Good advice! Our daughter graduates this week, but has one more year to go with her Master's program. She has been contributing to her Roth IRA for six years, all invested in FZROX (she's young!) and also has a Fidelity high-yield savings account with a five-figure balance. She had a summer internship in her field last year, and the company asked her to come back in January. She's been working twenty hours a week, and will bump it up to thirty-five while working on her Master's degree. She likes the people there, and they've been happy with her work, so she has a stable position coming out of college, which is great. She has been with her boyfriend for around eighteen months now. When they first met, he played a lot of video games and had average grades. She told him she wasn't planning on supporting a partner on her income, so he better get his butt in gear and get his grades up. He did. They do seem compatible financially, so if they stay together things should be fine.
I'm all for either robo taxis or full autonomous driving capability. We finally got my father to stop driving two years ago at age 84. Luckily, he failed the test required to renew his license. His car was dented on all four corners and my sister said she wouldn't get in the car if he was driving :) Personally, I'd love to have a car that could just drive itself.
My parents actually did give us stocks as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, my father always picked stocks the way he picked horses to bet on - never a winner. The company he picked was a telecom whose stock drifted lower and lower until it was bought out by another company, leaving investors with pennies on the dollar. Oh well, it's the thought that counts!
Our daughter doesn't get an allowance, per se, but she has one of our credit cards and uses it as needed. She has a meal plan that covers some of her food requirements, and she makes the rest of her meals at her dorm room. She has always had at least three jobs while at college. One as a researcher for two professors, one with a catering company, and she currently works 20 hours a week for an engineering company using her major. We agreed that most of her earnings would go to her Roth IRA while we're covering most of her bills, and she covers entertainment, clothes, etc. This is a typical month's charges. 3/1/2026 $77.35 Shoprite
3/1/2026 $15.05 Gas
3/8/2026 $33.86 Aldi
3/9/2026 $20.77 Gas
3/11/2026 $17.74 Gas
3/19/2026 $44.81 Trader Joe's
3/26/2026 $29.17 Gas
3/29/2026 $33.43 Lidl Total $272.18
Yes, we've been saving diligently for the past ten years. Our savings rate is 37% of gross income this year. According to the Boldin software, if we retire in May 2027: "After running 1,000 simulations, the probability that your savings will last until your goal age of 95 is 99%."I also ran the data for a downturn in the market for the first ten years after we retire, and it said "Based on a decade of poor returns your Chance of Success could be 99%." I really have no interest in working again once I quit.
I was the last employee hired in the US in my department back in 2010. We had at least fifty people in the group back then. Only seven of us are still here. Four retired, and the rest were laid off over the years. Two definitely deserved it, the rest were simply victims of outsourcing and cutbacks. We had no idea who would be next on the chopping block. We talked about the HR sniper waiting to pick us off one by one. Up until two years ago, they paid severance pay of two weeks per year of service, up to a max of a year's pay, so at least most of the people let go had something to fall back on while looking for a new job. Now you'd be lucky to get four weeks' pay. The company culture is terrible now, especially since McKinsey came in to revamp the org structure. I happen to work with a great team of people, but we're all in our late fifties or early sixties and just waiting it out until retirement. I have 409 days to go until we make the last college payment, and I might quit then, or wait until the end of '27. When people ask if they should accept a job offer here, I say "Only if it's your only option. If you do, keep looking and get out asap."
Thanks, we do enjoy seeing her move forward in life! The Fit is a great little car. I think she'll hang onto it for a long time. We changed the oil last week - an easy job on this car, and only $35 for oil and filter.
We did that for my mother-in-law's condo. She wanted to leave it to our daughter to pay for college, and the estate lawyer set up an MAPT for her. We're now past the five-year lookback period, and MIL's SS payment is more than the Medicaid income limit, so it was probably a moot point. Still, it was nice to know that things were done correctly for estate planning, etc.
We're paying for our daughter's college. She has always been a hard worker and a good student, and will get her undergrad degree in May after three years in school. One more year and she'll have her Master's degree, so I don't feel bad about paying for it. We also bought her a 2015 Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) to get around in, as she was working a catering job that took her all over the place. She always talks to people at those catered parties, and at one corporate Christmas party she talked to a guy who was a VP in her area of study. He told her to apply for an internship last year, which she did, and it turned out they only hired one intern per location, so that worked out well. After the internship, they contacted her a couple of months later to ask if she could work part time while attending school, and told her a full time position was hers for the taking once she graduates. She's working there 20 hours a week now. As for money, she's a saver. She's putting as much as she can into her Roth IRA, and buys most of her clothes at thrift stores. She also told her prospective (at the time) boyfriend that she wasn't going out with him unless he quit playing video games all the time and got his grades up :) He did, and they've been together just over a year now. I think she'll do well in life.
Comments
Good advice! Our daughter graduates this week, but has one more year to go with her Master's program. She has been contributing to her Roth IRA for six years, all invested in FZROX (she's young!) and also has a Fidelity high-yield savings account with a five-figure balance. She had a summer internship in her field last year, and the company asked her to come back in January. She's been working twenty hours a week, and will bump it up to thirty-five while working on her Master's degree. She likes the people there, and they've been happy with her work, so she has a stable position coming out of college, which is great. She has been with her boyfriend for around eighteen months now. When they first met, he played a lot of video games and had average grades. She told him she wasn't planning on supporting a partner on her income, so he better get his butt in gear and get his grades up. He did. They do seem compatible financially, so if they stay together things should be fine.
