A video about a "college fund" bucket that's been unopened for 23 years has gone viral on TikTok, where it has received 9.9 million views in three days.
The clip, shared by TikTok user @moistshamwow, was posted with a message overlaid on it that read: "When your parents set up a 'college fund' bucket 23 years ago but nobody ever opened it."
The video showed a large container used for water dispensers filled with coins and dollar bills. A caption shared with the post read: "At this point its part of the family."
According to data from an annual U.S. News survey, the average cost of college tuition increased in the 2022-2023 academic year from the previous year, across both public and private schools.
The average cost of tuition and fees to attend a "ranked public college" in state for the same academic year was reported to be $10,423. This was found to be 74 percent less than the average price at a private college, which costs $39,723. The average cost for out-of-state students at public colleges was reported to be $22,953 for the same year.
A 2019 report by the research division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis stated that "having a four-year college degree is associated with many positive outcomes, including higher income and wealth, better health, a higher likelihood of being a homeowner and of being partnered (married or cohabiting), and a lower risk of becoming delinquent on any obligation..."
The report read: "The fact that an increasing share of the adult population is completing four years or more of college suggests a widespread belief that college is, indeed, worth it.
"Yet signs have emerged that the economic benefits of college may be diminishing. Despite large income and wealth advantages enjoyed on average by families with a head with a bachelor's degree or higher over families with a head without a postsecondary degree, recent cohorts of college graduates appear to be faring less well than previous generations," the report noted.
@moistshamwow at this point its part of the family #college #investingtips
♬ We can not escape we can not come out - Chloe🤍.
The latest viral video has amused users on TikTok, with several joking about the high cost of education in today's economy.
In a comment that received 200,900 likes, user Kevin Herrera posted: "With current prices that might be enough for a book."
User KilljoyAnimated wrote: "Congrats you can now pay for 1/100th of a semester," in a comment that got 62,800 likes.
Liam commented: "Yayy u can afford a parking pass for a single semester now," while Usermonke wrote: "That's a whole 6 hours of tuition."
JustStevie pointed out that: "People underestimate how change adds up."
Sara wondered "why didn't they [the parents] invest it to get interest," to which the original poster replied, "good question."
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment. This video has not been independently verified.
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