In Dire Straits? Here's Money for Nothing, College for Free!

08/06/21 • 9 min

Welcome to the Eleventh episode of WhatTheFs, inspired by and with apologies to Mark Knopfler & the Dire Straits band!
Never have I ever sung publicly before, maybe not even in private 😔, but this knock-off on their popular song contains a simple but relevant message on how to use the power of long-term investing & compounding to get money for college, for free.
For an average person in the US, and even globally, college fees & expenses for their kids are the second biggest spending they would do in their lifetimes, right after investments in their home. Currently, four years at a top-notch private school can set a family back by close to a quarter million dollars per college going child, as not everyone is eligible for grants or aid! That's a significant amount and can come as a nasty surprise if you are not prepared for it, leaving you scrambling at the last minute, dipping into regular savings, retirement funds, or seeking student loans.
It is August, time to make tuition payments for colleges in the US, and I was thinking about how useful our 529s (savings vehicles in the US specifically designed for college, now even school, funds) have been in helping with our boys' college fees. We started investing in these as soon as they were born, and while we may not have maximized it every year, I am happy to confess that what I tried to sing (more like screeched! - sorry Mark :-), is something we have personally benefited from greatly.

So how does this College for free thingy really work? I made some assumptions, did some simple math, and have explained those in this episode too! Assuming you start as soon as they are born (you can start later too) using the 529 route, and invest regularly in aggressive stock-weighted options, your money can grow in 20 years to provide you with gains & earnings that alone are sufficient to pay for four years of college in a private school! All your gains are tax free if used for higher education...and in some states, you also get breaks for investing in the state plans.
There are other options for saving & paying for college, and I have only focused on the main one, the 529s. You can find more details, information, comparisons etc at this excellent site savingsforcollege.com
Money for Nothing, College for Free: Hope you like this episode...pls do share with your friends & social circles, and do drop me your feedback and review comments!

This is Rak, signing off on the latest in WhatTheFs, my Weekly Take in Five on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends!

See you again next week...till then, happy listening!
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This is Rak, signing off on the latest in WhatTheFs, my Weekly Take in Five on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends!

Previous Episode

Ten Stocks, 10X, in Ten Years: What The X?!!

Welcome to What The X: a special episode to mark WhatTheFs 10th episode!!!
Ten stocks that I believe will be multi-baggers, with potential to go up 10X in the next 10 years!
Presenting to you my very own RAK fund :-)

Why am I doing this? Some of you have asked me for tips & picks in the past...and my own portfolio has consistently beaten the s&p500 index over the last few years. WhatTheFs podcast is my weekly take on fads, films & finance in a way that makes my listeners happy, makes them money, or both, so why not share some of my secret sauce? ;-) In return, would ask you to subscribe to this podcast and also spread the word by sharing this episode in your friend & social circles.
Yep, go ahead...do it now - there is a share link option on the top!
For this top ten list, I have focused on growth stocks only, and in the mid-tier of market capitalization ($20-$150B mkt cap), not getting sucked into the FAANGs of the mega caps (which almost everyone owns), or dabble with the little leaguers. I have looked at industries and sectors that are in the forefront of the digital revolution, that have the potential to be much much bigger in the coming decade, and then selected the disruptors in those, the challengers that are standing up to the big boys, creating their own rules, and changing the future as we know it. I am not going into fundamental or quant analysis here but you will hear about my investing story as part of these stocks too.
The stock picks are all public companies from these Ten sectors that I believe will lead in the digital future::

Digital Media/Advertising
Streaming
Gaming
FinTech
E-commerce
Content Mgmt
NextGen Customer Engagement
Security
Healthcare, &
Biotech/Genetics

A word of caution though: these are my personal recommendations, so exercise caution, do your own research, and remember that any investment you do based on the above is at your own risk.
I totally enjoyed putting this list & episode together, and hope you like it too, and benefit from it. Keen to know your reactions, any ideas, stocks or angles I have missed, and anything you would like to discuss/debate further.
If you liked my new style and content, let me know, rate me, and leave me a review.
Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...
Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH?si=EFpQKn-xSzGGBiKY7HZGug&dl_branch=1
@What_TheFs is my twitter handle...hope to see you there too.
Enjoy What The X!!!

Next Episode

Serpent in the Garden of Internet

Once upon a time ...the garden of internet was an unspoiled, innocent, open playground for all of us. It held so much promise. There was an Apple in this garden too. Beguiling, tasty....And then the serpent appeared! The fault lines from the offline world, the typical human failings showed up here too, and even a bite of the mighty apple has not been enough to restore the internet to its pristine state.
Welcome to the 12th episode of WhatTheFs, my weekly take on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends! In todays episode, called the Serpent in the Garden of Internet, I bring to you two items that showcase, what else, the serpent.
In What The Film, a Netflix limited series that is based on the exploits of the notorious conman, Charles Sobhraj, who prowled, defrauded and killed unsuspecting victims in the hippie trails of South Asia during the 70s! A larger than life figure for those who grew up in India and heard about his dodges, frauds, capture, and escapes, his backstory and the extent of his evil needs to be seen to be believed.
There is another reason why I chose this series for today’s episode! Sobhraj lured and defrauded his victims back in the days before mobile phones & internet, but there are parallels and lessons for us in todays world, in the age of the internet.

In the What The Finance section, I am touching upon What The Fraud....the frauds, scams & hacks that have permanently taken away the innocence and promise of the Garden of Internet! Sprinkled with some tips and suggestions to make sure you and your family never become a victim.
Serpent in the Garden of Internet: Hope you find this episode useful...and if you do, pls do share with your friends & social circles, and do drop me your inputs, experiences & feedback on the topic so we can all learn from each other!

This is Rak, signing off on the latest in WhatTheFs, my Weekly Take in Five on Fads, Films, Finance & Fun, with Friends!

Here are the links to subscribe to it on all major podcast directories, and share it with your friends...
Buzzsprout: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1721890.rss
Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whatthefs/id1570521351
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/49d8IxKEcCOoFK4vhgyFmH?si=EFpQKn-xSzGGBiKY7HZGug&dl_branch=1
See you again next week...till then, happy listening!