4. SETTING UP AN UNREALISTIC HOUSEHOLD SPENDING PLAN (4th in a Series) Whether or not you are organized, most folks tend to underestimate their actual cost of living expenses. Too much is at stake here and mistakes may lead to future bankruptcy. You'll be "downsizing" into a one income household and you'll need to be aware of the need to update your lifestyle as well. To regain the ... Read More
Paying for College
Ask the Adviser: Appealing College Financial Aid Packages
Is it possible to get a college to reconsider their financial aid package? My son was accepted into his top choice and then a few of his lesser choices. The only problem is that School #1 presented us with a financial aid package that is about 1/3 less than what some of the other schools offered. Is there anything that we can do? Do schools ever reconsider their financial aid packages? Boston ... Read More
Paying for College Without Going Broke – Part of a Series
If you have two years before your student enters college … Test Prep Every tenth of a point added to a student’s GPA may save thousands of dollars in loans that won’t have to be paid back later because colleges will give preferential aid to good students. So now’s the time to consider test prep courses for the SAT. Business Interest Financial aid is based on the parents’ tax return ... Read More
Retirement Planning for College Bound Kids
For college-bound students, funding retirement has to be the farthest thing from their minds. Yet, with a little planning, parents may be able to kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, most parents of college-bound kids tend to overlook some obvious ways to lower the cost of college but wisely using the tax code and some retirement planning techniques can help. It may be a low-priority ... Read More
Pay for College without Going Broke
Growing up in a middle class family with parents who worked on the production lines of local factories, it was instilled in me from a very young age that education was the ticket to a better life. While times have changed parents still want to see a better life for their kids and education is still the key. American Dream: Worth Believing? As a new parent myself (my other identity is as ... Read More
Using Qualified Tuition Plans to Pay for College
Qualified Tuition Plans debuted in the mid-1980s as prepaid tuition plans. After Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1997 and clarified the tax treatment of plans, the rush was on to claim the hearts, minds and wallets of parents and grandparents as states sponsored plans with investment managers. For those who are unfamiliar with these options, let's review the basics: Prepaid Plans: These ... Read More
Skip the Allowance and Employ Your Kid
Do you own investment real estate or a business? Have you been considering buying a rental property or starting a business? Have kids going to college in a few years? If you already plan on your kids going to college, it's never too late to start planning effective and efficient ways to increase savings, lower your taxes and improve your odds for receiving student financial aid. Let's say you ... Read More
Paying for College without Breaking Your Retirment Nest Egg
PAYING FOR COLLEGE. Do you own a business (full time or part-time)? Do you own investment real estate or a farm? Would you be interested in learning how to use IRS rules to help you pay for college? If you want to find ways to pay for college without ruining your personal retirement, there is hope (and it's not just the renames tax credit mentioned below). In this series, we'll go ... Read More
