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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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How to Get Money Out of Your 529
In honor of 529 Day, here’s how to get your money out of your 529 to pay for college.
Student Loan Interest Rates for the 2022-23 School Year
It may seem like student loan interest rates are set by flinging darts at a board, but in fact there's a set process each year for federal student loans.
When Should You Engage a College Admissions Consultant?
College admissions consultants can be a huge help in the application process, but when should you engage one?
The Federal Employment and Enrollment Report
The Federal Employment and Enrollment Report gives an overview of the employment landscape by educational attainment. Spoiler alert: the pandemic remains a big factor in employment for young people.
The Power of Compounding
April is Financial Literacy Month, so I’m writing about general financial topics. Today it’s the Eighth Wonder of the World, the power of compounding.
Pre-Tax or Roth: How do I Choose?
April is Financial Literacy Month, so I'm writing about some general financial literacy topics. Today's topic: Pre-Tax and Roth retirement savings and how to decide which to use.
The Savings Hierarchy
It’s financial literacy month, so today I’m talking about the savings hierarchy.
Credit Scores
April is Financial Literacy month, so I'm going to write about some broader topics that might be helpful to you and your student. Starting with credit scores: what are they, how do you get one, why do you care?
What's in a Financial Aid Award Letter?
Financial aid awards come in all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately, so do financial aid award letters and comparing them can seem like comparing apples to hot dogs. Here are the key elements to look for.
What Kind of Aid is it?
Scholarships and grants are free money. Does it matter which kind of free money you get, as long as you get some? As a matter of fact, it does.
State and Private Funding of Higher Ed Increase
State funding for higher education increased by over 8% in the current fiscal year, while charitable donations to US colleges and universities rose by 7%. What remains to be seen is how much benefit trickles down to students once inflation factors in.
How Much Should You Save for College?
A client’s former advisor told her that she should save $800,000 per child for college. None of my initial reactions to that were appropriate for a client meeting, but how much should you save for college is an important question for a lot of families so let’s dig into that.
Loan Forgiveness: The Temporary PSLF Waiver
Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a great concept that suffers from terrible implementation. On the surface it sounds straightforward enough: Work 10 years in the public or non-profit sector, make payments on your student loan for those 10 years, and any balance remaining is forgiven.
Net Price Calculators
Getting an estimate of your Expected Family Contribution is really helpful, and it's pretty easy. The Department of Education's unfortunately-named Student Aid Estimator will calculate the FAFSA's EFC for you with a few data inputs; the College Board offers one for the CSS Profile.
7 More Uses for 529 Funds
Should you find yourself in the fortunate situation of having more 529 dollars available than needed, there are several things you can spend those dollars on that you might not have thought of:
My socials are full of prom and graduation pictures, which means it’s time to talk about how you get money out of the 529 plan to which you’ve been diligently (or otherwise) contributing.