College Savings

Friday’s need-to-know money news

June 27, 2014 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: The consequences of never checking your credit report. Also in the news: How your smart phone can help your budget, how bad America is at saving for college, and are memberships to big box stores worth it?

What Happens if I Never Check My Credit Report?
You really, really don’t want to do that.

How Your Phone Can Boost Your Budgeting
Savings at your fingertips.

How Bad Is America at Saving for College?
Needs improvement.

What Member Discount Programs are Worth the Cost?
Are the gigantic packs of toilet paper worth it?

In 30 Minutes, She Cut Her Credit Card Debt by $3,128
Negotiating skills are a must.

Q&A: How to get the maximum in financial aid

June 23, 2014 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I’m having trouble finding information about how to structure my finances to get the maximum financial aid for my kids when they enter college. For example, will contributing to an IRA instead of a taxable investment account matter? Should I focus on paying off my mortgage or should I buy a bigger house and acquire debt in the process if I want my kids to qualify for more aid? There’s plenty of advice out there about how to minimize taxes — for example, by contributing to 401(k)s or selling losing stocks at year-end. But I’m interested in legally and ethically shielding my assets from the family contribution calculations used by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Any idea how I can learn more about the inner workings of the FASFA formula?

Answer: Before you rearrange your finances, you need to understand that most financial aid these days consists of loans, which have to be repaid, rather than scholarships and grants that don’t. Wanting your kids to qualify for more aid could just lead them to qualify for more debt.

Also, the FAFSA formula weighs income more heavily than assets. If you have a six-figure income and only one child in college at a time, you shouldn’t expect much need-based financial aid, regardless of what you do with your assets.

That said, there are some sensible ways to shield assets from the formula, and often they’re things you should be doing anyway: maxing out your retirement contributions, for example, and using any non-retirement savings to pay down credit cards, car loans and other consumer debt.

Using non-retirement savings to pay down mortgage debt helps with the federal formula, but may not help much with private schools that include home equity in their calculations. Either way, taking on a bigger mortgage with college looming is rarely a good idea.

You can get some idea of how much the federal formula expects you to pay for your children’s educations by using the “estimated family contribution” calculator at FinAid.org. Another great source of information is the book “Filing the FAFSA: The Edvisors Guide to Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid” by Mark Kantrowitz and David Levy.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

May 30, 2014 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: What numbers identity thieves want the most. Also in the news: How identity thieves will sell those numbers, expecting the unexpected if you retire at 67, and should you be saving for your retirement or your child’s education?

8 Numbers Identity Thieves Want to Steal From You
It starts with your phone number.

4 Ways Crooks Cash In On Your Personal and Financial Data
The black market for data.

Are You Planning to Work Until 67? And Will You Be Able To?
Preparing for unexpected changes.

Which Comes First: Saving Money for Your Retirement? Or Your Kid’s College?
Which priority is most important?

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

May 21, 2014 By Liz Weston

Today’s top story: Why new graduates need to keep a close watch on their identities. Also in the news: How to get someone to resolve your banking complaints, why travel medical insurance is essential for international travel, and five ways to start saving for your child’s education.

4 Ways New Grads Are Vulnerable to Identity Theft
Protecting yourself and that diploma.

How to Get Your Banking Complaints Resolved
Knowing who to complain to could change everything.

Travel Medical Insurance: Don’t Leave Without it
Don’t rely on your existing insurance to cover you internationally.

5 Ways to Save for Your Child’s College Education
The earlier you start, the more you can save.

My Dream Retirement: 5 People Reveal Their Strategies
How to save for your ultimate retirement.

Money rules of thumb: College savings edition

May 12, 2014 By Liz Weston

A college degree today is what a high school diploma was 60 years ago, a college consultant told me. Meaning: the bare minimum for staying in the middle class.

There will be exceptions, of course, but your kid is unlikely to be one of them. So here, in my ongoing “rules of thumb” series (previous editions include retirement and cars), are a few guidelines about saving for college:

So here, in my continuing “Rules of thumb” series, are three guidelines regarding cars: – See more at: http://asklizweston.com/page/3/#sthash.BwXsoYOC.dpuf

Save yourself first. No one’s going to lend you money for retirement, so that has to remain your top priority–hard as that is for parents to hear. Think of it this way: by saving for yourself first, you’re reducing the odds that you’ll have to move in with your kid in old age. Trust me, she’ll appreciate that someday.

But save something. Even if it’s just $25 or $50 a month to start, putting something away for college helps solidify it as a goal–and anything you can save will reduce your child’s future debt load (since most financial aid is actually loans, not grants or scholarships).

Use a good 529 plan. Money saved in 529s is tax free when used for college education costs, and most of these state-run plans are pretty good these days, thanks to better investment options and lower fees. Morningstar runs an annual list of the best and worst plans.

The more you make, the more you’re expected to save. Federal financial aid formulas aren’t adjusted for regional differences in cost of living. There’s no exception made for families that have experienced hard financial times in the past. The higher your income, the more the formula expects you will have saved…to the point where someone with an income over $100,000 could be expected to fork over a third of it for college costs. There are ways to reduce college costs, but knowing the reality of financial aid formulas will help you to understand the maxim that “if you CAN save for college, you probably SHOULD.”

Should you hide assets to get more financial aid?

March 3, 2014 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: We have a son who is a high school junior and who is planning on going to college. We met with a college financial planner who suggest we put money in a whole life insurance policy as a way to help get more financial aid. Is that a good idea?

Answer: Your “college financial planner” is actually an insurance salesperson who hopes to make a big commission by talking you into an expensive policy you probably don’t need.

The salesperson is correct that buying a cash-value life insurance policy is one way to hide assets from college financial planning formulas. Some would question the ethics of trying to look poorer to get more aid, but the bottom line is that for most families, there are better ways to get an affordable education.

First, you should understand that assets owned by parents get favorable treatment in financial aid formulas. Some assets, such as retirement accounts and home equity, aren’t counted at all by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Parents also get to exempt a certain amount of assets based on their age. The closer the parents are to retirement, the greater the amount of non-retirement assets they’re able to shield.

Consider using the “expected family contribution calculator” at FinAid.org and the net cost calculators posted on the Web sites of the colleges your son is considering. Do the calculations with and without the money you’re trying to hide to see what difference the money really makes.

Most families don’t have enough “countable” assets to worry about their effect on financial aid formulas, said college aid expert Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of “The College Solution.” Those that do have substantial assets have several options to reduce their potential impact, including spending down any custodial accounts, paying off debt and maxing out retirement plan contributions in the years before applying for college.

Another thing to consider is that most financial aid these days comes as loans that need to be repaid, rather than as scholarships or grants that don’t. So boosting your financial aid eligibility could just mean getting into more debt.

Meanwhile, it’s generally not a good idea to buy life insurance if you don’t need life insurance. The policy could wind up costing you a lot more than you’d save on financial aid.

If you’re still considering this policy, run the scheme past a fee-only financial planner—one who doesn’t stand to benefit financially from the investment—for an objective second opinion.