Back to School

I just got back from dropping my kids back at college. When—or a better question is why—did this become such an undertaking? Not to sound like one of those grumpy old guys who yearns for the "good old days," but when I went to school, I think I had my stereo, speakers, albums, typewriter, and two duffel bags of clothes. I probably had two pairs of sneakers (they call them tennis shoes in Michigan), a few pair of jeans, shorts, t-shirts, a sweatshirt, and maybe a nice sweater in case I was going out to dinner. My parents dropped me off at the dorm, then they were on their way back home.

Not so much today. I can’t tell you how many trips I made to Bed Bath & Beyond. It is beyond belief! Retailers have done a great job convincing kids and parents that they need a lot of stuff. Mostly you need a lot of stuff to hold all of the stuff that you have. If you want to invest in a stock, invest in the companies that make the containers that hold all of this stuff.

Most of my financial clients’ greatest concern, aside from retirement, is paying for college. I advise clients to save as much as they can, and after they come up with that number, save more. College is really expensive. The rate of inflation for college tuition is over three times that of the general rate of inflation in this country. If someone were really smart, they would come up with an investment vehicle that returned the rate of inflation of college tuition each year!

Anyway, I am done lecturing and reminiscing. My point is, maybe another way to save for college is to not buy as much stuff. In the long run, not spending money on things we don’t need probably has a greater return than some investments we make.