Yahoooo!, College, here we come!

As most of you know, Alaskans share in the royalties each year from the oil pumped from under Alaska's frozen tundra. Unlike the rest of the nation, Alaskans were glued to the radio this morning at 10:30 am as the amount of this years PFD (no, not a flotation device; rather the Permanent Fund Dividend) was announced by the department of Revenue. Forrest, wrapped in a towel, just exited the bathroom as the amount was read. We whooped and hollered as the amount of $3269.00 was announced (The largest dividend ever)! Nearly losing his towel, Forrest quickly jumped into his room just in time!
Although our kids aren't overly joyed with the measly $50 we give them to spend, they will thank us and profusely give us great honor when they leave the nest and take with them 18 years of PFD's that we stash away in their college education fund! After they "inform" us, their ever so popular parents, about all the toys their friends have accumulated, we have "the financial talk" again and bring them back to earth with the reality that their friends may have lots of cool things now but "YOU will have ten times more when you leave for college"!
The PFD this year is split in two areas. One is the royalty averaged over the past 5 years earnings and the other is a one time payout that Governor Palin legislated for (from excess growth funds) to assist all Alaskans with utility and energy costs. The PFD itself is $2069 ($1 more than my "educated scientific" guess). The energy rebate is $1,200.
Yes, it is hard to see all the new toys that friends and neighbors buy with the windfall! We still drive a 17 and 7 year old vehicle, relish in wearing "hand me downs" and mix our milk with powdered milk from the cannery. But, hopefully we have used the experience over the last 12 years to teach our kids about charitable giving, savings, smart investing and carefully thought-out spending. It is a blessing that we are thankful to enjoy! Thank you Mr. William Seward!