529 College Savings Plans and the New FAFSA
If you are planning to save for college expenses for your child or grandchild, a 529 college savings plan can be one of the best ways to do it. You put the money into the plan, it grows tax-free, and then if you use the funds for qualified education expenses, it comes out tax-free as […]
College Savings
With America’s student loan debt growing larger every year, saving for college is on the minds of many of our clients. Whether you want to help pay for some of all of college, you likely want to do it as efficiently as possible. Which savings vehicle is best for me? How much do I need […]
Educating Heirs on Student Debt
One of my favorite television shows is Shark Tank, which shows aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business plans to seasoned investors, the “sharks,” in hopes of an investment. The sharks use their own money to invest, so they ask tough questions to help evaluate the business’s potential. Have they demonstrated sales? How much does it cost […]
How Much to Save for College
Will your child wow you with a 4.0 GPA in high school or do they believe C’s get degrees? Are their sights set on private colleges in expensive cities or the public university up the road? Do they know their path, or will they meander through three majors over six years? If you know the […]
College Savings Vehicles
So often in life and in financial planning, perfect can be the enemy of good. This is certainly the case when it comes to saving for college. There are many ways to go about it, but the most important choice is the choice to begin saving. Nonetheless, we often meet parents of five- and ten-year-old […]
The Complicated Calculations of College Costs
Parents of college-bound students are dealing with a chicken-or-egg dilemma. When it comes to student aid calculations, it just about requires a Ph.D. to understand how to fund a Ph.D. Different schools use different methods to evaluate different families, and when they get the results, they interpret them differently! Let’s wade into the wishy-washy world […]
Getting Creative with College Funding
In our previous discussions about college planning, we’ve discussed where and how much to save while acknowledging that these questions require several assumptions. Is it sensible to make saving for college a major financial goal when there’s no guarantee the child will attend? That’s a tough question for families and for this reason, we favor educating […]
Debt Analysis
The Ballast Atheneum is a collection of our thoughts on the twelve most important topics in financial planning. Today, the focus is on DEBT. Debt. It’s a subject that not many people really enjoy talking about, but it’s a reality for nearly all of us. Whether it’s “good” debt in the form of a […]
Student Loan Forgiveness Best Practices
Key Takeaways: Federal student debt cancellation up to $10,000 ($20,000 for Pell grant recipients) Cancellation limited by income ($125,000 single, $250,000 for married couples) Limited PSLF Waiver ends October 31, 2022; review your eligibility This past Wednesday, the President announced a student debt cancellation plan. Unfortunately for borrowers hopeful to log in to their […]
Educating Your Next Generation
Key Takeaways: Our most successful planning relationships are those in which we work with our client’s other professional advisors – and their children and heirs as well. Involving heirs in your financial and estate planning makes the next generation’s estate administration job much easier. You do not have to tell them every detail, but at […]
Getting Creative with College Funding
In our previous discussions about college planning, we’ve discussed where and how much to save while acknowledging that these questions require several assumptions. Is it sensible to make saving for college a major financial goal when there’s no guarantee the child will attend? That’s a tough question for families and for this reason, we favor educating […]
The Complicated Calculations of College Costs
Parents of college-bound students are dealing with a chicken-or-egg dilemma. When it comes to student aid calculations, it just about requires a Ph.D. to understand how to fund a Ph.D. Different schools use different methods to evaluate different families, and when they get the results, they interpret them differently! Let’s wade into the wishy-washy world […]
