MyNameIsUrl wrote:As there are no repayments until earnings over £27k, many will pay very little back, so your potential funding of all fees would be throwing money away. For example, I know a self-employed potter who will never pay a penny of her loan. I also know a young commercial lawyer who paid his off (because of high earnings) in just a few years with very little interest paid. Anything in between you need to consider carefully. After all, you can still give them a cash lump sum after they graduate.
xxd09 wrote:I told my kids not to take any loans and I would fund them through uni for 5 years
I did expect them to pass their exams in return
How can children finishing education at 23+ buy a house ,get married and have kids in a reasonable time frame if they start out after college with massive debts-a situation to be avoided if at all possible
Debts are an extra pressure on girls whose ability to have kids successfully declines rapidly as they age-time is not on their side
My parents did not let it happen to me and I didn’t let it happen to them
All the kids now qualified in good jobs,all married and all have children
Probably cost upwards of £25000+ each in the 90s
It’s a tough one for parents
xxd09
I can understand both viewpoints. My instinct would be to help get them on the housing ladder as soon as possible. So much depends on circumstances though - where they are living, their employability, relationships, common sense, lifestyle etc. Perhaps this is a decision that needs to be deferred for now and reconsidered closer to the time. In the interim, we just put aside as much as practicable to the inevitable cost.
genou wrote:It's at a tangent to the thread, but that's a very bad mistake. Talk to your children about money, about what they already have and may well inherit. Get them to think about what they want to do with it before they have it. When the JISAs mature it's free money to your children. Might be nice if they had a plan for it.
This is a really interesting perspective. I guess my approach was to make them feel they are starting from nothing and thus having the desire/hunger to work and save - and appreciating the value of money. It was also affected by a friend's experience when he and his wife decided to take their first holiday without their teenage son. They gave him £1k with the instructions to just go somewhere, anywhere, on holiday himself. They got back two weeks later and found he had been nowhere other than the record shop where he spent the whole £1000.
While the kids are very savvy with money, you are right though that I should talk about the money sooner. Particularly as they are very sensible.
Moosehoosenew wrote:As we have been nursing 2 ageing parents who saved like we would al do in their forties. Can I nicely suggest spend a little more on yourselves, it is an absolute shocker when fit an able realise they have saved to much.......................
A very important point and a cause for more reflection and discussion. As I mentioned, we have done very well against our bucket lists for extensive travel and adventure, dived, climbed, partied, eaten at the best restaurants, volunteered, interesting careers, etc. On the one hand, perhaps my ambition is arguably waning, but on the other hand, we feel exceptionally fulfilled. We want for nothing in terms of material possessions, we live in a beautiful place.
The highest value things in our lives right now are the precious time we have with our kids, our family health and security. What makes me happiest right now is experiencing childhood again through the kids, seeing them have experiences and grow. I guess that makes us very wealthy in being so fortunate.