How to Live Frugally When Kids are in College

Two years of cc, got it. Smart and affordable choice these days (some services at full-pay private universities can’t be used by everyone, so why pay for them over four years?). IIRC that means transfer students aren’t eligible for full-tuition merit at schools? Or does this vary by school?

So the plan is, at a minimum, to afford the local university in two years, and that’s do-able.

You’re building the coffers for two years from now, then, for possible full-pay admissions for junior/senior year. So you have time to prepare and are looking for income generation. Then the advice about all family members trying to pitch in for this expense is still viable, and probably the best bet.

Her job is absolutely to research going away to schools she likes that can be made affordable. Her goals (which I’m sure you’re already aware of):

-top marks in all subjects to make her transfer applications more viable
-work/internship/club/volunteering experience that shows what impact she’ll make on campus
-a list of schools she wants to apply to with information on how much it will be to transfer
-followed by information on any scholarships she can earn to make the COA affordable

Next: even if she is in cc now, are there any scholarships she can earn?
-she doesn’t have tuition for the next few years, but what about other expenses?
-scholarships can include expenses for: conferences, travel/learning abroad during the summer, laptops/student equipment, etc.; anything useful to a student experience

My kid did a cc de degree along with high school, and we also were not charged tuition (but had various fees). I remember seeing that the cc had scholarship applications for students, and there might be money out there for your daughter while she is there, so she should source it!

The biggest thing is to reverse-engineer any significant money she can get as a transfer student to her schools of choice, if applicable. Read the applications, and see what they are looking for in successful candidates. What are the profiles of current awardees? Your daughter has the time to plan to apply not just to the schools but any possible scholarship/grant/what-have-yous said schools offer.

This can be a drag to do and a time suck. Can you or your wife do some cursory searching to cut down on the noise for her (she has homework, perhaps a job, other considerations). Sometimes researching “US-based college scholarships” is so broad it’s overwhelming. Better to get some leads funneled down that could apply to her (of national scholarships - the ones at her cc she can check out herself).

I just feel like she is a key part of this economic equation since it’s her education and costs these days have outpaced inflation. Neither you nor her need a massive debt for two years of college (obviously why this current path is the one she’s on).

Time and planning are on your side here.

Case Western offers need need based financial aid packages to transfer students. They also offer some merit to transfer students, too.

"Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship

Recognizing community college transfer students who have demonstrated outstanding academic and leadership achievement, it is an award of $25,000 per year. The Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship is awarded to active Phi Theta Kappa members who are applying as transfer students."

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This is exactly what I didn’t know was out there but was alluding to. Even if the student doesn’t know exactly what they want to study yet they can draft a list of potential schools with solid transfer merit potential.

The profiles for successful candidates all discuss academic and leadership achievement. Forewarned is forearmed.

I am bullish on scholarships because that absolutely impacted where my kid ended up.

The process was challenging - a lot of applications filled out that were not successful. Which led to tiredness and other applications being missed. My kid lost out on some smaller awards, but did end up with tuition covered at a school that is respected and a great fit for them. Sometimes, the long shots pay off! Kid also earned three other small one-off outside scholarships that are helping to chip away at the room/board costs this year.

As my student is on campus and meets students way richer and way poorer - along with the mid-range hustlers - the perspective is starting to kick in. They are grateful to be in okay shape this year. I am trying to get them to bring in more scholarship money the next three years to reduce costs associated with school as we help float them. Travel expenses alone have added up!

Excited to see that you asked this question at the right time and can prepare for battle.

@coolguy40 you probably know this already, but your daughter should be speaking to the transfer advisor at her CC now. She needs to inquire where the CC has articulation agreements, and also inquire about scholarships for transfer students…they are out there.

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Also, are you trying to avoid the paperwork and time of any student government loans?

Our family plan was to evaluate the full COA of each school acceptance, and use merit to identify the most financially viable “yesses.” Or at least the ones my spouse and I deemed acceptable to fund. If my kid weren’t at their current school, they would be at a state school Honors College program with approximately the same room/board COA. Then living at home the next three years, stacking paper.

As I said before, they are responsible for another round of scholarship applications this year to help reduce room/board/other expenses for next year. Rinse/repeat for junior/senior year.

Why? Because the bank of mom and dad is funding the rest, and we insist that our kid has skin in the game. Scholarship applications are their unofficial job. Which then allows for enough time on campus for classes/labs, homework, eating, clubs/associations and partying.

Scholarships can be a more cost-effective use of time than work-study.

Also, we are not having our student take on any government loans because they seem to have some of the most complicated paperwork around (more than buying a home, IMHO) and for the amount laid out, seems like a huge time suck itself. I know that student loans can be an important life lesson, but our family is choosing other ways to have our kid learn financial literacy that minimize hours spent on the phone, only to be disconnected.

When I was unemployed for a time, what I really missed was going to the theater (broadway, concerts, ballet). It was something I loved and loved doing with my child. I got back into in once I was again employed, and then really missed it again during covid.

Now that I’m retired and on a strict budget, I had to find a way to do it on the cheap. The main theater in town has two ways to do ‘cheap.’ First, for most shows there are Rush tickets available on the night of the show for seniors (ME), military, students, and teachers. I look at what tickets are available and go on a night when there are a lot of tickets unsold. Another way is that about every other month, Tues at noon they have a price for some shows (between $10 and $40) and I try to get them. In two weeks I’m going to Kimberly Akimbo for $40 (and good seats).

