https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 19 May 2026 20:38:31 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660301 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:25:47 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 2660301@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My mom did not have an actual fund set up for me, but she footed the bill. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660300 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:24:24 +0000 BSB 2660300@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. They gave me about $1000 gift between high school graduation and college graduation. </p> <p>I was the first one to go to college so that was an accomplishment in itself. My younger sister went to college and we both knew we would have to take loans out and pay for it ourselves. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660297 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:20:44 +0000 JenGirl 2660297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes and no. I had a nice scholarship taht covered some of my costs. And I applied for and took all available federal grants and loans. But my mom paid for the remainder of my tuition, room and board. I had a couple part time jobs and summer jobs that paid all of my spending money, travel expenses, car insurance and books. So I left college with a reasonable amount of debt. But then grad school was all on my own and I racked up a lot of debt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660296 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:19:10 +0000 Astro Bee 2660296@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, sort of. When my brother and I were really young they started to put some money away into a life insurance/education fund, but times were tough and they weren't able to continue to contribute to it. Thankfully, I ended up getting both undergrad and graduate school fully paid for through the military, otherwise it would have been a struggle financially, even with the scholarships I had been offered. I did later use the money (about $3500) as part of a down payment on my first house. My brother is still paying off loans in his early/mid-30s because he was never eligible for a scholarship. DH and I are contributing to LO's fund right now and what we put in it is matched by the government up to a point. Yay, "socialism!" We don't want our kids to struggle financially for decades like our sibs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660294 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:17:56 +0000 yellowbird 2660294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, I had a full ride scholarship for undergrad and came out debt free. I took out loans for dental school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660291 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 17:14:43 +0000 sandy 2660291@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes they sacrificed and saved and we went without a lot of other things growing up because it was a high priority for my parents to pay for our higher education. They paid for undergrad for me and my brother at a state school which included tuition as well as the other expenses (books, room and board, etc). I did work all four years of school to help with other expenses </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660273 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:39:43 +0000 IRunForFun 2660273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, but my dad works at a private college and we all got free tuition there. My parents did pay for room and board but I'm not sure if they had specific money saved for it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660269 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:27:56 +0000 NCSUchick27 2660269@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, both my parents and I had to take out loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660265 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 16:16:07 +0000 MrsBrewer 2660265@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope, I had to take out loans. Sucked, but I made due. Still paying on them now and so is DH. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660228 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:31:36 +0000 sunny 2660228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes but I only accepted their money for my first year. After that I made enough from working to pay my own way, though my parents would still occasionally take me grocery shopping and let me live at home rent free during school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660211 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:07:04 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2660211@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. School expenses were all on me, and it was a huge struggle. There were times I didn't think I'd be able to make the payments for the next semester and borrowed from a relative until the financial aide came in. </p> <p>We are working hard to save as much as possible for our LOs. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660167 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:35:37 +0000 nana87 2660167@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My grandparents (who hadnt gone to college-- my grandpa didn't even graduate from high school) had a fund for us for college, and now my parents have put aside money for a college fund for their grandchildren to pay it forward. My parents did help my brother with law school as well (my grad school is paid via a fellowship) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660136 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:12:11 +0000 MOMTOLITTLEB 2660136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, they are not big planners but they did help me. I had a lot of loans and prioritized paying them off. My in laws paid for most of my husband's schooling and give us money here and there for our son's savings. I'd still like him to have minimal loans, they taught me important lessons. I just don't want him to have overwhelming debt like I did if we can avoid it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660123 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:04:27 +0000 Mrs. Goose 2660123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, for all of us as they didn't want school to be a financial burden. I paid for my sixth year at my third school (but it was my cheapest program). I know I was incredibly fortunate and I may not have gone to post-secondary if I hadn't had that money because the thought of how much it was made me stressed out. I paid for my housing and food with a part-time job. I plan to do the same for our child(ren). