However, I still have to pay for...college, which has nothing to do with day to day living expenses and costs as much as a house.
You should do a search on this forum for posts by "JonLaw".
College is now basically "high school that costs a lot of money".
I am going to be paying a significant amount for college in several years, of that much I'm certain. Kids = significant college expenses.
Unless my kids have some sort of magical non-college plan.
I'm not going to give them $100,000 in debt like my cousin received in addition to her *state school, in-state* degree.
I hated my (free) college experience, but that has nothing to do with college experiences in general, the much lower likelihood of my kids getting a free college degree, or the fact that a college education is now a high school degree, which makes it more, and not less required for basic employability.
