Do you owe your kids an education?

[bchad]

Ivy league basically means that they play football with each other.

[higgmond]

@bchad

Ivy league basically means that they play BAD football with each other.

FTFY

[Ghibli]

@ohai

For what it’s worth, I would rather have lived at Berkeley than at Stanford. Palo Alto is very boring if you are a student. Most people spend all their time on campus. It is inconvenient to leave campus, and once you are in town, you can’t afford anything.

However, it’s still worth going to Stanford, even if it’s $100k, $150k or $200k more expensive. The most valuable thing in my education was being exposed to top 0.001% people. No matter how good you think you are, someone there will make you feel like shit, just from their sheer talent. You will not find many of these people outside a handful of undergraduate schools; they are so talented that they get into almost every school they apply to. 90% of students are the same between Berkeley and Stanford, but the top 1% is entirely different.

In terms of the cost savings… if your focus is really to make as much money as possible, then you will earn it back. It’s not like Cal is that cheap nowadays anyway.

Great point. One of my biggest regrets. Not seeking out people far more talented than myself when I was younger. I wish I could have known the importance of that when I was fourteen. Live and learn.

[bchad]

Palo Alto is indeed quite boring as a student.

[Greenman72]

@igor555

@goes_to_eleven

I have about $80 k saved in their 529 account.

if you dont mind sharing how long did it take you to get to 80k in a 529?

Normally, any money you contribute to a 529 is subject to gift tax. So anything over $14k per year is taxable to the donor, or is counted against the $5.43m exclusion.

There is, however, a loophole in the law, which will allow you to fund five years at a time without being subject to gift tax. So GT11 could have put $70,000 in his 529 all at once without it being subject to gift tax.

Actually, he could have contributed $70,000 and his wife could have contributed $70,000, for a total of $140k.

Actually, he could have contributed $70k for his son and $70k for his daughter, and his wife could have contributed $70k for her son, and $70k for her daughter, for a total of $280k, none of which would have been subject to gift tax.

(If you had taken the CFP exam, you would have known this.)

[CFALOBO]

Yes, I believe I do. My parents paid for college, and I didn’t have to work. If the kid works hard, it will be my pleasure.

[system]

@bchad

In finance, that’s not a bug. It’s a feature. Empathy is for bleeding heart losers. Empathy is what stops you from taking the maximum from those who lack bargaining power.

Print it, frame it!

[Analti_Calte_Equity]

@Greenman72

Now, at 35,

.

wow you’re only 35

[igor555]

[video:http://mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Cleveland-Brown-Is-Sad-He-Looks-Fat-In-The-Mirror.gif]

[igor555]

@Analti\_Calte\_Equity

@Greenman72

Now, at 35,

.

wow you’re only 35

this comes into my mind when i think of Greenman

[naren]

@Greenman72

Normally, any money you contribute to a 529 is subject to gift tax. So anything over $14k per year is taxable to the donor, or is counted against the $5.43m exclusion.

There is, however, a loophole in the law, which will allow you to fund five years at a time without being subject to gift tax. So GT11 could have put $70,000 in his 529 all at once without it being subject to gift tax.

Actually, he could have contributed $70,000 and his wife could have contributed $70,000, for a total of $140k.

Actually, he could have contributed $70k for his son and $70k for his daughter, and his wife could have contributed $70k for her son, and $70k for her daughter, for a total of $280k, none of which would have been subject to gift tax.

(If you had taken the CFP exam, you would have known this.)

Someone bumped this thread so might as well hijack it.

Subject to limits of contribution to 529 (if there is one), can I just put $1M in there? I thought the loophole was that I would have to declare it on some IRS form or another, but it would count towards the $5.35M lifetime total exclusion from combined estate + gift tax.

[Greenman72]

^Each state has its own limits. The maximum value in the account in a Utah 529 is $416k, while Texas has no limit to the value of the account. However, Texas limits the contributions to $370k.

And you have to report the gift (if it’s over $14k) on a 709, which is the gift tax return. Yes, it does count toward the lifetime exclusion (currently $5.43m).

[Analti_Calte_Equity]

We have a little deal in my family: a) You go to any college you want and parents pay for it b) You go to any college you want and you pay for it (ie scholarships) and you get a new car senior year

[Analti_Calte_Equity]

@goes_to_eleven

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about it anyway: her chances of getting into Stanford are 50/50 at best.

50/50 is pretty good

UC Berkeley is a great school, but after visiting Stanford and seeing one of my siblings go there for an advanced degree, I am biased towards the latter.

[GorillaNerd]

i visited gsb stanford a few weeks ago. had a very ominous feeling walking aroudn the campus like i’ll be rejected or something. IMO, parents should not have to worry about that crap. government should pay for the education for all the young guns. the smartest rise to the top. then govt should pay for their college. the smartest then get the best jobs, who make the best decisisons, who then get taxed the most…

[itera]

@Analti\_Calte\_Equity

We have a little deal in my family: a) You go to any college you want and parents pay for it b) You go to any college you want and you pay for it (ie scholarships) and you get a new car senior year

.

what kind of car? and is it new?

[Analti_Calte_Equity]

@itera

@Analti\_Calte\_Equity

We have a little deal in my family: a) You go to any college you want and parents pay for it b) You go to any college you want and you pay for it (ie scholarships) and you get a new car senior year

.

what kind of car? and is it new?

yeah any type of mid level new car within reason 3 out of the 4 of us siblings got new cars … my one sister didn’t get one as she didn’t get a full ride or any scholarships.

[naren]

@Neryblop

government should pay for the education for all the young guns. the smartest rise to the top. then govt should pay for their college. the smartest then get the best jobs, who make the best decisisons, who then get taxed the most…

Why would the government know who is the smartest? Because they score top marks in exams?

Life already decides who is the smartest, who gets the best jobs, who makes the best decisions and who gets taxed the most. They are four separate subsets of people and have pretty small intersections. C’est la vie.

[ohai]

Well, yes, there is a very strong correlation between test scores and intelligence, or at least intelligence that can be expressed. Even if this intelligence is just a potential that can be nurtured, or if it is a result of personality traits that are trained from childhood, the application should be similar.

[naren]

@ohai

Well, yes, there is a very strong correlation between test scores and intelligence, or at least intelligence that can be expressed. Even if this intelligence is just a potential that can be nurtured, or if it is a result of personality traits that are trained from childhood, the application should be similar.

Being intelligent is not quite the same as being smart. In fact their antonyms are more highly correlated (stupid = dumb.) Something like this

______________________________ ______________________________

| Smart people | | Intelligent people |

| __________________________________ |

| | Smart and intelligent people | |

| | | |

____________________________________________________________________

| |

| Dumb and stupid people |

|___________________________________________________________________ |