<p>Thanks for the kind words, but, the only thing I can really take credit for probably is EARNING the money. I’ll happily take a bow for consistently earning in a range incrongruous with my level of education. We all are probably very good at at least one thing and earning money might be my one thing. The rest of it, though, we’ve simply been very, very lucky to have some awesome community support, and support from the college. </p>
<p>For example, following high school graduation, D made an appointment with some investment counselor at our bank, took all of the checks - gifts from graduation, together with all of her scholarship/acceptance documents, and sat down with the banker. She came home and said to me “the banker said - he insisted - we MUST have a discussion about finances NOW - not the day before I leave for college - and he said we must have a very clear understanding of what expenses will come up for me, and who is going to be responsible for them, how they are going to be paid, what your commitment is, and I have a follow up appointment with him next week…”</p>
<p>I of course was stupidly bumbling right along figuring everyone could read my mind and know that of course it was my intention to pay all the bills for the next several years. What else would I do? I’m mommy, I pay the bills, period. It certainly never dawned on me that any discussion was necessary. Anyway, we had the discussion, and I even did our entire budget on a spreadsheet, complete with financial goals over the next five years, and it was a very good thing too, because otherwise things would have become very confusing and complicated, if not completely impossible, later. So D left for college knowing exactly what we each would expect of the other, and why, as well as some comprehension of my financial intentions over time. Oh and her little investments have performed more or less o.k., too. (Thanks Wachovia.)</p>
<p>Then, when I got the very first set of “bills” from the college, I absolutely could not understand any of them. I’d signed up for the monthly payment plan, as scholarships didn’t cover all of the $40K bill, and, I had seven different pieces of paper, none of them said the same thing, and no matter how many calculators I used or how long I spent trying to figure it out, I could not understand if I owed $500 or $700 or $200, or if they owed me, or if maybe we were even steven. I was so frustrated I almost started to cry. I know I should be able to read a bill from a college, but - not sure how to explain this - none of the documents made any sense on their own, and none of them reconciled with each other. </p>
<p>Not wanting to appear very stupid and ask what might be a simple question of student accounts, I simply selected the largest dollar amount I could find on any of the pieces of paper, and tried to pay THAT, figuring, well, if it’s wrong, at least it’s wrong in their favor and my child will not be sent home for failure to pay. But the college’s online bill payment system wouldn’t accept the payment (turns out nothing was owed). </p>
<p>Bottom line, communication with the college was necessary, and has been necessary a few times over the last 3.5 years. I am very, very fortunate in that there are very wonderful people at the college; they always respond to me same business day and they are extraordinarily kind, patient and thorough with whatever odd question I might be asking. </p>
<p>Happily, there’s lots and lots of help out there, as well as countless wonderful, good and kind people, and we’ve just been extraordinarily fortunate along the way. (I did write a letter of thanks to that banker, and his boss btw.)</p>