POST HIGH SCHOOL ADULTS: WHOSE EDUCATION IS IT ANYWAY?

Parents mortgaging their homes—borrowing from their own retirement accounts to pay for the post high school education expenses for the post high school adults that they raised?  Preposterous!

As a generation, we Baby Boomers we have different expectations and experiences than do many young post high school adults today. Some joined the military to fight for our country and you can believe that facing battle, seeing your friends killed, and having to kill our enemies, these young men and women grew up in a hurry. Some boomers got married right out of high school and had adult responsibilities at age 18. 

They did not ask their parents for mortgage money or college education money. Do you know how they paid for college? THEY WORKED! They themselves worked --to pay for their own educations!

 Paying your own way is one opportunity to make wise choices. It is absolutely a sign of, a prerogative of, privilege of and a RESPONSIBILITY OF a post high school adult.

Ever take a five-year-old to a store? They want everything that they see.

Ever take them with their own money, say from a cash birthday gift?

 All of a sudden—they are interested in details, weighing the appeal of this toy vs. that one. In other words, they are prepared to make carefully thought out decisions that they weigh very carefully… when it is their money!

So it can be and should be with post high school adults. If a college education is what they want – it is THEIR responsibility to pay for it. 
When they have that responsibility they, like the 5-year-old with his birthday money, are going to check things out-- very carefully.  How much do they really need that new apartment/car/stereo/outfit-- if they have to work to pay for it themselves? 

If you parents are writing the check, whatever they want at that moment is a vital necessity:  it is essential. If they are writing their own check, maybe the item can wait.

Post High School Adults—that really needs to be the new phrase  to put the right “em-PHA-sis  the right sy-LAB-able”—as the Austin Powers’ character said in that zany movie with Gwyneth Paltrow as a flight attendant.  We as a society have lost our minds and our perspectives in some areas, and this is absolutely one of those. We have begun to prolong “adolescence” to the point that we may need to send along diapers in the college back pack-- that we pack for them!

Where to begin? You begin wherever you are.

If they are entering high school that is a very good time to have a sit-down face-to-face heart-to-heart talk.

“Listen, Michael or Michelle, mom and dad need to tell you something very important and very serious.

In four years you will graduate  from high school and you will be an adult. You will need to make important decisions that will affect you for the rest of your life.

“In fact the first day you set foot in a high school class room are already making life- altering decisions.  What are you in a high school class room for, anyway?

“It is my strong suggestion, son/daughter that you are there to prepare yourself for the work you will do for the next forty years. You are there to make the first decision for yourself, for your future: will you go to college-- or not?”

Yes, that is still a decision;  and too many people blow right past it --assuming that college is necessarily for everyone—which it is not.

I am not one of these advocates of the so-called self made man who dropped out and founded a Google-like mega company and made more money that Bill Gates has given away to his foundation.  No, depending on your family’s values, some type of post high school education is essential-- unless you plan to work three entry level jobs for the rest of your natural life.

But the question still needs to be raised, so that a conscious thoughtful decision is made regarding how much and what kind of post high school education your son or daughter wants to attain for himself/herself.

Assuming for the moment that Michael or Michelle says, “Yes, mom, dad I want a college education.”

“Well, wonderful”, you can then say. “How do you plan to pay for it?”

“I thought you guys would pay for it—you have money.”

“Yes, we have a little money—that we have worked very hard for, over a long period of time. We scrimped and saved so that we will have a decent retirement. The money that we have for our retirement is ours.

We will need it to pay for long term care insurance, perhaps a nursing home or assisted living should the need arise. We do not have any money laying around to SPARE to give away to anyone…including you dear son or daughter.”

“Mom/Dad what are you saying? I can’t go to college?”

“No, we are not saying that. What we said is that we are not paying for it.”

“I’m just a kid—how can I pay for it?”

Now you are asking the right question. And there are good answers for that.

I will give you the punch line here: our son and daughters, the three young Hunte

who are 20-somethings now have all graduated college with zero college debt.

ZERO COLLEGE DEBT.   If you care to know how that was accomplished, ask.