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The new Simplified FAFSA is here! Here’s a quick video with some tips that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid. 🔗
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530A Accounts, aka Trump Accounts, are being touted as an education savings vehicle. Are they your best choice for education savings?
Work study falls under the self-help column of financial aid. If your aid award includes work-study, you should understand what it is.
I Bonds aren’t paying 9% any more, but using them to pay for college can make up for that.
Yes, your household expenses will change when your student goes away to school. But be careful making assumptions about how much extra money you’ll have available to pay for college.
It’s tax time, which means it’s time to claim education tax credits you may be eligible for. Unfortunately, a lot of tax software programs don’t provide good instructions for doing so. Here’s what you need to know.
Highlights
We’re almost there: acceptance letters are arriving and the May 1 decision day is right around the corner. For most families, how much schools cost is part of the decision making process.
Happy 2026! Last year I made a New Year’s Resolution and kept it. That makes me a self-appointed expert on New Year’s resolutions. Here are some resolutions for parents planning for college— and my expert advice on how to keep your resolutions.
Filing the FAFSA and CSS Profile raises tons of questions for divorced parents. Here are some answers.
What is and isn’t an asset on the FAFSA? Here’s a quick “is it or isn’t it?” for you.
Parent assets seem to be the area that most families and planners focus on, despite the fact that they typically have the smallest impact on the formula of each of the components. Strategies and tactics to minimize parent assets abound, but for most families these result more in nibbling around the edges than actually making a significant dent in SAI.
The College Board’s annual Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid report was released recently. Among the headline findings: college tuition prices increased at extremely low rates for the second year in a row, reflecting both a combination of continued impacts of the pandemic and enrollment pressures from demographic trends.
Happy FAFSA Day! Are you completing the FAFSA for the first time this year? While you’re waiting for the site to load, here are some resources that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid.
I think Oregon is one of the last places in the US that starts school after Labor Day so my apologies if you’re no longer in back-to-school mode. Here are some resolutions your family might make for the coming school year. And, here’s hoping they don’t get broken as quickly as the typical New Year’s diet-and-exercise resolutions!
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Matching 529 distributions to qualified expenses
So Junior is off to college and now it’s time to start paying the bills. For those who have done a good job putting money away in a 529 account, it’s important that you time your distributions in the same year as your expenses. It’s time to learn about two forms: the 1099-Q and the 1098-T.
EFC: Why You Need to Know
EFC is your Expected Family Contribution. In the real world, think of it as your Minimum Family Contribution. There is no requirement that a school meet your need, though some will.
How do you actually pay for college?
Considering Different Offers
Funded and Unfunded Aid
Congratulations! You got accepted into several schools, and each offered you some financial aid. When you compare the offers, it’s important to make apples-to-apples comparisons. The first thing to figure out is, did you get funded aid or unfunded aid?
What is a “Qualified Expense”?
Most of us will be lucky to save enough in 529 plans to cover the cost of college tuition, let alone room, board and/or any of the other expenses that might qualify. Here is a quick rundown of what expenses qualify with a 529 savings plan:
We’re almost there: acceptance letters are arriving and the May 1 decision day is right around the corner. For most families, how much schools cost is part of the decision making process.