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 […]

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 […]

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

Ballast team

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 […]

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 […]

NIL Gives a Lesson in Time Value of Money

Most of the families we serve are not NCAA athletes at power conference schools, but many are fans and season ticket holders. They are more likely to be athletic boosters than athletic legends, starting with yours truly! But we all inhabit the same financial landscape and use the same tools to make decisions. I hope our families with […]

Testing the Challenges of a Long Retirement

We often joke that our job was created because of increasing life expectancies and pensions seldom being offered.  Obviously, finance and investing have become more complicated, and there are an ever-increasing number of investment vehicles and planning strategies we help our clients choose between.  We also know there is great value placed in our ability […]

The Most Impactful Tax Changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

As we flip our calendars to August, many of us find ourselves savoring the final stretch of summer by balancing travel, barbecues, and last-minute adventures with family and friends. At our house, we are tackling the remaining items on our summer bucket list and doing our best to squeeze them into an already full calendar. […]