Congratulations on doing such a great job with your kids!
My apologies to you (and anyone else whom I’ve offended) for the “dorm experience” remark. It’s just that I know more than a few people who were in NO position to be spending any extra money, yet did this anyway. They were in such bad shape that they were barely able to set aside money for their own retirements. If people can’t afford to save for their own retirements, they should not be sending their kids off to college, IMHO.
Now, they are much closer to retirement age, very short on money (have been taking money out of retirement accounts just to pay basic living expenses, and paying the penalties!!!!), have maxed out the HELOCs on the houses, etc. Obviously, if one can afford it, that is a different subject, entirely. I’m just thinking about all those people out there who are doing it because they think that’s what they’re supposed to do.
Really, we need to re-think the way we deal with college expenses and the debt that pushes the costs so high. The credit bubble has affected prices of many things, houses were one, but college is another. IMHO, we need to stop financing everything and start using cash/savings. That, in itself, will bring prices back down to where people can afford things without going into debt.
