Vickko
Veteran
Sell gear, or sell stocks, to raise money for son's school fees?
Maybe a bit of both.
sigh.....
Maybe a bit of both.
sigh.....
lxmike
M2 fan.
I recently sold my whole collection of live steam model engines. a lifes collection (and another passion of mine), it has helped me fund my eldest sons education and I have no regrets, buying an M2 with what was left sweetened the bitter pill. Good luck with what decision you come to
maggieo
More Deadly
Stocks, unless you're an analyst at Goldman Sachs, in which case, you probably wouldn't need to sell stock.
johannielscom
Snorting silver salts
Sell stock, and if it's American companies, sell before January 1st if you can... 
Dan
Let's Sway
Neither. College is overrated!
1750Shooter
Established
It depends... If the stocks are performing well & you're on track with them, sell toys. You can always replace them later. If stocks are flat or losing, dump them & don't look back. If your son gets a good education, he'll likely get a good job, & be able to afford a nice nursing home for you! Good luck with whatever your choice is.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Godfrey
somewhat colored
No things are worth more than education to an enquiring mind.
Either way you go, it is a superlative gift.
===
From where comes this anti-education bias? We must certainly be moving into a Dark Age.
The value of an education is not measurable in mere dollars and cents. Do not make the mistake of equating a college education with the notion of obtaining a certificate from a trade school.
I paid for my own education, my mother couldn't afford it due to circumstances at that time. I put everything inhad into it, bar nothing. Took a lot of work. Was worth every penny: because of that education, I've enjoyed doing nearly any/everything I've wanted to do in my career and my life. And when life's tribulations got in the way, I could still find satisfaction in finding other things to do.
You can't always get what you want. But you can always have a full and satisfying life with an education. Things will never get you that.
G
Either way you go, it is a superlative gift.
===
From where comes this anti-education bias? We must certainly be moving into a Dark Age.
The value of an education is not measurable in mere dollars and cents. Do not make the mistake of equating a college education with the notion of obtaining a certificate from a trade school.
I paid for my own education, my mother couldn't afford it due to circumstances at that time. I put everything inhad into it, bar nothing. Took a lot of work. Was worth every penny: because of that education, I've enjoyed doing nearly any/everything I've wanted to do in my career and my life. And when life's tribulations got in the way, I could still find satisfaction in finding other things to do.
You can't always get what you want. But you can always have a full and satisfying life with an education. Things will never get you that.
G
Steve Bellayr
Veteran
Why did you invest in stock if not for your son's education? At the moment the stock market is fairly high but if there is a crisis with extending the tax rates the stock market will drop. Another point to be aware of is the raising of the debt ceiling in February 2013. If this does not go smoothly the stock market will go down as it did in 2011.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
I either paid for or took out loans to pay for all of my college education. Sold almost all my gear after I graduated so maybe that's your answer. Parents never helped me and the college degree hasn't done any good so far.
Phil Forrest
Phil Forrest
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I saw your posts in the other thread and felt bad for you. My brother is also going through a bad time in his life and career. I help as I can, but money is only a minor part of helping out.
The rewards of an education have little to do, directly, with money and income. It is not the ticket in to a life of wealth and happiness.
Don't lose faith in the value of your education. It's the first step towards losing hope .. And without hope, we die.
G
benlees
Well-known
Stocks, historically, tend to make money over the long haul. Notice I said long haul. Unused cameras do not make money. Seems like an easy choice.
LV1962
Member
...What if you had bought some Leica M special edition cameras or most Leica M lenses (but especially a Noctilux
) say five years ago...?isoterica
Established
1. FAFSA
2. Scholarships, through the prospective school to outside. Local govt & business, there are several sites too where you can apply for scholarships from academic to ethnicity.
3. If you seriously have enough gear to fund a college education you probably have far too much. Sell what you don't use, keep what you do or anticipate using.
4. Rather than govt loan through FAFSA, take the loan out with stocks as collateral. That way they can continue to earn and you or he and you can pay off the loan over time.
It is a personal thing for each family.. whether to pay for the student's college, to partially pay.. or to have the student pay if the parents can't afford or don't feel it is their responsibility. How you go about it though can make a difference between some financial responsibility and an anchor. Good luck!
