<p>pension isnt a bonus- its what we live off of now, like a savings fund. its about 800k that my parents have to live off the rest of their life. 80 of that whas been designated thru tiaa cref as being specifically for college. When my dad retired, he was given a 40k bonus that took care of most of the credit card debt.</p>
<p>Is your dad’s pension specifically labeled as a retirement account, pension/retirement annuity or IRA? Funds <em>in a retirement plan</em> are not considered towards college expenses. (If it’s in a TIAA-CREF pension annuity, it should not be subject to consideration for FA purposes.) </p>
<p>OTOH, if the money is sitting in a regular savings account and your parents plan to use it for retirement, but is not under the legal umbrella of a retirement plan, then yes, FA will consider it an available asset for college. </p>
<p>If you incorrectly reported pension assets on your FAFSA/PROFILE, and you have a sibling also in college, you may want to contact Tufts and request a redetermination. You may also want to let Tufts know that $X amount of 2008 earnings represented a one-time severance/bonus upon retirement and that future income will be YYY. Can’t hurt, might help.</p>
<p>Agree with goru that the questions that people are asking indicate that they do not understand what a 150k income gets you in certain places in the country. </p>
<p>In many Chicago suburbs, 150k is definitely a middle class income. You could argue upper middle class, but still middle class. And 800k in a retirement plan that has to cover the rest of 2 people’s lives is what most financial planners would recommend, but sadly most of us do not save money in a responsible way, and plan on social security and our 401k plan at work to take care of us.</p>
<p>And- many people lost upwards of 40% of their retirement stash in the recent past. Having 800k is not a garantee of a secure retirement anymore. </p>
<p>I know it’s hard for some to imagine, but these stats do not make the Op’s family “rich”. I would trade places with them financially, but they are not filthy rich. They are where the rest of us should be, and probably aren’t.</p>
<p>Good luck with your education. There are many fine schools. Don’t feel you have to go to a “name brand”. It’s more about what you do than where you go.</p>
<p>A $40k bonus took care of “most” of the credit card debt? </p>
<p>That does not sound like an “adequate” lifestyle, that sounds like a household with a spending problem. And now your are whining about financial aid? Your family made spending choices and now you have to live with it.</p>
<p>great advice from countingdown. make sure the 800K is appropriately considered. and point out the 40K bonus was a 1-time event. it may make a difference, especially if you’ll have a sibling in college next year. (btw, your parents probably want to make sure the sibling’s paperwork was filled out appropriately as well). </p>
<p>again, dont be fazed by the judgmental voices on this thread. that 800k needs to last both your parents for the remainder of their lives. it sounds like a lot of money. but most financial planners will tell you not to withdraw more than 4% of that some in any year to ensure it lasts. that’s just $32k. </p>
<p>i’m always amazed at how many posters think that they know everyone else’s business and circumstances. to those of you, isnt this a big reason why you’re sacrificing to send your child to college? so that they have the opportunity to raise their standard of living? there’s no doubt that 150k is a lot more than 50k. but i still contend that few in that income bracket were born to that situation. more likely their grandparents made the choices and sacrifices that you are making now. as a result, their parents have reached this level of income. just like, hopefully, your children will in the years to come.</p>
<p>Sblake, that was a pretty patronizing set of assumptions you just made about the lifestyle of someone you’ve never met.</p>
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<p>yes, debt accrued from college loans (my mom got her masters). excessive spending indeed, right?</p>
<p>we dont exorbitantly throw money around.</p>
<p>150K is extremely comfortably middle class in probably 90% of the country. </p>
<p>If I was struggling to get by on that kinda income, I would seriously be questioning my living location. I can’t believe it would be a big struggle to live on that kinda money in most places. Yes, if you bought an overpriced house in the past few years, it might be an issue, but if you have been where you are for a while and live a very frugal life, and make that income over a period of years, you should be able to save some $$. I guess if you have 5 kids, live in Manhattan and want to send them to private HS, you would have a problem (not referring to you cptofthehouse, I know your family made the choice to live in a high cost area with much forethought and have no illusions about the sacrifices you are making to provide for your kids and you don’t bemoan your situation). </p>
<p>I’m telling you I know people in my area making 100K with 2 parents working. 3 kids 4 years apart (they will be paying tuitions for 11 years, living in houses they bought for less than 100K and have nearly paid off, send their kids to private catholic schools for a couple of K per year (publics are not good around here but we have good charter and magnet schools that are free), drive new cars (and pay thru the teeth for insurance), go to disney world regulary, redo their houses, and when I have told them to run a fafsa to get an idea about it (and their 3 kids are not past 7th grade), they get a look of utter SHOCK when a 20-25K number pops up. Now they may have kids that go to a local Catholic college and commute, but they could not CONCEIVE of paying that kinda coin for college.</p>
