Ask USAA: How much do I need to save for my newborn for college?

[BristanKellerUSAF]

Thankfully I can sign over my GI Bill over to my kids for college since I am in the military (It's worth $40,000). Yay!!!!!

[jmoneyyyyyyyy]

If you're trying to scare me, it worked! But you better believe I'm gonna jump on this like crazy in the next few months ;) 5 more to go until our 1st comes out - excited and scared at the same time! Thx for the video, bro - always a pleasure learning from y'all.

[Truescorpio1114]

lol the only thing i learned from this video is that eventually only the wealthiest people in this country will be able to send thier children to college if the rate of inflation continues. Considering the median salary of the average american family has not increased in 15 years there will eventually be an economic collapse of higher education.

[fruvellhoffs]

whew ouch.

[usaa]

@fruvellhoffs Ouch, indeed! Thanks for the comment. I’m sure many viewers had this same response. Frankly, one of my concerns in making this video was that the required savings numbers would scare people so much that they’d just give up and not save at all. My advice for anyone thinking that is – don’t give up! Even if you can’t save enough to cover it all, any saving that you do will be helpful. Thanks again for the comment. - Scott

[froboy008]

That is not for everyone (saving that much). It is your responsibility to save for yourself and your retirement. After you do that then save for your child. Don't go into debt for your child's education. That is what they are there for. They can pay it off in different methods, etc. Hopefully the price for college will go down in less than 18 years. The cost has gone up but the quality has declined drastically. It is only still this expensive because people still pay it!

[usaa]

@froboy008 Thanks for the comments. You are correct – this is not for everyone – and on the hierarchy of savings goals, retirement should come before college. My hope in sharing this video was to highlight the amount of savings that is needed for college in case other payment options aren’t available at that time and costs don’t go down. Thanks again! - Scott

[JillBHopkins]

That was extremely painful to watch. $750/mo to send your kid to private school? Most people in lower or middle class (a majority of americans) are struggling to put that much into savings after retirement and monthly bills!

[usaa]

@JillBHopkins Thanks for commenting. I agree…those numbers are big…but sadly, they are also real. Even if saving it all isn’t possible, hopefully this spurs people to start saving something if they can. While not always the case, people frequently spend money on unnecessary things today that could instead be saved for their children’s college later. Again, that’s not always the case but when it is, even minor changes today can often have big impacts in the future. Thanks again! - Scott