2. Scholarships, through the prospective school to outside. Local govt & business, there are several sites too where you can apply for scholarships from academic to ethnicity.
3. If you seriously have enough gear to fund a college education you probably have far too much. Sell what you don't use, keep what you do or anticipate using.
4. Rather than govt loan through FAFSA, take the loan out with stocks as collateral. That way they can continue to earn and you or he and you can pay off the loan over time.
It is a personal thing for each family.. whether to pay for the student's college, to partially pay.. or to have the student pay if the parents can't afford or don't feel it is their responsibility. How you go about it though can make a difference between some financial responsibility and an anchor. Good luck!
ruby.monkey
Veteran
Your son doesn't need both kidneys. Let him finance his own education.
Dan
Let's Sway
Godfrey,
My comment is only partially serious. I have a MFA, my wife has one and our daughter is in her junior year at a very expensive public university. So I believe in education for exactly the same reasons you articulated and fully supported our daughter's decision. But the current cost of sending a child to college seems to be based on what the market (i.e., parents) will bear and not on a price/performance ratio which, admittedly, would be impossible to calculate anyway.
Just my frustration as a parent.
DWScarpa
Member
You only need one camera and one lens. Selling the rest may actually improve your work as a photographer.
waynec
Established
Actually it's a heck of a time to sell either. Is it a second semester thing? You'd probably get a better return waiting till March, April or May. The economic situation will look rosier and people start buying photo equipment generally around tax return time for the coming season.
benlees
Well-known
...What if you had bought some Leica M special edition cameras or most Leica M lenses (but especially a Noctilux
If you had a stash of special editions then I'd probably say you had the means to prevent the current dilemma faced by the OP.
Robert Lai
Well-known
Vick,
Sell the stocks. In the current economic environment, they will not gain much. They are likely to fall as the US goes off the fiscal cliff.
You will regret selling some of your high quality gear, like the IIIF that you sold me. Luckily, you are in Canada, where a first class education doesn't cost as much as one in the USA. There is a lot of debate here in the US as to the value of higher education. There are a lot of unemployed PhDs here, or ones working as waiters. They have huge school loans that will burden them for decades, and from which even bankrupcy is no escape. In the meantime, the US employers are crying out for people with skills, such as machinists. Nobody wants to go to trade school - they choose educated perpetual poverty instead.
Look into OSAP loans, if they still exist in Ontario. They got me through University of Toronto as an undergrad. Each university also has scholarships based on merit - i.e. high GPA when you apply. Your son may also have to attend school part time and work part time. It will take longer to get the degree, but he will have truly earned it when he gets it.
Then there's the military route. I almost joined the Army when I got into a professional school at McGill, because I was dirt poor. Instead, my wife stopped her education and worked to put me through school. In retrospect, I should have just joined the Army. It was too big a sacrifice for her to have made for me. And that's my message for you. Don't sacrifice everything for your son's education. He has to put in his share also, otherwise it doesn't mean much.
Sell the stocks. In the current economic environment, they will not gain much. They are likely to fall as the US goes off the fiscal cliff.
You will regret selling some of your high quality gear, like the IIIF that you sold me. Luckily, you are in Canada, where a first class education doesn't cost as much as one in the USA. There is a lot of debate here in the US as to the value of higher education. There are a lot of unemployed PhDs here, or ones working as waiters. They have huge school loans that will burden them for decades, and from which even bankrupcy is no escape. In the meantime, the US employers are crying out for people with skills, such as machinists. Nobody wants to go to trade school - they choose educated perpetual poverty instead.
Look into OSAP loans, if they still exist in Ontario. They got me through University of Toronto as an undergrad. Each university also has scholarships based on merit - i.e. high GPA when you apply. Your son may also have to attend school part time and work part time. It will take longer to get the degree, but he will have truly earned it when he gets it.
Then there's the military route. I almost joined the Army when I got into a professional school at McGill, because I was dirt poor. Instead, my wife stopped her education and worked to put me through school. In retrospect, I should have just joined the Army. It was too big a sacrifice for her to have made for me. And that's my message for you. Don't sacrifice everything for your son's education. He has to put in his share also, otherwise it doesn't mean much.