There is another theater company that puts on really good shows and tickets are $75-100. But they also have community access tickets for $20/each. I search for them, and even know which seats I want (on the right hand aisle, about half way back - it is a very small theater). Already have tickets for Dec 1 for Once Upon a Mattress (but not my favorite seats. Darn.)

My kids just roll their eyes, but that doesn’t stop them from attending with me.

I get Silver Sneakers membership through my health insurance, so joined the Y and not only work out there but do mahjongg and bridge. Free. I can also get a card from the city rec centers for free. The joys of being old.

If there is a discount, I can find it.

This summer I visited a friend at the height of the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. I had been to the sale the week before (with another friend) and bought one T-shirt for $17 which was about the max I’m willing to pay for a t-shirt (but it is nice). When I got to the second friend’s house, the delivery guys came every day with boxes, and we went to the post office to send back at least half the stuff (but she kept the other half). I said to her husband “You married the wrong girl. I would have only cost you $17.” But it is what she likes to do - shop. I like to go to the theater.

Do what you like, but just weigh the cost. You might have to give up something else, like shopping at Nordstrom.

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Does your theater have ushers? My retired friends are ushering— they see EVERYTHING-- concerts, plays, one man shows (David Sedaris and other humorists) and concerts. It takes five minutes to learn the job (exits, bathrooms, no smoking, got it) and they go out for coffee/pastry afterwards with their friends (i.e. the other ushers).

It’s on my list of what to do when I retire!! And Kimberly Akimbo is SUBLIME.

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If CC is free, then have her take out the direct loan of $5500 this year, and $6500 next year…and bank that $12,000. You will then have more than half of what you need in the $10,000 a year pot.

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Ditto.

And I’m not cutting my own hair. What a disaster that would be.

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Yes, but it is contracted out to a service that does all kinds of events (ball games, convention center, etc. I’m not sure if there is a minimum nights per week requirement. Although at the same complex, the Symphony and the theater are not on the same service, so if you work the symphony you can’t go to the theater (not sure about the opera or ballet as they are also next door and probably run by someone else).

But my biggest hesitation is that they are downtown and the light rail has been on a slow down all summer (unreliable), and parking would be expensive. And I don’t want to stand for 3+ hours.

But I might consider it if I would only have to do it once a week. I can’t stay up that late every night (even though most of the ushers are seniors and they do it).

DS and I did this when he was younger at our excellent regional theater. They had all kinds of shows – and we saw a lot of them for free, in exchange for wearing a white top and black bottom, smiling, and handing out programs. It was really fun, and he was young enough that he also delighted in having an “official” job.

I have a couple of friends who are regular ushers or car parking directors at big venues (like Red Rocks) and they see incredible acts! This is a great idea, @blossom!

Is this a bad time to mention that after college sometimes comes a wedding? :sob:

One child a senior in college, the other one graduated but getting married. Even though she is paying some of it, we are paying for a big chunk (and the groom’s parents … are not). So depending on your philosophy, that expense happens too.

So we’ve gone through two bachelor’s degrees, two used cars for them, several summer internships (funded by us, but they kept their paychecks as their “starting out” nest egg so we have had no expenses there) and an upcoming wedding.

To get back on topic, we’ve always been thrifty. Neither of us grew up with money, and sometimes our growing up was paycheck to paycheck. Like someone said, the time for us to save was while they were little. They had the typical experiences like ballet and karate, and the occasional family trip, but nothing that was super expensive.

Now, we really have a simple lifestyle. We are both retired, and go to lunch once a week at a local veterans post (super cheap). I have become a better cook, so we don’t eat out except for that lunch. We have a few hobbies that are inexpensive, and likely boring to a lot of people. We are in the same home we’ve lived in for more than 25 years. I wait for movies to come out on one of my many streaming services that I enjoy (and will not eliminate because it is our main form of entertainment). And I do cut both my hair and my husband’s lol.

So my opinion is if you think about the small things you can either eliminate or economize on by doing yourself, it will get you into a mindset of frugality and thrift. Once you’ve done it for a while - whether it’s months or years - it becomes second nature and you look to see where else your money can be better spent.

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Maybe I should finish that novel I’ve been putting off. :flushed:

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The point @bearcatfan brings up is important. Student internships while in school are often helped along by the bank of mom and/or dad. Cars, relocation to the first post-grad job, a wedding…

This is why my spouse, who is talking about retiring just at the kid finishes up their undergrad, may be on a longer timeline to “freedom 55” (old school Canadian joke known to few, sorry) than they think. For many families, the bride’s family still picks up the tab for nuptials. And my spouse’s notion of having catering by In-N-Out Burger probably won’t fly.

I hope there have been some suggestions on this thread that can be of use!

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Are they not picking up the tab for the rehearsal dinner?

I know this is endlessly discussed in CC land.

But in my personal opinion, what a parent decides to fund for their child’s wedding is up to them. And their personal financial situation.

As some financial advisers who talk on TV say, that your biggest responsibility is to fund your retirement first and college for your children later.

My husband’s philosophy was to fund college and for our children to have the means to pay for their own wedding.

One was adamant that they would pay for their wedding themselves, the other had a different tactic. Neither is right or wrong and every decision is up to the couple and their families.

I’m not a fan of calling out a family that makes a choice that you haven’t.

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I’m not “calling out” anyone; I am asking a question.

I shouldn’t have responded to your post. That was a mistake and I apologize

Apology accepted; although no apology was actually needed.

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I don’t have any opinion about who is supposed to pay for what. We just paid what we wanted to and gifted what we are comfortable with and can afford. When we were being frugal, the gifts were more modest, to everyone.

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