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What's your target dollar amount for 529 by the time your child turns 18?

18,139 Views | 107 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by GE
GigEmAgs08
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It seems that 529 is the preferred method for college savings. I'm curious what your target savings is. Obviously this is affected by when your kid will turn 18, but let's just ignore that. How much are you trying to save?

I have a 3 year old and I'm thinking to have 80 to 100k in their account by the time they start college. We have another child and will likely have one more so could always shift money to other 529s later if necessary.
62strat
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I'm only shooting for saving maybe half in a 529. I'll just pay the rest cash as they go.. it isn't that much each semester. Less than I pay in daycare right now!

I don't want to end up in a situation where I have a few hundred k in 529, and then my kids don't go to college!
59 South
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I have 2 under 5 and am planning to have about $100k for each by the time they start.
Red Pear Realty
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Right now we have one child with hopes of having more, God willing. The plan is to put $5,000 per year, inflation adjusted, into the Texas Tuition Promise Fund for the first one until her junior year, and do the same for any future kids, except put the money into a 529 (hedge our bets with half in each). I hope they live on campus for their first year, but after that, we have the housing situation covered--and if they don't like that option, they can pay for their own housing! The ultimate goal is for us to cover any costs above what we saved so that they graduate debt free, which is something we weren't fortunate enough to have.
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The Anchor
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We budget for $X per month to go into their accounts. We don't have a specifc end goal on mind.
dreyOO
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Our target was set as 4 years worth at Texas A&M. While public, it's not exactly cheap anymore. If they want to go to a more expensive school or grad school, they can make the decision on how to fund it.

At times, I've felt I might be overfunding it. I'd be surprised if they don't earn scholarships. But then I remember I can just buy property at their schools and pay board (myself) with the 529s. Nice little perk.
Stive
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30-50% of projected cost.

Too many other variables in my mind to shoot for more than that. Scholarships, duel credit, cost projections, etc.

Pasquale Liucci
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Don't count on scholarships. True merit based aid is very rare and getting harder to come by.
The Lost
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I'd go like another poster and have %50 of what you think saved in a 529 type account and just keep savings otherwise.

College is going to go through its bubble sooner than later. Its cost isnt sustainable and the 20-25 years itll be before mine get there will have lots of change. Especially in places like tech where they care less about credentials and more if you can code.
TXAGBQ76
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It costs $25K/year before room, board and books at TAMU now
BlackGoldAg2011
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My personal view is I want to be able to cover full room and board at an in state level rate for each of my kids out of their 529. Current trends would put that somewhere between 180k and 200k when my first enters college 19 years from now. If they don't use it all, so be it, I can either pay the penalty plus taxes and add it into my retirement, or if my retirement is looking fine I will change the beneficiary for the remainder to any grand kids. Also, i plan to watch the annual trend on college prices over the next 2 decades and adjust my goals as the inflation rate changes, because they can't stay on this trend forever.
Richierich2323
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Zero, I can't afford it as a teacher with our pension fund problems and bad health insurance.

Putting the money into a Roth IRA, and deciding once they are college age to help them with college or save it for my own retirement.

If they really need the money for college my kids can join the military.
Red Pear Realty
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Lester Freamon said:

Don't count on scholarships. True merit based aid is very rare and getting harder to come by.

My youngest sister was a National Merit Scholar, perfect grades, had probably 30 hours of JuCo as a high school student, and was offered a full ride by OU immediately. They reached out to her. Her first choice at the time was A&M, so she sat down with them and they offered her around $1,000 in scholarships. Almost right after that, she was admitted to Yale, and they also gave her a full ride. When A&M found out about that, all of the sudden they offered her a full ride also. Too late, she accepted Yale. Nothing had changed about her or her application other than A&M finding out she had been admitted to Yale. That story still makes me frustrated at A&M.
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94chem
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National Merit is now worth $42K at A&M, because it comes with a PES, according to the website. Of course, you have to keep a 3.5...which is a tall order in some majors, unless grades are more inflated these days.
10andBOUNCE
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$60-$80k is about where my head is at. Aiming for half-ish saved and we'll figure out the other half when the time comes.
dreyOO
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Yeah, I have no idea what to expect really. But we aren't telling our kids that we are saving. We'll instead make sure they know they need to earn their acceptance to best programs and then figure out how to pay for it. We're trying to make them hungry. Who knows if that leads to anything.
Red Pear Realty
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dreyOO said:

Yeah, I have no idea what to expect really. But we aren't telling our kids that we are saving. We'll instead make sure they know they need to earn their acceptance to best programs and then figure out how to pay for it. We're trying to make them hungry. Who knows if that leads to anything.

Same.
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BMF_AG95
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Have one child. Plan is to have enough in 529 for one year at state school, one year from profit of selling calves, one year of our personal cash and the last to be cash flowed.

Never understood having all wrapped up in a 529 plan. Seems like owning all of one companies stock.