<p>Saving for college is not on their radar screen.</p>
<p>@sueinphilly-</p>
<p>sorry, I go to public school. My family does not really live in an extremely expensive area, but as a general rule the northeastern is very expensive. I am not the one doing the bills, but as far as i know my parents dont have some secret savings account or something that they are hiding from me. Where to you think our money is being stored or something? The money pays of the taxes, utilities, mortgages, etc. with a tiiiiiny bit of skim on the top for affording cable or something. </p>
<p>we have about 12.5k a month that is pretty much all spoken for. The credit card debit gained through sending 2 to college is almost gone, but other than that there is not a significant amount left over. I pay my own car insurance, phone bills, gas, etc. from working a part time job. Once again, your perception of our lifestyle is terribly out of touch and the idea that I would put myself and my family into unsavagible debt in order to afford an elite college is too…selfish. My grades affirm that I will do fine anywhere else, and I guess that is the answer I’ve been looking for. That being said, I’m getting a call from my FinAid officer at Tufts on Monday. Ill keep you guys posted.</p>
<p>My parents make 21k a year and we consider ourselves middle class.</p>
<p><<we have=“” about=“” 12.5k=“” a=“” month=“” that=“” is=“” pretty=“” much=“” all=“” spoken=“” for=“”>></we></p>
<p>I live in Philadelphia, after payroll taxes, local taxes and retirement and health care, my take home pay is $1250 every 2 weeks, $32500 PER YEAR.
Out of that I pay a mortage, taxes and insurance on that and frivolous things like food and electricity… My Gross pay is nearly 2x what I actually bring home. Yet somehow I managed to save 60K in cash and $130K in retirement in the past 10-15 years. And 15 years ago I was make 20K</p>
<p>I drive an 18 year old car. I never eat out and I have spent at most 2K total on vacations in the past 5 years. I don’t think you grasp what no-frills living really is.</p>
<p>My efc is 12K and I could pay all four years of it with cash already saved (I’ve alreay paid for 2 years, my son is a sophomore)</p>
<p>“Sblake, that was a pretty patronizing set of assumptions you just made about the lifestyle of someone you’ve never met.”</p>
<p>Whether we’ve met isn’t the point. None of us has met. The fact is that the OP asked for advice, which I gave based largely on the info he provided, making reasonable assumptions about the lifestyles typical of those who make that kind of money. I’d hazard a guess that most families making 150K do have a housekeeper, and that most who live in a suburban home have a gardener. Leased cars are expensive, two leased cars are even more expensive. Dinners out are expensive, and cutting back there is a reasonable way to save to make college doable. Many people in this income range have a boat, or rec vehicle, and this is another place to save. Shorter local vacations are a place to save. Dad going back to work is a way to increase income.</p>
<p>It’s expensive to live expensively. </p>
<p>So these are all reasonable ways that a family might be able to save. But my primary advice, not to focus on one school, and look at other good schools that can offer merit aid, is advice that OP seems to understand.</p>
<p>And yes, FWIW, I have a gardener, and a housekeeper. And I’m keeping 'em both. :)</p>
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<p>No. What is idiotic is expecting sympathy or outrage during tough economic times when a family has that level of income.</p>
<p>If a family is just getting by on 150K, they are living beyond their means. The only reasonable exception is medical debt.</p>
<p>Take out loans if you have to. You have more in savings for a year than my family makes. Honestly I think you should be thankful you don’t have to pay it all on your own like a lot of us do.</p>
<p>Sorry if I don’t feel sympathy for you, but the recession has hit everybody. At least after your dad retired, he had something to show for it. Many people are simply not that lucky.</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know if the 12.5K a month is net or gross nor do we know the details of this family’s budget, but gosh, where does it all go? Maybe there are medical expenses? As someone who lives on about 25K a year and spent $20 this week for groceries, including milk, meat, eggs, veggies, I would definitely like to see the breakdown.</p>
<p>However, would it help to defer your admission for a year? You say you work right now;
can you become independent and not be claimed on your parents’ taxes as a dependent?</p>
<p>You do have 20K per year for college; would it be possible to attend a less expensive school?</p>
<p>How about 2 yrs at a community college, and then do the last two at Tufts; with your 80K plus
20K in loans (or maybe some form of aid), you can pay for the last two years and have your Tufts
diploma.</p>
<p>Perhaps those that believe 150K is over the top in salary, please try those cost of living calculators to compare the true value of a 150K salary.
