What goes up must come down. On the other hand, is there such a thing as a cheap college education? You want your children to be the best they can be within the environment in which they live.
To do so you have to provide the tools to your children that will allow them to determine what they would like to do to support themselves when they grow up. Money does not grow on trees if you do not own fruit bearing trees that provide your primary means of support i.e. independent wealth.
The truth of the matter is that your failure in life, money wise, could make it very difficult for your child to earn a college degree. That is, if your child is so inclined to learn a skill or a profession that requires an advanced education. Stranger things happen and it is quite possible your child is a great deal smarter than you are, or you will ever be during your lifetime.
To make matters worse, the cost of such a college education has increased to as much as $25,000.00 per year within some universities from a yearly average cost of about $1,700.00 back in 1970. That is about a 1,200 percent increase in just 42 years. How much more will such an education cost 20 years into the future? Then again, are you willing and/or able to pay $100,000.00 for your child’s college education?
To do so you better save about $5,000.00 each year and invest that saved amount in an account that provides a high rate of return on your investment. If that is not possible you can take a second mortgage on your home to cover the cost of such an education. Your home might be worth more than twice the amount that you paid for it, but do you really want to sell your home?
It is highly likely that you will be ready to retire and still have a mortgage payment to make each month just because you want your child to be the best that he or she can be. So too, your child might pay back the money spent for his or her education. Some really smart and formally educated people never become wealthy even if they become famous as a result of their contribution to society.
As luck would have it, your child might get married and have many financial obligations that will take most of his or her income to pay each year. The investment you make in your child’s future well being might never be recovered, even if you work for the next 50 years. On the other hand, you will have the satisfaction and peace of mind knowing that you did all that you could to insure a secure future for your child.