I have a confession to make.
I goofed off a lot in school because it was boring.
I can remember making flip books in study hall (ninja warrior-type stuff) but also in real classes like physics lecture hall.
Despite this, I did well and it’s not because I’m some sort of genius. I did have to study at home and do lots and lots of homework.
And… I do realize education is important and at the same time I the stuff I was “learning” in highschool was nothing more than memorization and regurgitation for a test.
That did not stop in college.
Which is why it baffles me why so many bright young kids are eager to have their souls crushed in the blazing hot fires of university.
Probably the best use cases for college are when your son or daughter want to be a doctor or a lawyer or scientist or something having to do with advanced mathematics.
A degree in gender studies?
Not so much.
Anywho, while I’m on the topic, I might as well browbeat you with the QOTD (question of the day):
“How should I save up for my kid’s college education?”
Aside from grants and financial aid, life insurance is a decent choice.
Lots of people are told to use 529 plans but… in my not-so-humble-but-accurate opinion, tuition fees are not something you can afford to lose and thus… it don’t make no sense to risk them by investing those monies into anything where the principal can be lost.
Hence, the use of life insurance, which has been used for over 100 years to pay for college tuition and in some cases to start and maintain the very colleges students attend.
In fact, Stanford University was funded by whole life insurance for several years during a time when it was under extreme financial distress.
Pacific Mutual Life issued its first policy to Leland Stanford in 1868 who… went on to create Stanford University.
Unfortunately, he died 3 weeks after the 1893 commencement.
Despite being one of the richest men in the U.S. at the time, Stanford’s estate was a mess… his wife had no access to all the cash and investments he had accumulated.
It was his life insurance policy that saved the university from closing.
In his her words: “But for that money, the doors of Leland Stanford Junior University would have been closed—perhaps forever. Who knows?”
That story is not an isolated case. People today are taught — usually by their financial advisor — that investing and wealth management is rather simple and thus they only need a simple investment plan and a simple estate plan that most decidedly does not include life insurance.
Methinx this is a huge mistake (but, what do I know?).
All I have are some rather mundane examples from history and statistics to demonstrate it happens somewhat frequently but… that’s about it.
Anyway, moving right along.
Here is my suggestion if you’re stuck for ideas on how to fund your child’s education:
Mom and dad buys whole life. Kids borrow from mom and dad and repay the policy with interest. When mom dies, kids receive an effective refund of college tuition with interest.
That college fund can then be passed on to future generations to attend college or trade school or whatever.
Now I realize that most people will not do this because… it requires long-term thinking and planning and… most people are too steeped in a “whim-of-the-moment” faster-than-Twitter lifestyle.
Those folks love drama and #thestruggleisreal.
Or they’re part of the somewhat delusional do-it-yourself finhack crowd.
They just can’t get out of their own way and yet they don’t know how to diagnose their own financial problems.
But… there’s no reason you have to follow them.
You can carve your own path.
A different path.
A better path.
Don’t stop believin’. Go jump on my email list to start your Journey.