This week’s money news

This week’s top story: Smart Money podcast on the future of college debt, and rent vs. buy (with a dog). In other news: Record levels of debt, how trusts can support loved ones with mental illness, and Fed has ‘moved a long way’ but doesn’t promise rate hike pause.

Smart Money Podcast: The Future of College Debt, and Rent vs. Buy (With a Dog)
This week’s episode starts with a discussion on the future of college debt.

The Worst Inflation of All: Record Levels of Debt
Money News & Moves: Battle adding more debt, and if you’re struggling to pay bills on time, take action in days, not weeks.

How Trusts Can Support Loved Ones With Mental Illness
Setting up a loved one with a mental illness for financial stability often requires an estate planning tool like a trust.

Fed Has ‘Moved a Long Way’ — But Doesn’t Promise Rate Hike Pause
The federal funds rate level is now 5% to 5.25%.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Overcoming your fear of your college debt. Also in the news: 3 simple ways to boost your savings, tools and tactics to do your own financial planning, and overcoming your financial fears.

Are You Afraid of Your College Debt?
Start by knowing where you stand.

3 Simple Ways to Boost Your Savings
Easy peasy.

Tools and Tactics to Do Your Own Financial Planning
Tackling it on your own.

Things people seem to fear financially are not always worth worrying about
You can relax.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

FinancesFather knows best, careers that simply aren’t worth the money and the double-edged sword of frugality.

Listen to Your Father! Old-School Money Tips for Today

Financial advice that stands the test of time.

The Best and Worst Careers to Go Into Debt For

If you want to see your work in print, become an advertiser, not a reporter.

Credit Expert Answers 7 Burning Personal Finance Questions

Including tips on how to improve your credit score.

When Frugality Goes Too Far

Growing your own vegetables is a great idea. Spending $3500 on a vegetable garden is not.

Overdraft Fees Cost Bank Customers Hundreds of Dollars a Year

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found overdrawing their accounts cost customers an average of $225 per year.

Graduating without student loans is tough

Education savingsA few months ago I gave a verbal spanking to a woman who equated college loans with handouts. She wondered why people didn’t just delay college for a year and earn enough money to pay for their entire education, as she did back in the day.

I pointed out that there weren’t many jobs available to newly-minted high school graduates that paid $60,000, which is about the minimum you’d need to pay for a four-year degree today.

Apparently my reader isn’t the only one having trouble keeping up with the times. A recent New York Times story quoted Virginia Foxx, a Congresswoman from North Carolina who heads a House subcommittee on higher education and work force training, saying she was bewildered why people went into debt instead of working their way through school the way she did.

Here’s what Times writer Ron Lieber pointed out:

But students nowadays who try to work their way through college without parental support or loans face a financial challenge of a different order than the one that Ms. Foxx, 69, confronted as a University of North Carolina undergraduate more than 40 years ago. Today, a bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State, the largest university in her district, can easily cost $80,000 for a state resident, including tuition, room, board and other costs. Back in her day, the total was about $550 a year. Even with inflation, that would translate to just over $4,000 for each year it takes to earn a degree.

A plucky, lucky few manage to get through college with no loans or parental support. But many of those who try wind up dropping out, unable to balance the work hours required with the demands of school.

If you’re one of those who may be stuck trying to pay your own way, Zac Bissonnette’s book “Debt Free U” can provide helpful guidance. If you’re a parent or a policymaker, however, you should check your views about the viability of kids’ working their way through college with today’s realities.

Don’t buy an education you can’t afford

Dear Liz: Please make me feel like I’m doing the right thing. My daughter happens to be very talented academically and athletically. She will graduate from one of the best prep schools in the country. She also plays ice hockey and is being recruited by some of the best schools. However, we are of middle-class means. We were given outstanding aid from her prep school, which made it very affordable. The net price calculators of the colleges recruiting her indicate we won’t get nearly the same level of support.

We have a lot of equity in our home and about $25,000 total in college funds for both of our children (we also have a son in 9th grade). We make about $185,000 as a family and pay about 12% to mandatory retirement and healthcare accounts. I’m hoping by some magical formula we can beat the “calculator” but I’m not so confident. So please tell me that paying for an elite education is worth our sacrifices. Our daughter has worked very hard to put herself in a position to gain entry into these schools, but I just need an expert to make me feel better.

Answer: An expert who makes you feel better about buying an education you can’t afford isn’t doing you any favors.

So let’s do a reality check. The amount you have saved for both your children would pay for a little more than one semester at most elite schools, which run around $60,000 a year these days. If she finishes in four years, that’s a price tag of about a quarter of a million dollars.

Of course, most college students don’t pay the sticker price for college. They get some kind of help. You, however, can’t expect much of that help, since you’re really not “of middle-class means.” At your current income, you make more money than about 95% of American households. Financial aid formulas don’t particularly care that you may live in an expensive area or that you prioritized spending over saving, only realizing too late that you can’t afford the schools your daughter wants to attend.

The exceptions may be Ivy League schools, many of which have committed to capping tuition costs even for upper-income families. If your daughter gets into one of those schools, she may have a shot at an affordable education.

Other schools may be willing to give her “merit aid” to induce her to attend, especially if she’s an outstanding hockey player and they want outstanding hockey players. But you’ll still be left with a sizable bill and only one way to pay for it: borrowing, either from your home equity or via federal student loans. Your daughter can borrow $5,500 in federal loans her first year, but as parents you can borrow up to the full cost of her education from the federal PLUS loan program.

Which leads to the question: Is taking on up to a quarter of a million dollars in debt for an undergraduate degree a sacrifice or is it insane? Before you answer, consider that some research shows that students who are accepted to elite schools, but attend elsewhere, do just as well in life as people who actually attend those elite schools. (The exceptions are kids from lower-income families, who actually do get a boost in life from attending elite schools. Obviously, that doesn’t include your child.)

Also consider how you’ll feel about making payments of $1,800 a month or so for the next 30 years to pay for this education. And how you’ll feel telling your son, “Sorry, kid, we spent all the money on your sister. You’re on your own.”

The picture may not be as grim as all that. You may get a better deal from one of these schools than you expect. But you should start managing your daughter’s expectations now and look for some colleges you can actually afford in case the dream schools don’t come through for her.