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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to feel sad that 3yo dd might never be able to achieve her potential due to tuition fees?

224 replies

bytheMoonlight · 08/12/2010 08:38

I look at dd, who is due to start nursery in January and wonder what is going to happen if one day she decides she wants a career that means going to university.

I feel so upset that her chances are being blighted before she has even entered education. We could offer her little financial support and the thought of her leaving with all that debt is beyond comprehension and would not qualify for help.

I feel so sad about this.

OP posts:
TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 08/12/2010 11:06

dreamingosun - Yes, you will pay more interest.

I don't understand your 2 days a week question. It is simply linked to income. Earn 40k pay 180 a month. Earn 16k working 2 days a week (so 40k pro-rata) pay nothing.

dreamingofsun · 08/12/2010 11:06

christmas - labour stitched us up big time and its their fault we are in this financial mess. i did think the conservatives might not pick on us so much - obviously i was wrong. goodness knows who i will vote for in future

peppapighastakenovermylife · 08/12/2010 11:06

Morloth - it doesnt really. High earners will pay it back quicker but pay it all back and seems fair enough amongst all these cuts that those earning loads pay more for an education I guess.

Low earners will pay nothing or a smaller sum back.

I guess there will be a group, unfortunately in the middle again who could end up paying more due to earning enough to pay back but at a slower rate than the fast ones.

My head is too fuzzy to work it out though. I think it must be at around 35K you might be worse off (in terms of paying more back in the long term) but still better off than if you hadnt gone to university and were earning less.

dreamingofsun · 08/12/2010 11:08

thecoalition - i'm with you now. you didn't say you were pro-ratering the 40k. my children are all boys so i expect they will work full-time - they will have to if they want to live round here

peppapighastakenovermylife · 08/12/2010 11:09

Yes careful now, I am Welsh Wink

dreamingofsun · 08/12/2010 11:09

delia - so why is it not morally wrong for adults who could pay for healthcare to not pay for it themselves?

titchy · 08/12/2010 11:10

It does affect a mortgage application though.... All debt repayments (credit cards, personal laons, student loans) are normally taken off your income for the purposes of determining the total amount you can borrow.

So if you earn £40k a year, normally you'd get a mortgage for 3 x that - so £120k. But servicing your student loan costs 12 x £143 = £1716 year, so your actual salary is reduced by this amount (maybe more as the loan is paid from net salary) so you get less of a mortgage, maybe £110k.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 08/12/2010 11:11

dreamingofsun - Oh hang on - I think you are mixing me and peppa up. I think she is pro-ratering in her example though.

Litchick · 08/12/2010 11:11

It is not ideal...but at least you know what's coming.
Start investing now. Even small amounts can grow quite substantially, plus when this goes through ( which it will) there will be lots of advice available about the most cost/tax effective ways of paying for your DDs education.

You will not need to put 3k a year away, as someone has suggested. Money, well invested grows.

Also, don't assume you have to pay for it all. DD could share the load. If she is brought up to think this is going to happen, she will accept it as fair and necessary.

Mine already know that despite our comfortable position they will be expected to work and study. It is the quid pro quo.

dreamingofsun · 08/12/2010 11:12

peppa - i can see why you aren't that bothered about any of this if you are welsh and presumably living in wales.

anastaisia · 08/12/2010 11:13

Won't the debt be cancelled after 30 years anyway? So very few people will be retiring still paying it back.

peppapighastakenovermylife · 08/12/2010 11:14

dreamingofsun - see my example above. Yes you will pay it back for longer but it wont really affect that many people.

From my calculations...if you earn 30k a year ish you would pay back pretty much the exact amount you borrowed (27k) through your monthly payments...but have some written off then at the end due to interest.

Lower than 30k a year and you will pay back less than you have borrowed.

Above 30k a year, up to 40k perhaps, then you would perhaps pay back more due to the interest.

If you earn loads you will pay back quickly and pay little interest - and remember it is low levels of interest.

Of course income will vary - you might start on 25k and rise up but I cant work that one out!

Deliaskis · 08/12/2010 11:16

dreamingofsun I don't think it is morally wrong, and some do pay for private treatment that could be provided on the NHS. I do think though, that on the whole, we need to differentiate between what we want and what we need. Medical treatment that is needed is funded for everyone by the NHS. Education that is IMO necessary for everyone is also free for everyone, i.e. up to 16/18.

D

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 08/12/2010 11:16

titchy - I think it will affect most less than a normal loan of the same amount though as repayments are lower, until you are earning a fair bit.

thefurryone · 08/12/2010 11:16

dreamingofthesun - clearly no one has a crystal ball and can see into the future but before going to university someone should have an idea about what kind of career they wish to pursue, they can then carry out research into this, find out what level of qualification they will need for it, how much it will cost to study, how much expected earnings will be, what this means in terms of how much of the loan they will be expected to pay back etc.

If they don't know what career they wish to pursue at 18 then they should start gaining some work experience in different areas before choosing a path, if they then find they need a degree they can go off and do one at the stage where they know it will be useful.

christmaseve · 08/12/2010 11:18

'Money well invested grows'. Can you tell me where you have invested your money for the past 8 years to actually make it keep pace with inflation, let alone grow?

peppapighastakenovermylife · 08/12/2010 11:19

Nothing to do with it Hmm. I won't be helping my DC's with it anyway and why would they automatically go to a Welsh university? I don't even think about them going to university to be honest - who knows what they will want to do and it is years away!

From what I understood the WAG only said they would keep fees low for 2013 anyway? Am not sure if they mentioned the future? For what its worth I don't agree with them keeping them low - why should it be different to England?

I am actually extremely concerned about how this will impact upon my job. I am a Welsh academic and therefore if the WAG are supplementing fees how will this impact upon our job cuts.

And I am insulted there that you would assume that I don't care about how this will affect other people - my friends children - just because it might not affect my own? I'm alright jack? Hmm

peppapighastakenovermylife · 08/12/2010 11:20

Oh yes I was pro ratering just to show that you could have a very good skilled job which earned a salary level of 40k but if you only worked part time like many women do you would not pay anything back.

So effectively your degree helped you get the job but you would not have to pay for it.

MumNWLondon · 08/12/2010 11:22

I agree its a worry, but I am not sure whether the two alternatives would be any more palatable:

a) even more benefits / budget cuts
b) additional income tax for everyone

I know ideally the super rich would pay but there just aren't enough of them to fund universities.

I have a well paid job in a secure career, but I probably could have got there without a degree. My sister on the other hand is a speech therapist and could not have got there without a degree.

Litchick · 08/12/2010 11:25

All sorts.

Shares.
Property rented out - good income.
Capital investments in business/film etc
ISA - cash/share/property

All have increased.

The only thing that's not done well is my pension...

christmaseve · 08/12/2010 11:28

Shares/Isa's have performed abysmally, that's how your pension has underperformed, it's all related. Unless you know something, I don't Grin

Labour overspent, agreed, we could always rectify this in other ways. Labour were not responsible for the global recession/credit crunch.

Litchick · 08/12/2010 11:28

The good thing about saving for something like education is you know it's a long term investment, so you can place your money in longer term plans.

Any good finacial advisor can help.

I am no economics guru. I just get good advice.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 08/12/2010 11:29

christmaseve - For most of the past eight years there were instant access savings accounts paying above inflation.

Litchick · 08/12/2010 11:30

Share portfolios did tank - admittedly, but have rallied now.
That's the good thing about long term stuff. You can leave it to recover.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 08/12/2010 11:34

If you had gone into shares 8 years ago you would be up as well.