I'm no expert but diversification is always a good thing right?
Dr T and the Women
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94chem said:

National Merit is now worth $42K at A&M, because it comes with a PES, according to the website. Of course, you have to keep a 3.5...which is a tall order in some majors, unless grades are more inflated these days.


A 3.5 shouldn't be hard for a PES scholar regardless of major. If you can't keep that you don't deserve the top scholarship at A&m imo
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Guitarsoup
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My advisor said to have 250k each
Stive
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That's going to be what college is projected to run by the time your two get there but that's not the best recommendation. (IMO)
terradactylexpress
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Front loaded $30k into a 529 at 1 year old. Theoretically that should cover half of 4 years by the time college rolls around
Ridge14
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Red Pear Realty said:

Lester Freamon said:

Don't count on scholarships. True merit based aid is very rare and getting harder to come by.

My youngest sister was a National Merit Scholar, perfect grades, had probably 30 hours of JuCo as a high school student, and was offered a full ride by OU immediately. They reached out to her. Her first choice at the time was A&M, so she sat down with them and they offered her around $1,000 in scholarships. Almost right after that, she was admitted to Yale, and they also gave her a full ride. When A&M found out about that, all of the sudden they offered her a full ride also. Too late, she accepted Yale. Nothing had changed about her or her application other than A&M finding out she had been admitted to Yale. That story still makes me frustrated at A&M.
Ridiculous of A&M.

More than half of scholarship aid should be merit based in my opinion.
GasAg90
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My kid is in his last year at A&M and we have found that the all in total cost is twice the cost of tuition and fees.
Aston04
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Guitarsoup said:

My advisor said to have 250k each
college tuition hikes can't keep rising like that.... Completely unsustainable. Mine will proudly go to juco if collge costs that much. Stupid expensive.
Stive
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We said the same thing back in 2001 when i was running college projections for 2018-19 for kids that had just been born. Those projections weren't far off at all.

59 South
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My real plan is to be so rich that it doesn't matter.
Birdbear
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Lester Freamon said:

Don't count on scholarships. True merit based aid is very rare and getting harder to come by.


Fairly recent grad here - I disagree. About half of my undergrad tuition was covered by merit-based scholarships, and I'm not an outlier by any means. Pretty sure some of the scholarships I received jr and sr year had only a few applicants.
TexasAggie_97
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50k for all three kids. The first is 2 years away from college. If we come up short after scholarships and the 529 then I will just pay out of pocket.
GE
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Red Pear Realty said:

Lester Freamon said:

Don't count on scholarships. True merit based aid is very rare and getting harder to come by.

My youngest sister was a National Merit Scholar, perfect grades, had probably 30 hours of JuCo as a high school student, and was offered a full ride by OU immediately. They reached out to her. Her first choice at the time was A&M, so she sat down with them and they offered her around $1,000 in scholarships. Almost right after that, she was admitted to Yale, and they also gave her a full ride. When A&M found out about that, all of the sudden they offered her a full ride also. Too late, she accepted Yale. Nothing had changed about her or her application other than A&M finding out she had been admitted to Yale. That story still makes me frustrated at A&M.
I think they changed that policy. When I went through A&M was offering $44,000 as the standard for national merit finalists. Tech was offering something like $75,000 that also included grad school
Pasquale Liucci
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I got about 64k for NMS. There was another echelon of scholarships that gave another 20k or so (the Brown Endowed Scholarship) above the standard National Merit package.
62strat
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GasAg90 said:

My kid is in his last year at A&M and we have found that the all in total cost is twice the cost of tuition and fees.
I assume this includes living expenses? Is that dorm, apartment, house? Roommates?

Lots of variables here. I think I'll but something wherever my kids go. Tell them to get a roommate to lower cost. Then sell it 6-7 years later hopefully for profit.
drill4oil78
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TXAGBQ76 said:

It costs $25K/year before room, board and books at TAMU now
No way .... 25K with room, board, and books. My youngest graduated in 2016 and the average wasaround r $25k a year for everything. 100k for 4 years. It has not gone up that much in a few years, unless the kid is staying at the highest cost living accommodations in CS and eating at the Republic a couple times a week.
ac04
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Guitarsoup said:

My advisor said to have 250k each


this is a bit ridiculous IMO. there is already an enormous amount of student debt out there at today's prices, 250k would throw the ROI of most college degrees so far out of wack that attendance would reduce considerably.
lockett93
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drill4oil78 said:

TXAGBQ76 said:

It costs $25K/year before room, board and books at TAMU now
No way .... 25K with room, board, and books. My youngest graduated in 2016 and the average wasaround r $25k a year for everything. 100k for 4 years. It has not gone up that much in a few years, unless the kid is staying at the highest cost living accommodations in CS and eating at the Republic a couple times a week.


Agreed! My son is sophomore now. His rent is $550/month and total cost last year including tuition, fees, sports pass, rent, utilities, books, and $500/month spending allowance was $26k
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