The start of fall semester is right around the corner, which means it’s time to start getting yourself organized to head back to school. Are you worried about how you are going to stretch your college funds to cover all your expenses? Over the next three weeks, I am going to give you some tips [...]
It’s March 15th today, which aside from being the Ides of March, also marks the one-month countdown until tax deadine. Which means, you also have just one month left to make your 2009 contributions to your child’s tax-deferred college savings vehicles. No idea what I’m talking about? Let me step things back for a moment. [...]
Happy New Year! It’s a new year and a new decade… time for a fresh start. If you are in college, or plan to attend in the not too distant future, financing your education is no doubt a major concern. And with good reason! The cost of college is skyrocketing and we all know what [...]
I posted last week about instability in the state of Texas’ pre-paid tuition plan. But it isn’t only Texans who have to worry about tax-deferred savings plans for college. As last year’s financial crash has proven, planning on high returns from market-invested college funds is far from a sure thing. With the volatile market continuing [...]
A recent article from the Dallas News alerted me to a problem with the Prepaid Tuition 529 Plan in Texas. Originally, the plan let investors withdraw their funds, plus earnings, even if the designated beneficiary wasn’t going to college in Texas. Now, however, the state of Texas is amending that benefit: If investors don’t use [...]
The Obama Administration is proposing a series of changes to 529 Plans, reports the LA Times, in order to encourage more middle class Americans to save money for college. 529 Plans allow you to contribute after-tax dollars, which then grow tax-free until withdrawal, as long as they are used for qualified education purposes. (To learn [...]
A number of important changes are looming for federal student aid, which may save you some serious cash. Here’s a quick look at the most significant developments: Interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans are dropping — This year, they will go from a 6% to 5.6% (fixed). Under the College Cost Reduction and Access Act [...]
This story about creative financing for college ran over the weekend in my local paper. The article does a great job of outlining some of the financial challenges families are facing in the midst of this country’s economic crisis. It was good to see that staying in school is still a priority for the two [...]
