Parents Break Into Retirement Accounts to Pay for College

Hopefully your kids will be bright enough to earn some scholarships. Http://www.collegescholarshipandgrantmoney.com Otherwise, they should attend the local college and get a job to pay for it.

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Parents don't owe their children a college education. Of course, it is great when parents have the resources to do so but not all do. My parents were able to pay for me to attend a private college but this was when a year's tuition, room & board amounted to only 1 1/2 months of my dad's salary not his salary for the year, my mom worked and their house had been paid off for years. Neither I nor my sisters would ever have expected our parents to make sacrifices for us.
If someone wants to go to college, there are plenty of options out there. First, apply yourself in high school & get good grades so you can qualify for scholarships. Second, work after school & summer jobs and put the money aside for college. You can,also, work part-time while in college. Third, choose a college that you can afford. A degree is a degree. Junior colleges and state colleges don't cost as much as private colleges or out-of-state schools. Fourth, student loans are available but don't take on excessive debt. Fifth, consider the military. If you're really bright, there are plenty of military jobs that won't place you in combat and after service your college will be completely paid for.
I know we've become a society that expects instant gratification but you don't need to go to college right out of high school or finish it in 4 years. My youngest sister passed on college to get married, then realized her career would be advanced with a degree. My parents had both died by that time so she didn't have their help. She was a mother who worked full time and had her husband's support but they could not afford for her to quit work for school. She went to a local college, took night and weekend classes and while it took her longer now has a master's degree along with the great job having her degrees made possible.
Any child who would let their parents go into debt or break into their retirement account so that they can go to college is pretty pathetic.

To Holly: I worked plenty hard in school, graduating in the top 14% of my class while also taking college classes. I applied for scholarship after scholarship, grant after grant, and loan after loan - just to be turned down on many; not to mention there is a cap on how much in loans a college student may take out depending on how many years they have been in school. I looked at many different schools and closely examined their programs, and unfortunately there are only 3 schools that I found in the US that offer my major. As such my parents have been kind enough to contribute when all is said and done and the numbers don't add up and money needs to be paid. But despite your naive belifes, college is not easy to pay for. Military is not always an option, my epilepsy disqualifies me medically for the military. Not everyone who asks their parents for help is pathetic. Do I expect it? Not at all. Do I appreciate it, more than you can imagine. Walk on both sides of the track before you spew mindless opinions please, not everyone has a fairytale ending.

David, I did nothing "idiotic" and I highly resent the implication. Here is what I did: Both of my children were in the IB program (look it up) during high school. They worked extremely hard and devoted an unbelievable amount of time into their studies. When each of them graduated from high school, they had earned enough college credits to enter college as a sophmore. Each of my children went to private, out of state universities and each earned 3 degrees in 4 years. They had no time to work. They were both on academic scholarships and had to keep their grades high in order to maintain their scholarships. My husband and I paid for EVERYTHING, tuition, room, board, meals, car pmts., insurance, frat and sorority dues, etc., etc. My children were extremely hard workers and did not slack in college. While it was a financial hardship for my husband and myself, it was only four years. I would do the same thing again if I had another child that was intelligent and deserving of the assistance. Both children graduated MCL (again, look it up) at their respective universities. I now have a son that is an attorney and a daughter that is a doctor. They each have paid me back for their undergraduate work, which was the only thing I paid for. I did not ask to be reimbursed. They reimbursed me because that was the way they were raised.
I am certainly glad you were not their parent. I hope your child can manage without your support, financial and otherwise.

Sophia I don't know how much tuition you had to pay way back when your children were in college, but today it is a totally different story. Today it will cost an average of 40k per year per child and extra for books (for attorneys & doctors it is much much more) and when they do graduate there are NO jobs. Here in NY there are NO jobs for attorneys & I can't speak for doctors. Most do go out of state for their residency & sometimes stay there. Most parents cannot afford these ridiculous tuitions & they keep getting higher. To use one's retirement funds OR re-mortgage your home is also rediculous. There is no rush to finish school so I say work part time & go to school full time or reverse it. I have read comments that children wrote that they would never ask their parents to pay for their education & they worked hard & graduated with no debt. That's the way to go. They appreciate it more & are more successful. I agree that it is idiotic to remortgage your home or use your ira, 401k etc to pay for your childs education. Let them do it. It builds character.

Michelle you are spot on! Thank goodness you raised your kids this way! And I truly Thank YOU because now I know at least ONE person raised a " good one " who will follow suit! Good job! Well done!

A parents job doesnt end because their child turns 18. My husband and I are paying for our son's college education. We feel it is our responsibilty to give him the tools to succeed in life, and we dont want him starting out with a mountain of debt. I suppose it depends on the choice of major and where they go to school, but I know in my son's case there is no time for a job. I do feel we owe him this. Just my two cents.

I have to agree, with most of what you said. However, my daughter just started at a private school(Morningside college) at about $30,000 a year-ouch!! State universities were from $14-19,000! The cool thing is that my daughter is going for less at a private college!! With the scholorships available at private schools and she's playing on the soccer team, she's looking at about $3500 a year after I kick in $5,000.
With her grades and ACT score she was able to get thousands of $ where State schools only offer a couple thousand for grades. I graduated from a State school and hoped she would as well, but after seeing the campus and the oppertunities at the private school I'm glad she's where she's at. She is also saving about $4000 a year by not attending a state school.

Fortunately, Most Americans realize that Bush was not the cause of our financial woes. It was an overinflated housing market caused by loose lending practices encouraged by Democrats in addition to a Congress that cannot manage our resources. Private jobs are dwindling because private employers are doing more with less while they wait a congress to implement policies that are not distinctly anti business. It will be a painful November for you.

You're an idiot.

Can't believe someone is blaming President Bush for this and thinks obama is innocent. It's been almost 2 years! When will you guys think obama should step up to the plate?

The simple truth is obama does not know how to run a country. He is great at picking vacation spots but he does not have a clue how to fix this country. Even if you voted for him you can't still be in the dark about him, the economy should have started to get better by now if what he was doing was working. The economy is worse! Nothing is better! Maybe it is time obama started listening to someone other than himself and did what the American citizens want...this is the most arrogant man I've ever seen. He won't listen to anyone. He needs to take a lesson from Bill Clinton!

Great answer Deb, and very well worded.

may have been in the shop, but the bill has steadily increased since your hope and change was elected!

Seriously??? This is not Bush's fault. Blame the current administration that keeps creating GOVERNMENT jobs for BIG GOVERNEMENT. 850 Billion dollar stiumlus didn't exactly work and now we are wanting to borrow another 50Billion from China! Since Obama has gotten in office we have started spending a billions dollars just to save a $1,000. And yes, I voted for him!!! My mistake.

Typical liberal... Spend someone else's money to pay for your stupidity, then blame someone else when the money runs out.