Post: Jonathan’s Advice for 2026 Graduates
Link to comment from May 7, 2026
I'm all for either robo taxis or full autonomous driving capability. We finally got my father to stop driving two years ago at age 84. Luckily, he failed the test required to renew his license. His car was dented on all four corners and my sister said she wouldn't get in the car if he was driving :) Personally, I'd love to have a car that could just drive itself.
Post: Ageing and the Open Road
Link to comment from May 2, 2026
Same here! Index funds only.
Post: For Richer, For Poorer: 37 Years of Compounding
Link to comment from April 29, 2026
My parents actually did give us stocks as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, my father always picked stocks the way he picked horses to bet on - never a winner. The company he picked was a telecom whose stock drifted lower and lower until it was bought out by another company, leaving investors with pennies on the dollar. Oh well, it's the thought that counts!
Post: For Richer, For Poorer: 37 Years of Compounding
Link to comment from April 29, 2026
Our daughter doesn't get an allowance, per se, but she has one of our credit cards and uses it as needed. She has a meal plan that covers some of her food requirements, and she makes the rest of her meals at her dorm room. She has always had at least three jobs while at college. One as a researcher for two professors, one with a catering company, and she currently works 20 hours a week for an engineering company using her major. We agreed that most of her earnings would go to her Roth IRA while we're covering most of her bills, and she covers entertainment, clothes, etc. This is a typical month's charges. 3/1/2026 $77.35 Shoprite 3/1/2026 $15.05 Gas 3/8/2026 $33.86 Aldi 3/9/2026 $20.77 Gas 3/11/2026 $17.74 Gas 3/19/2026 $44.81 Trader Joe's 3/26/2026 $29.17 Gas 3/29/2026 $33.43 Lidl Total $272.18
Post: How much to provide a college student monthly?
Link to comment from April 25, 2026
Yes, we've been saving diligently for the past ten years. Our savings rate is 37% of gross income this year. According to the Boldin software, if we retire in May 2027: "After running 1,000 simulations, the probability that your savings will last until your goal age of 95 is 99%." I also ran the data for a downturn in the market for the first ten years after we retire, and it said "Based on a decade of poor returns your Chance of Success could be 99%." I really have no interest in working again once I quit.
Post: America Doesn’t Just Do Layoffs. It’s Fallen in Love With Them
Link to comment from March 18, 2026
I was the last employee hired in the US in my department back in 2010. We had at least fifty people in the group back then. Only seven of us are still here. Four retired, and the rest were laid off over the years. Two definitely deserved it, the rest were simply victims of outsourcing and cutbacks. We had no idea who would be next on the chopping block. We talked about the HR sniper waiting to pick us off one by one. Up until two years ago, they paid severance pay of two weeks per year of service, up to a max of a year's pay, so at least most of the people let go had something to fall back on while looking for a new job. Now you'd be lucky to get four weeks' pay. The company culture is terrible now, especially since McKinsey came in to revamp the org structure. I happen to work with a great team of people, but we're all in our late fifties or early sixties and just waiting it out until retirement. I have 409 days to go until we make the last college payment, and I might quit then, or wait until the end of '27. When people ask if they should accept a job offer here, I say "Only if it's your only option. If you do, keep looking and get out asap."
Post: America Doesn’t Just Do Layoffs. It’s Fallen in Love With Them
Link to comment from March 17, 2026
Thanks, we do enjoy seeing her move forward in life! The Fit is a great little car. I think she'll hang onto it for a long time. We changed the oil last week - an easy job on this car, and only $35 for oil and filter.
Post: Is there any point when a child needs financial help that you feel comfortable saying “not my problem?”
Link to comment from March 17, 2026
We did that for my mother-in-law's condo. She wanted to leave it to our daughter to pay for college, and the estate lawyer set up an MAPT for her. We're now past the five-year lookback period, and MIL's SS payment is more than the Medicaid income limit, so it was probably a moot point. Still, it was nice to know that things were done correctly for estate planning, etc.
Post: Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)
Link to comment from March 15, 2026
We're paying for our daughter's college. She has always been a hard worker and a good student, and will get her undergrad degree in May after three years in school. One more year and she'll have her Master's degree, so I don't feel bad about paying for it. We also bought her a 2015 Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) to get around in, as she was working a catering job that took her all over the place. She always talks to people at those catered parties, and at one corporate Christmas party she talked to a guy who was a VP in her area of study. He told her to apply for an internship last year, which she did, and it turned out they only hired one intern per location, so that worked out well. After the internship, they contacted her a couple of months later to ask if she could work part time while attending school, and told her a full time position was hers for the taking once she graduates. She's working there 20 hours a week now. As for money, she's a saver. She's putting as much as she can into her Roth IRA, and buys most of her clothes at thrift stores. She also told her prospective (at the time) boyfriend that she wasn't going out with him unless he quit playing video games all the time and got his grades up :) He did, and they've been together just over a year now. I think she'll do well in life.
Post: Is there any point when a child needs financial help that you feel comfortable saying “not my problem?”
Link to comment from March 14, 2026