will hopefully have our house paid for when our oldest goes to college so we will be able to cash flow some of the expense. I am very grateful to my parents for being good examples with their handling of finances for us to follow.

[FaithManor]

As for college, we used to have a fair amount saved up. However, dd's freshman year was also the year of the big banking scandal, housing market crash, and stock market plummet. We had no choice but to take out what she needed. We lost 75% of what we had invested and what was left has never recovered. I would have been better off burying cash in a jar in the back yard! At least it would have been there for the boys.

 

401K is in the tank. Dh's employer restrictions on plans it could be invested in were pathetic. He's recently moved to a new company and transferred it over and this company has more options with a much better investment firm. So we have hopes we might be able to make up some lost time with the more generous employer matching that they offer as well.

 

We got lucky a few years back and had the opportunity to buy a coin collection for a few hundred dollars that turned out to have a HUGE amount of silver. We bought it at what would be about $9.00 an oz. and with silver hovering around $28.00, I can honestly say it's the best investment we've had so far. However, it was not some collosal sized collection the likes of which we could retire on. The current plan is to sell some to help the boys out with college expenses.

 

He does have somewhat decent pensions with two previous companies. We'll see if he ever collects. Pensions have not been protected well in the courts when companies have faltered.

 

We are looking at investing in some real estate for additional income. We can get beautiful repos in our area for $10,000 - 12,000 a piece right now...homes that need very little attention. There are a lot of nice families needing to rent, so we may go that route and then if the housing market makes any kind of reasonable come-back before he retires, sell them for whatever profit we can get out of them. Any profits from rental now would go into a Roth IRA in my name and his 401K if it looks like this company's options are going to perform better.

 

To compensate for the losses, we are trying to make improvements here that will make our retirement cheaper. Solar panels for hotwater and partial electricity supplement. More food production. Massive improvements to insulation to reduce heating costs, energy efficient appliances, etc. We are looking at ways of keeping our monthly income need lower. Chances are though, when dh does retire from this company, if his health is good, he'll do cabinetry and other types of things on the side. As soon as the last boy leaves for college, I'm either going to work at the quilt store full time or back to my teaching job at the Lutheran school since they would like to have me back. For the past 10 years, they've covered my position with two part-timers and some volunteers. My income will be banked/invested and hopefully that means dh can retire efore he's old. There is a university in Africa he'd like to teach at. Currently, he can't leave work so it's not an option, but if he could retire younger, he'd love to do this. So, I'm going to do my part to help with that. Not certain how I feel about living in Africa for a couple of years. I HATE SNAKES!!!!

 

Faith

[unsinkable]

 

 

Absolutely true! Here's a list of what our PS charges:

 

Sports fee - $100.00 a yr. thankfully not per sport

 

Music Fee - $100.00 a yr.

 

Graphing calculator for Algebra 1 and higher - $105.00 (they require a specific model, order them in bulk, do not pass the discount on, and it's added to your bill if your child is signed up for math higher than remedial, business, or accounting), you can buy it on sale at Staples for much less, but they'll still attach it to your bill even if you don't take the calculator...it's an automatic charge. Of course, with the recession and nearly 20% unemployment rate in our county many parents can't afford it, but since the state requires all students to complete algebra 2 to graduate, you have to come up with the money or your kid is in serious trouble.

 

Lunches - very expensive, they've marked it up a lot to help make up for the low payback from the FEDS on free or reduced price lunch since they go in the hole to provide it due to the rising cost of food.

 

Locker rentals - YUP! The kids pay to use a locker now. $40.00 per year.

 

Library card - $10.00 a year

 

Parking fee for students who drive - $75.00 per year

 

Graduation package - Cap, Gown, Tassle, Six invitations, six tickets to the event, and one 8x10 of the graduating class. $500.00. If you cannot afford to pay for the package, you are not allowed to attend commencement and your diploma is mailed to you without a presentation folder or frame.

 

Art fee - $50.00 per class taken, presumably for supplies, but since they've downgraded the level of teaching so it's less expensive - ie. virtually no painting, sculpture, etc. so mostly drawing, I have a feeling this is a money maker as well.

 

AP course fee - $50.00 per course, however, that won't be around much longer because they are eliminating AP's in favor of putting the resources to more remediation.

 

This is for high school obviously. I really do not know what the fees are for middle or elementary.

 

Faith

 

 

How do you know all this if you don't have kids in school?

[Jenny in Florida]

Please explain... what are these "hidden costs"? (We may have one is ps this fall.)

 

http://www.bostonglo...2VWN/story.html

 

 

http://online.wsj.co...2363698678.html

 

"Public schools across the country, struggling with cuts in state funding, rising personnel costs and lower tax revenues, are shifting costs to students and their parents by imposing or boosting fees for everything from enrolling in honors English to riding the bus.

 

"At high schools in several states, it can cost more than $200 just to walk in the door, thanks to registration fees, technology fees and unspecified 'instructional fees.' "

 

 

http://thelensnola.o...hools-rsd-opsb/

 

"Public education is free, right?

 

"Wrong. And it’s not priced uniformly throughout the New Orleans public school system.

 

"At Warren Easton High School, parents are hit on average with up to $1,086 in fees to cover everything from student insurance to school publications, lab and art supplies, aptitude tests and graduation costs."

 

Edit - One more article: http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/05/08/5-hidden-costs-of-public-high-school

[dbmamaz]

i'm lucky in that my maternal grandmother left a decent amount of money to each of her 6 grandkids, and i have only dipped in to that for a used car when i was a single mom, and for a house downpayment. But its not 2 years of salary. Dh wont do 401ks for some reason. We keep saying we'll work until we die . . . and for college, they just have to go to a state school and take loans. we can handle community college tuition on his salary, but not even the state U.

 

as for school fees - i live in a very wealthy school district and they expect the parents to contribute a lot. i'd say the public school fees were about half what i'm spending on homeschooling? starting at middle school they gave out laptops, and we were required to buy a laptop carrier (some years anyways) and spend i think 200/year/kid on insurance through the school. there were all sorts of fees. My daughter was in choir and we had $200 dresses and trips to NYC and trips to competitions. and yes, the grade school 2-page list of brand-name school supplies you had to buy for the first day . . . and fund raisers every single month.

 

of course, i'm reasonably frugal with homeschooling . . . very few outside classes, very few really expensive curriculum, used books when easy to find . .. .