YodZiaN

1- Paying For College

Many Boomer’s have High School Juniors in the house and if you are one of them this article can give you some suggestions on how to fund your child’s college education.

If you have Kids already in college some of the scholarship info may be helpful.

If you don’t have anyone in college you can skip this article without missing a thing.

As I’ve said before to many clients(and heard from plenty of parents who disagreed) if you have less than 20 years till your retirement age and have less than $200,000 saved in your pension fund you have no business funding your child’s college education in total. Period!

Do you really want to spend your retirement working to pay off your Child’s college bills while failing to take care of what’s coming at you?

Remember, your child will have over 40 years to pay off those bills and save for their own retirement.

You, on the other hand, will have less than 20 years to pay college bills and save for your own retirement. You simply can’t do both.

That said, let’s get started on how your child can pay for her own college and keep her loans low.

The main thing you need to realize is that tuition for colleges range from unbelievable to very affordable.

George Washington University is one of the highest private colleges in the U.S. with annual tuition of $32,000 per year (housing not included).

One of the most reasonable colleges is San Diego University with annual tuition of only $2936 per year. This applies for resident students but residency is very easy to establish.

My point is that you need to check into colleges and tuition before deciding where to send your child.

Private colleges are good but very expensive. The total cost can be as much as some houses are selling today.

Your student can get the same education at a highly rated public college for a fraction of the cost.

And your student can make just as many important contacts affecting their futures at a public college as at Harvard (though Harvard grads will argue that point).

Helping your student make the best decision can be a tough assignment.

A former college roommates is now Dean of Students at a very well known college and I spent time pumping him for info on what colleges look for in giving out scholarships.

Here’s what he said – it makes for very interesting reading.

First, grades and scholastic scores are important but they are only one of many things most colleges look at. They also look at what a student does outside of school.

Your child gets huge marks if they spend some time volunteering in your community. They also get major points if they have a parttime job.

This shows the college your child’s dedication to something larger than themselves and the drive to pay for part of their own education.

If your child is active in her school it shows a desire to share her time and talents with her classmates.

Generally, these activities are other than sports related. Sports scholarships are something different.

If your child participates in any or all of the above and still maintains a high GPA, it shows any college that she has the talent and ability needed to succeed in school.

Second, decide on a college she will be attending early in her junior year of high school. You want to do this for several reasons.

1- You want to visit the college with your daughter to make Read more…

You can prepay for a college education, and save a little money too.

The cost of education might seem high, but it is a necessary cost in today’s world. Those without college educations often face a hard time finding a job today. Jobs you would never think would require a college education, do. For example, there are many cowboy jobs — you know, riding a horse and doctoring cattle — that require you have an animal science or ag degree. Firefighters have four year degrees. At the least, many management positions, even in retail, require that you have an associate’s degree.

College tuitions are just going up and up every year. Increases are necessary to keep the level of education and boarding up to standard. Education is not cheap and it costs a lot to produce it. You can choose to pay tomorrow’s college at today’s tuition, tax-free.

Sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. With an Independent 529 plan, you aren’t simply working with a state-sponsored savings plan. Independent 529’s are offered by private colleges and universities.

You simply deposit up to $165,000 into the plan. In return, you receive tuition vouchers good for use at any of the plan’s 255 participating schools and universities. You can use the vouchers between three and 30 years after purchase.

The benefit is that the actual cost of tuition will probably be at least double what it is today when you redeem the vouchers. Think of it as locking-in today’s college tuition prices. Basically, you are pre-paying for an education.

The drawback is that the vouchers must be used at participating schools. If your child or grandchild enrolls at a school not on the list, you can get a refund at the rate your money was invested. You can also roll the assets into a state-run 529 plan.

State-sponsored 529 plans put your money into mutual funds or other investments that grow tax-free. You then can use the Read more…

It’s almost the time to graduate. After four, or five, years in college, you are ready for the real world. But the real world means real money, so where do you start?

It can be both an exciting and scary time for college graduates. For many, they are facing bills and responsibility for the first time. Some have already gotten a grip on it and some will continue to avoid it for a while. But what should you start to get on the right foot?

The first step is finding a job. Once you find a career, you should realize that working yourself up in the field you want is better than making money in something you don’t have a passion for. Taking a job simply because it pays well will either trap you for the rest of your life or make you face a hard decision later. Make the choice now to make a good decision for you future. Take the lower salary and do what you want to do. Believe me, it is for the best.

It may be tempting to move back in with your parents to save money. I don’t advise it. Living with your parents after living on your own is a form of torture for many young adults. You need to get out there and learn your own lessons. Learn how to struggle and make ends meet on your own. Living at home hurts you. Many grads that return home won’t save their money and will end up trapped into staying there for a long time. Get your own place, you’ll be much happier.

My sister made this mistake. She got a big job, felt like a big shot and bought a new car. She was sure that she could make the payments and was not going to continue driving a junker. College graduates are on a tight budget. You may not see it now, but give it a few months — at least until the loans begin repayment. But a car that is a few years old Read more…