Today, I will share Billboard to Me (BB2ME) number 48: a healthy seed planted and watered will grow over time. In this blog, I will do something I have not done in a while. I will talk about my dad and how he helped me pay the college costs for my sons.
Attending college in the USA is expensive.
Let me start with a somewhat sad fact: college in the good old USA is expensive, especially compared to some other countries across the globe. There’s no way around it. If you want to pursue a four-year degree at a US University, it will cost many dollars.
Even a public college is expensive.
Some of you are probably asking, what about public universities? When compared to private schools, public universities are a good deal. However, private and public colleges have become much more expensive over the past decade or two. Nowadays, most public universities are costly for the average American family. Private schools are absurdly expensive.
I saved some money for my son’s college costs.
In my case, everything was not doom and gloom. I was able to save some money for my son’s college costs. I won’t get into exact dollar figures, but I saved enough to cover the first year of college, including room and board for both Gavin and Riley. What would happen after that, I wasn’t quite sure.
I did not want my sons to have college debt.
One of my goals was to prevent my sons from going into debt to pay for college. Nowadays, student debt is a massive issue for many American families. I wanted to avoid that scenario. I know firsthand how long and hard it can take to pay off college loans.
BB2ME #48 — A seed planted years ago will blossom.
This billboard was inspired by my dad saving money for his grandchildren’s college costs.
Why I wrote this BB2ME
In August of 2019, Riley went off to college. That meant I had two sons in college at the same time. I explained to my father that this would be a big financial challenge for me, simultaneously paying tuition and board for both of them. My father took me into his office and showed me a massive pile of US savings bonds he had bought in the 90s. Every paycheck, he would put money into a savings bond. He held on to them until 2019. I asked him how much these were worth. He said I don’t know. All I know is you and your brother can use them. We went to the bank, and the bank cashed them in. I won’t say these savings bonds would cover the college costs for all his grandchildren. It was a substantial amount of money. I was both grateful and inspired by what my dad had done.
How I incorporated this billboard into my life
I followed his example when kickstarting my retirement by socking away a lot more money than I had been doing when paying alimony. At the same time, I was also able to save some money so that neither of my sons graduated college with any student debt. I recognized that a seed planted will grow. When considering long-term goals, especially financial ones, I take the same approach my dad did: put a little away every paycheck.
What about you?
Do you have similar challenges? Do you have to put kids through college or save for your retirement? Remember, a seed planted will grow. Later, the seeds you plant and water every month will grow into something big, and you can enjoy your bounty.
I am Doug Keating, and this is my letter to my sons.