speaker, I agree with you, and that’s why I told my kids if they want an Ivy league education, they need to get scholarships to get there. Unless other parents, I won’t go into debt for $120k/child for an education. I think many parents, well-meaning, are using their home equity for college, and then who takes care of the parents in retirement?
As far as the people profiled, I don’t see how divorce made it harder. The guy earning $50K/year should be able to support a family. That is the median income, folks. The $435/month that he sends the ex-wife is a LOT less than what he would pay if the wife were living with him and not working.
The other couple had 2 breadwinners and 2 kids. I don’t see that divorce made their situation any worse. His son is too old to be getting child support, and neither earns enough to have alimony payments to an ex-spouse.
Both families have fairly cheap housing, and the HELOC is fairly low: $137/month.
I think this article clearly states it is expensive to live here. I don’t see that divorce exacerbated their current financial predicament, although past attorney bills could have contributed, we just don’t know.
