Get smart with your money
Today’s top story: Why your kid should help pay for college. Also in the news: 5 reasons for flyers to love the middle seat, tips for Labor Day sales, and why you should prioritize building up your cash reserves.
Why Your Kid Should Help Pay for College
It’s their education, after all.
5 Reasons for Flyers to Love the Middle Seat
No, really.
Work Less, Save More at Labor Day Sales With These Tips
Bargain hunting.
Prioritize Building Up Your Cash Reserves
Creating a cushion.
Today’s top story: Being a loyal customer can score you free food. Also in the news: The average retirement savings by age, what to buy (and skip in September, and where your $100 goes furthest in the United States.
When Being a Loyal Customer = Free Food
Perks are plentiful.
The Average Retirement Savings by Age and Why You Need More
Do you have enough?
What to Buy (and Skip) in September
Finding fall bargains.
Want the most for your $100? Avoid San Jose
Consider West Virginia.
Today’s top story: Don’t make this common – and costly – credit card mistake. Also in the news: Paying by credit card will increase college costs, free credit freezes, and when to buy travel insurance.
Don’t Make This Common — and Costly — Credit Card Mistake
Even a day late can be costly.
To Make College Cost Even More, Pay by Credit Card
Interest rates can be even worse than through student loans.
Free Credit Freezes: Time to Rethink Your Protection?
Credit freezes will be free for everyone starting September 21st.
When to Buy Travel Insurance
When is it worth it?
I recently heard from the parents of yet another high school senior who turned down a huge scholarship from a good college to attend her “dream school,” which of course has lousy financial aid. Now her parents are scrambling, trying to figure out how to pay for it .
This madness must end.
Asking teenagers to pay the whole cost of a four-year college degree probably isn’t realistic or smart. Kids may be cut off from financial aid, since need-based help is largely based on the parents’ resources. The debt they accumulate may be crippling, and students who try to pay for school entirely on their own are more likely to drop out.
But the open bar approach isn’t wise, either. Setting limits and requiring a kid to pay at least part of the cost can actually lead to better grades while protecting parents’ finances.
In my latest for the Associated Press, why parents should set clear boundaries about how much they’ll pay for college.
Today’s top story: How to plan a vacation without getting into debt. Also in the news: How to save money and drive safer by plugging into your car’s computer, 9 expenses to pack in your moving budget, and 3 people show how they got control of their college debt.
How to Plan a Vacation Without Getting Into Debt
Sticking to your budget.
Plug Into Your Car’s Computer to Save Money, Drive Safer
Using the onboard diagnostic panel.
9 Expenses to Pack in Your Moving Budget
Don’t forget the minor details.
3 people, 3 ways of getting control of college debt
What you can learn from their approaches.
Dear Liz: What would be the ownership status of assets covered in our will and our retirement accounts when our heirs and beneficiaries receive them? In the case of married heirs, do the asset ownership laws of their state of residence dictate whether inheritance proceeds get held individually or jointly? In addition to having a candid conversation with our kids, we are debating the need for and risk associated with a revocable living trust to provide some assurance that our wishes be honored for our direct descendants to receive and manage any proceeds.
Answer: Inherited assets can be kept as separate property, even in community property states where assets acquired during marriage are typically considered jointly owned. Keeping property separate requires some vigilance, however. If an inheritance is deposited in a joint account, or joint funds are used to improve a separately owned house, those assets could become marital property.
Even if your heirs are scrupulous about keeping property separate, their spouses may ultimately inherit should your heirs die first. If those spouses remarry, the assets could wind up with another family, rather than with your grandkids.
If you want your assets to ultimately get to your grandchildren, there are a few ways to do that, such as bequeathing assets directly to them or through generation-skipping trusts. You can use either a will or a revocable living trust.
You’d be smart to talk to an experienced estate planning attorney about what you want and the best way to achieve those ends.