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660117 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 14:00:31 +0000 birdofafeather 2660117@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yep. For all 3 of us kids. Same for my in laws. It's a huge blessing for sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660086 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:30:54 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2660086@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My mom fully paid for all of us. She had some saved and then just paid what was needed at it came up. </p> <p>We will fully fund all our kids as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660085 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:30:13 +0000 Anagram 2660085@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope! I'm one of 6 kids, so the didn't ever help with tuition and helped for a few specific things related to living expenses. I took out loans for tuition outside of a few small scholarships, and always worked crap waitressing/admin jobs to pay my own living expenses. My parents paid for my cell phone and my car insurance and that's it.</p> <p>I think I graduated with only 25k in loans which is nothing compared to some people. However, I deferred my loans while I worked full time and went to grad school part time, so now a million years later, I still owe 10k, haha. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660083 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:28:25 +0000 PurplePumps 2660083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, they paid for undergrad for me and my 2 brothers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660082 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:27:05 +0000 Anya 2660082@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, but it was drained before I finished high school. It all worked out- I made my last student loan payment this year! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you/page/2#post-2660079 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:25:11 +0000 skinnycow 2660079@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>They didn't have a college fund but my dad fully paid for me and my siblings undergraduate degrees. I paid tuition for my master's degree but my dad covered my living expenses during that time (only an extra year on top of my undergrad). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2660078 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:22:57 +0000 GoGoSnoGirl 2660078@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: agree with you on it being hard to think about needing to save for LO's college. :bummed: </p> <p>My parents didn't help me with college. I took out student loans, got a few grants &amp; scholarships, and worked during all breaks. I also served in the military &amp; got some student loan repayment assistance from that. DH had some help from his parents for his first 2yrs of school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2660015 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 12:29:04 +0000 Boogs 2660015@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, they did not. I worked and paid my way through college, and I was thankfully able to finish without student loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659955 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:34:48 +0000 twodoghouse 2659955@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. They had 4 kids very young and didn't have any savings to speak of. I did have savings bonds from my grandparents, but mostly paid for college through scholarships and student loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659942 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:20:04 +0000 daniellemybelle 2659942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, they did, and that's my main reason for wanting to save for LO's college education as much as we reasonably can. We have had so much more financial freedom and positives resulting from that because we are not burdened with huge loans. Our life would look completely different if we were both paying $700/month in loan payments like many couples we know. </p> <p>We feel fortunate and while I don't think any parent should be required to pay for their child's college education, it's something we want to do because it helped us so much.</p> <p>ETA: DH &amp; I both had academic scholarships in addition to help from our parents, and we both also worked and paid for extras like going out with friends. I doubt we will be able to write a blank check to 2 kids for 4 years even if we wanted to! We'll work out the right combo of working, scholarships, etc for each kid. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659937 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:15:41 +0000 anonysquire 2659937@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. And now they have one for all the grandkids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659933 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:13:09 +0000 BlueWolverine 2659933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No - It was all loans, grants, scholarships and part time jobs. I also had a single mom and was a first generation college student. I also paid for law school and will be paying for it for the foreseeable future. I consolidated all of my loans and it's a 2.25% interest. I feel no rush. </p> <p>We have accounts for both DDs now. We plan on giving them whatever is there when college arrives, but don't foresee that it will cover everything. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659918 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:55:37 +0000 808love 2659918@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. I applied for college, financial aid and paid for college on my own. I didn't realize until much later that many parents paid for their kids and that my (single parent) mom was so grateful I did this. My mom kept me on her car insurance plan so that was nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659913 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:52:06 +0000 psw27 2659913@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know what sort of fund my parents had, whether it was a UTMA or 529 or just my dad using savings, but they paid for my undergrad. For grad school, I took out loans but my parents are (generously) paying for them and DH and I contribute when we can. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659897 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:33:58 +0000 KT326 2659897@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope. My dad was a disabled vet though so I got my community college paid for. But when I moved out, got a job and transferred to a university I made too much money to qualify. So I took out loans for my last 2 years. They have not been a burden at all, I only took out enough to cover tuition and books. I worked full time as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-your-parents-have-a-college-fund-for-you#post-2659896 Thu, 01 Dec 2016 10:33:44 +0000 hellobeeboston 2659896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes - my parents did for my undergrad. Grad school was not part of the bargain, I didn't do grad school but my sister did and paid for herself.</p> <p>Dh's parents didn't have any savings for him for school, he's going to be paying off school &amp; law school for a looooong time.</p> <p>We have 529s started for both of our kids. </p>