College Loans – An Alternative Idea for Funding College

A quick note… I am not a “Financial Expert” per say and it is not my intent of this article to give you advice or tell you what to do…or what will work…or what will not work.But I do think this idea warrants a discussion at the very least and I think when we can bring up new ideas or topics to light… it can benefit us all to explore what can work best for each of us.
I am 41 years old. I am telling you this because it is important how I came about this idea or this thought. The idea is a collective one from the various books, TV shows, interviews, and everything that I have encountered thus far.I was watching a documentary on CNBC about how the students in America are having HUGE debts up to their eyeballs and this problem is becoming an increasing epidemic. This was quite alarming to me as I am sure it is to most. The students and (parents who cosigned for student loans) are falling into poverty due to the outrageous student loans. The graduated students simply cannot keep up with the month bills. And especially right now with not finding employment…how can they start repaying the loan? They can’t! The parents who cosigned having nothing left for their retirement and it seems all parties involved suffer…except for the companies who do the lending.This led me to my idea (at least for my own family) on how I wanted to save up for my own kid’s college funds. My wife and I do not have kids just yet but it has been a conversation in recent times. When I started thinking about my age (this is where this comes to be relevant) it really made me worry about being 60 (ish) and getting close to retirement and giving away so much money at that time. But at the same time…if I do have children I too want the best for them. Who wouldn’t right? But I really hated the idea of the current way to save up for the college loans. My kid goes into huge debt and a huge portion of my retirement money is out the door. I just don’t like this plan (at least for myself).So when I was out walking… the idea hit me! What if I took the basic principle of Robert Kiyosaki’s idea – on investing in “Income Earning Assets” and use this as the basis to funding my kid’s future college funds. So for example….I spend the next 20 years acquiring income earning assets that will earn and generate the cash for their college tuition, books, living expenses, etc. BUT….. when my child graduates from school…the assets are still mine! I can have the income redirected back to me! My kid gets an education and I get to keep my assets for my retirement. We both win! The more I thought about this idea the more I loved this idea at least for my own personal situation. Perhaps you have other circumstances that need other ways to fund this cost.Again, I am not an expert but I feel the pain and suffering just like everyone else and need to come up with other solutions that work best for me. Maybe you have a better way?For me personally, I want to come up with a plan that lets my children go to college but where I am not out on the street at 65 years old either. I don’t like the idea of my kid being broke and owing thousands of dollars and having no way to pay it back. So it was this problem that got me thinking of other solutions that can be a win, win, solution.I love the idea where I can invest in income earning assets to pay for the cost of their education but afterwards….the assets are still mine and I can also pay for my retirement down the road. That sounds better than what I see out there now.The same thought with this basic premise…also occurred to me for paying for a future wedding! I love the idea that what if your child waited for 12 months of engagement and then you had your assets fund an account for that time period. Imagine paying for the wedding but still have your assets afterwards? Win, win. I like it!Let me know your thoughts and comments? I would love to hear them. I am always looking for new ideas and new ways we can make our lives a better one.As always…. Keep Moving Forward!Email: GettingBackMyCredit@gmail.com