“We expected this you know,” my dad said to me on my high school graduation day. He was justified to not feel so impressed because I was raised middle-class, from generations of graduates at a high school with a 100% graduation rate. (http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/90816) *I included this source because 100% sounds unbelievable-and certainly there were years where not everyone graduated but still an incredibly high percentage did.
Point is, it would have taken some major screwing around on my part to mess up enough not to graduate high school considering my situation.
It was a foregone conclusion that I would graduate not only high school but college as well.
The same expectations go for my son, Cash. To this end, I have opened a college savings fund for him arranged where a small amount money is deducted from each paycheck and syphoned to. If I understand correctly, this fund can be tapped into by Cash to pay for any type of schooling after high school.
This dollar amount is not going to be any sort of windfall and at the skyrocketing rate of college tuition, may end up only being enough to buy books for his first semester by the Fall of 2033. (Tip: Buy them used!) Wait…who am I kidding? By then, there won’t be “books,” just apps for purchase on downloads to the chip implanted in this head like everyone else will have.)
The other day I filled out a cost estimate sheet that figured we’d spend almost $330,000 on Cash to get him to his 18th birthday…that’s not to give him a silver spoon in his mouth, that’s just to have something on any kind of spoon to keep him alive and well. Considering we’re still a month away from even getting him to his first birthday…we got some money-makin’ and money-savin’ to do!
By the way, I would love to assume Cash will be a highly-recruited strong safety/wide receiver to top colleges but ultimately, choose to play for his daddy’s alma mater, but I ain’t going to (the) bank on it.
Who knows? If Cash ends up not wanting to attend college and instead wants to learn a trade at a tech school or some kind of apprenticeship, that’s okay by me as long as it interests and challenges him, falls in line with his skill set and brings him joy when the job is finished, he has our full support.
As we prepare to scale the kid-raising, financial mountain ahead, we’ll take it step by step and paycheck by check. Our hope is that when Cash becomes an adult and faces the rest of his life, he can take not only the money but also the lesson that in life, a little at a time goes a long way.
Wisconsin Dadger 
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