New here..seeking advice

happymomof1
Sat, 16 May 2009 09:52:01 +0000

Whether or not you should be looking for job is something only you and your husband can answer. Remember, paying for college is just ONE part of your total family financial picture. If you go back to work, what will your childcare expenses be like? How much money will you be paying for the commute to work? What about your work wardrobe? What about the likely increase in food expense from eating out more because no one is home to cook? Will you have to pay for full-day summer camps so that you can work June-August? And those are just money factors. There are psychological and emotional consequences as well - maybe good ones, maybe bad ones - that will come from the shift in relationships in the family.

When you find out your EFC (expected family contribution) from the FAFSA, look at your family finances and see how you can meet that. If you can’t (we sure can’t) what other options are there? Is your community college an option for the first two years? (ours is) What about your in-state public university? (commuting from home, ours would be a stretch but do-able) What are your expectations for your children’s educations and what are your husband’s? Are you even remotely on the same page about this?

Just remember that NATIONWIDE the greatest number of college age students are attending public community colleges. Most of them are also working part-time to help pay for their educations, many are working full-time while studying. The second largest number of college age students are attending their home-state public universities. Most of these kids are also working part time, and a few are holding down full-time jobs. If you determine that the only way your family can afford to educate your children is by having them work part-time and study in public institutions, you will not be alone.

While you are picking up things to read about this at the library, look for a copy of “Personal Finance for Dummies”. The author does talk about paying for college, but he also discusses other financial issues that you surely are (or will) face. It really helped me to put the larger picture into perspective.