For the record, I work with someone who spends more than 100k annually on restaurants and leisure travel. When the time came, paying for college wasn’t an issue, but they still opted for a school where their child got merit money. If their child had gotten into her first choice (ivy-esque LAC) they would have happily paid full price, but they all decided other schools weren’t worth the premium over the good school where she ended up. Their kid is thriving and I totally respect their decision.