An Affordable College Education Starts Here

Get a great education at a price that doesn’t risk your student’s future or your retirement.

Start Your College Financial Plan Now

As The College Financial Lady, one of the most common questions I get from families is, “How can I plan for college if I don’t know where my child is going to go?” After all, planning for higher education options that can vary in cost by $200,000 or more per child is the ultimate moving-goalposts challenge. Here’s the secret: You don’t have to plan for all of those possibilities. You only need to plan for the ones that work for your family.

How to Pay for College is a Book!

**How to Pay for College**, published by Harriman House, is now available!
Order your copy now at Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or your favorite independent bookstore!

Get The Book

“… Ann Garcia is a professional— a trained assassin in this area, really …”

— Ron Lieber, The New York Times Money Columnist & Author of The Price You Pay For College

How to Help Your Child Pay for College

I created this site and the College Financial Plan Masterclass to help you understand, plan, and finance an affordable college education. So dive in, explore and learn. When you’re ready to take your planning to the next level, sign up for my masterclass to build your custom plan.

fall trees — Getting Started
Frame your approach to college and university costs

a clipboard with a FAFSA sheet and laptop — FAFSA & CSS Profile
The formula & purpose of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid explained

jar of coins with a plant — Saving For College
How & how much to save: 529 plans & other college savings accounts

scale with money on one side and grad cap on the other — Student Loans
Choices & best practices for borrowing student loans to pay for college

a girl sitting with her hands on a desk — Choosing Colleges
Evaluate cost of attendance with net price calculators & a college plan worksheet

College Financial Plan masterclass graphic — Build Your Plan
Using the College Financial Plan Masterclass

Looking for Something Else? Search For More

Like you, I’m a parent.

Hi, I’m Ann Garcia, CFP®, the College Financial Lady. I’m a fee-only, fiduciary financial advisor. I help families plan and finance affordable college education. I’m also a mom to college-aged twins, so I’m right there with you.

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What People Are Saying

“Ann was great in helping us navigate the maze of hard rules and rules of thumb. The explanations and materials were clear and easy to follow. Can’t thank her enough for helping my family pull together a college plan for our kids.”

— Tom Fry, Colorado

"We came to know Ann via Ron Lieber's 'The Price You Pay for College' book that came out last summer. The book's insight to the overwhelming mind-blowing task of financing your child's/young adult's college education was and is illuminating. Mister Lieber's introduction of the financial planner Ann Garcia was to become for us the light being turned on in a dimly lit room full of 'where do we begin and self doubts,' we immediately found Ann's site and reached out to her. We signed up for her offered services and after completing the process we began to understand where we stood in it. Ann's expertise guided us and schooled us in money saving and timely decision making. Without thinking about it we will return to Ann this coming summer to work through year two's financial challenges because simply put: a peaceful mind is one that rests in sleep at night and that's a beautiful thing."

— William Durkin, New York

"As a parent with three in college at once, and a high school administrator overseeing the college counseling systems, I feel very knowledgeable about the application and financial aid process. But I knew there were some gaps in my knowledge that could cost me money and my kids opportunities. I learned so much from the course; I was able to strategize and save even more!"

— Vicky Virnich, Colorado