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Christmas Bonus Related Musings

December 2nd, 2012 at 06:32 am

The paperwork for putting the Christmas Bonus (well, end of year safety bonus really) in the 401K came today. That is not what we are doing with it this year, but I kind of think it is nice that they are offering that as an option. It would sure help out people who can't contribute throughout the year or can only contribute minimally to get caught up. It also feels like a tease though. The closer we get to when it is sent out the more impatient I get about it. I just so want the credit card debt portion of our lives to be over.

DH and I have discussed what to do with the bonus in future years. DD wants to go to either the local university or a state school in Oregon and the bonus would go a long way to whether or not we can cashflow tuition. If the bonus is 5% of yearly income it would cover half a year's tuition. If it is 10% it would cover a year. Even at 5%, we would only have to save up another $7000 each year. I absolutely am opposed to getting student loans. I do not want my kids saddled with that kind of debt starting their adult lives and I refuse to take it out ourselves. I do expect them to work and help pay if jobs are available.

The other option for DD is two years at the local community college and then a transfer to the university. That would give us longer to save up for the final 3 years of college (5 year teaching degree). A full load at the community college is $3000 a semester.

When it comes to DS's turn, he will likely go to a technical college. If his interests hold true, he'd like to be involved in power generation, the operation of dams, solar power, and wind power. I know there's an engineeing program for that kind of thing, I just can't remember what it is called. It is definitely something he is passionate about. He built a water wheel that powered a lightbulb in the 5th grade.

One of the things I have been thinking about lately is whether or not my kids will be able to get jobs to help pay for college. It is super hard for teenagers to get jobs right now in our area. The fast food jobs are held by thirty and forty-somethings who had no other choices and are far more reliable than people with no work history.

If we end up moving to a place with enough land we will be raising rabbits and I think that might be a good job for them. We would, of course, raise our own meat rabbits, but then any surplus could be sold. In our county rabbit meat goes for about $15 a pound. Selling a live doe or buck is about $30 per for good parents. Rabbit manure is highly sought after for gardens because it doesn't have to be composted, so that is another sellable item. And then of course there are the pelts. It could be a nice little business. And DH says he will slaughter if they don't want to.

I think I would want to eventually establish 2 breeding lines with 2 bucks and 3 does per buck. That would be beneficial because then we could sell a buck from one line and does from the other to the same people. It is kind of hard to find that in established rabbitries around here and you don't want brother and sister rabbits breeding, so you have to look at more than one place usually to get your start up animals.

I don't know. It's all conjecture at this point. But it would give them work to do and start them off with their own business.

3 Responses to “Christmas Bonus Related Musings”

  1. NJDebbie Says:
    1354458775

    We paid for our son's college tuition. He started in a community college and then transfered to a state university and commuted every day to school. He also worked part-time and paid for his school parking permit, gas and textbooks. Community colleges are excellent and one can definitely stretch a dollar that way.

  2. rob62521 Says:
    1354487391

    Community colleges are a great place to start and far more reasonable than a 4 year school.

  3. snafu Says:
    1354566532

    DH & I are both university instructor/professor and can't help but observe student spending. We can usually guess which students hold PT jobs, take course work seriously and those who can't get past the combination of freedom from parental influence + social opportunities. We also see it in the work they turn in.

    Currently we have two sons in university. [dreadful family planning eh!] They have always known they would need to have 'skin in the game' and work to support school costs. I suggest teens find or create some type of work while high school students and summer.

    I add my voice to those recommending Community College as transition to the challenges of university having checked that the courses are all transferable. Over and above financial considerations, they are more mature and have better social skills when it really counts.

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