Two things I want to add–First, it is more important to save for retirement than for your child’s education. There are many scholarship, loan, and grant programs to help your child pay for college. There is nothing similar for retirement. I know it sounds harsh, but if you save for college and not retirement, your kids may go to college for free but will end up supporting you for years when you are older.

Second, college loans are good debt. College is an investment that will last a lifetime. If someone takes out a loan each year of college that is equal to a car loan, it is still a good investment. A college degree will last much longer than four cars will. Plus, the government loans have great interest rates (I believe mine is 3-4% right now) and no penalty to pay them back earlier. And, they are always willing to work with you when you need to hold off or lessen payments due to salary changes.

More and more colleges are doing this so that students are not saddled with debt when they graduate. Keep an eye on these programs, and when the time comes, encourage your kids to look at these schools first.

I watched my parents slide farther and farther into debt, taking care of 2 kids on one LPNs income. I remember eating holiday meals at soup kitchens, cereal with water instead of milk, and christmas presents from the “giving tree” at a local church. We weren’t as poor as we could have been, but we had our hard times.

My fear is being in the same situation with me and my wife. I am terrified of not being able to provide a comfortable living. Nothing opulent or extravagant, but enough that we’re always confident in our next meal. I have literally laid awake at night, unable to sleep, focused on the mental image of not being able to provide for my family.

I’m 24 years old. I avoid almost all debt, unless I have the cash available to pay it off if necessary. I save about 25% of my monthly gross income. I try to donate the maximum to both of our Roth IRAs yearly. I’m always working on school and education to earn more money. Part of this is ambition. The other part is that fear. I always want to have a bigger cushion, more security, more peace of mind about money. I’m not joking when I say that fear drives most of my actions.

Oh yeah, and about that mortgage budget, you’ll handle it just fine :) And next year, get that garden in to save some grocery money :) And think, edible landscaping when you can so you can eat into the future off of it :)

When I get scared about something, I ask myself, “What is the worst that could happen? And how will that affect me? And what could I do about it?”…. In case I were to lose my job, I have worked out a bare bones monthly essentials budget – property taxes & house insurance $73, water & sewer $53, electric $45, gas $50, car insurance $65, groceries $80 (large garden and stockpiled shelved) and prescriptions $10… Total: $376/month – I can handle that – it’s the interest income from my savings (without touching the savings). If I added a major medical policy, then I’d need to add more to that.

Having some sort of major medical emergency, expense, is also a big fear. It could wipe out my savings, even with health insurance.

My other fear is inflation – will my retirement savings, SS, PERS pension, IRA’s, and interest dividends be enough for retirement? I can’t foretell the future, so I need to believe that what I have figured I will need will be enough – time will tell.

Would I need to make major lifestyle changes if I lost my job? NO. I have already made them and been living them for years. I’m comfortable and content.

One of my main fears with that is health insurance, and being without it. I have had some freak incidents which would have been catastrophic without health insurance. Namely, a bone in my foot died and had to be removed. Two years later, the same bone in my other foot had to be removed as well. Had we had to pay out of pocket for the MRIs, surgery, and follow up care, we would have a huge debt.