My neck of the woods, 150K is equal to a 76K salary in Texas.
There are parts of the NE that pay more for utilities than in Hawaii especially electricity. Cut the OP some slack. </p>
<p><a href=“Cost of Living Calculator - Cost of Living Comparison Index Tool | Bankrate”>Cost of Living Calculator - Cost of Living Comparison Index Tool | Bankrate;
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<p>Where on earth do you live that a family who makes 150k can afford all that?? </p>
<p>Speaking as a member of a 150k family…we can’t afford any of that. We don’t vacation, we don’t eat out, we don’t own an RV (???), we can’t afford the public school offered childcare for my five-year-old sister and instead I take care of her every day while my mother works two jobs. Most people I know at 150k don’t have most of the things you’ve listed. You never know the circumstances behind someone else, so you should hesitate before you make judgments like that. </p>
<p>For me? It’s my parent’s divorce and my father’s slack support of us, plus his losing his job in 2007 and essentially refusing to go back to work; high uninsured medical bills; eight people total in my immediate family; the fact that we live in LA. We live with very few frills, even at 150k. You can’t assume that the OP doesn’t have similar circumstances. Maybe it’s because of my area, but 150k is enough to sustain an average lifestyle here…not much more. </p>
<p>I don’t have the same issue as the OP, because I have half of my tuition paid for the next four years because my college meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. I have an EFC of about 25k, and I can understand the OP hoping they wouldn’t be expected to pay full tuition.</p>
<p>150K in NYC definitely is not a reason to cry poverty, but no one here would consider that wealthy. A lot of people with that type of income live in modest homes, send their kids to public school, drive old cars (or take public transportation), don’t take expensive vacations, and DO try to save for college because they won’t be getting any financial aid. You shouldn’t immediately assume anyone making that much has no right to say they can’t afford a $50,000/yr college. Anyway, the OP is a 17 year old kid asking for advice and doesn’t really need a lot of speculative attacks on what his/her family may or may not have done in financial planning.</p>
<p>
This is irrelevant. Being independent for tax purposes does not make one independent for financial aid purposes. One becomes independent for financial aid purposes if:
- one is 24 years old or older
- one is married
- one is the parent of and supporting a child
- one is living with and providing more than 1/2 support for another dependent
- one already has a bachelor’s degree and is pursuing a graduate or professional degree
- one is on active duty (not training)
- one is a veteran
- one is an orphan (both parents deceased) or was a ward of the court until age 18.</p>
<p>That’s it.</p>
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<p>i have asked the same question. Somehow all that money gets spent, I dont do my family’s taxes so i dont know. Anything else would suggest that my parents are hiding money from me (not the case). I do not want to take away from my parents lifestyle (comfortable) just in order to go to college. Thats why we hoped to get some financial aid, but as ive learned, these elite need-based colleges dont really care about what happens to the family in these situations.</p>