• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

  • About
  • Liz’s Books
  • Speaking
  • Disclosure
  • Contact

financial aid

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

April 1, 2015 By Liz Weston

22856641_SAToday’s top story: What you need to know about IRA conversions and college financial aid. Also in the news: Avoiding costly tax mistakes, tips for buying a home when you’re in debt, and five things you didn’t know about a 529 plan.

Roth IRA Conversions And College Aid: Timing Is Everything
How a conversion could affect your child’s financial aid eligibility.

Ten Tax Tips to Avoid Costly Mistakes
Pay close attention to detail.

2 Strategies for Buying a Home When You’re in Debt
The important questions you need to ask yourself.

5 Secrets You Didn’t Know About A 529 Plan
The sooner you begin saving, the better.

How TransUnion’s IPO Could Affect Your Credit Score
What going public could mean for you.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: 529 plans, buying a home, Credit Scores, financial aid, IRA conversion, tax mistakes, tax tips, TransUnion

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

March 12, 2015 By Liz Weston

Stress Level Conceptual Meter Indicating MaximumToday’s top story: How to pass a financial stress test. Also in the news: How smart parents teach their kids about money, the worst money mistakes made by Millennials, and what to do if your homeowner’s insurance claim is denied.

5 Tips For Passing a Financial Stress Test
How would you do?

7 Ways Smart Parents Teach Their Kids About Money
Valuable lessons for your kids.

5 Worst Money Blunders Made By Millennials
Avoid these at all costs.

What to Do If Your Homeowner’s Insurance Claim is Denied
Don’t panic.

Will You Finally Be Able to Get Rid of Your Student Loans in Bankruptcy?
Introducing the Student Aid Bill of Rights.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: Bankruptcy, financial aid, financial stress test, homeowners insurance, kids and money, millennials, money mistakes, Student Loans, tips

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

February 17, 2015 By Liz Weston

file_161555_0_tax refundToday’s top story: What to do with your tax refund. Also in the news: Financial aid myths, how much you should contribute to your 401(k), and easy steps to get started with investing.

How to Put Your Tax Refund to Good Use
Alternatives to spending it on new stuff.

5 Myths About College Financial Aid
Financial aid mythbusting.

How Much Should You Contribute to Your 401(k)?
Even the smallest amounts can pay off in the long run.

6 Easy Steps to Get Started With Investing
Don’t be intimidated.

How Being Too Open About Money Can Backfire
TMMI – Too Much Money Information

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: 401(k), financial aid, Investing, mythbusting, Retirement, tax refunds

What you need to know about paying for college

January 15, 2015 By Liz Weston

My recent Reuters columns have focused on some of the most common issues families face in trying to pay for college, from getting the most financial aid to how to cope when you haven’t saved enough. Read on, and please share these columns with people you know who might benefit.

Increase economic mobility by busting college myths

One way to improve economic mobility in the United States may be to fix the misconceptions that high-achieving, low-income teenagers often have about college.

Avoid easy-to-make mistakes on your financial aid application

One of the worst mistakes you can make with college financial aid is simply failing to file the all-important Free Application for Federal Student Aid. But there are plenty of other ways to mess up this application.

Last-minute moves to boost financial aid

Financial aid filing season starts Jan. 1. It may be too late to rearrange your finances this year, but here are some ideas for maximizing what you can get in future years. First, though, make sure your hopes are realistic.

What to do if you have not saved enough for college

Soaring college costs and stagnant incomes mean many families will not be able to save enough to pay for a typical undergraduate education. But there are still ways to find a college degree you can afford. The good news is that most people will pay significantly less than the sticker prices.

Busting the myths of haggling for college aid

My daughter learned this little ditty in preschool: “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.” Parents who are convinced they can haggle their way to a better financial aid package might want to learn it, too.

No need for irrational fears of student loans

The next generation of college students has heard the message loud and clear about the perils of taking on too much student loan debt – so much so that many are unwilling to go into debt at all in order to attend college. The drawback to this wariness is that most of those who do not borrow are unlikely to get four-year degrees.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: college, college costs, College Savings, EFC, estimated family contribution, FAFSA, financial aid, Student Loans

What will you pay for college? Probably more than you think

November 18, 2014 By Liz Weston

Zemanta Related Posts ThumbnailI recently used the College Board’s “estimated family contribution” calculator to see how much we’ll be expected to pay when our (currently pre-teen) daughter heads off to college.

The answer? Roughly half our annual incomes. Each year.

No colleges actually charge the amount we’d theoretically be expected to pay. So our out-of-pocket costs would be somewhat less. But the exercise drives home how important it is to run these numbers, early and often, if you want a college education for your kids that doesn’t bankrupt you, and them.

Because I know how the formulas work, I was able to tweak some numbers to lower our EFC. Moving more money into retirement accounts and using savings to pay down the mortgage helped a lot with the federal formula, and helped some with the institutional formula (which, unlike the federal, counts home equity). We still wouldn’t get any need-based help from most colleges but could get some breaks if our daughter gets into one of the most-expensive elite schools. (The total cost of the average public college is $20,000 to $25,000; $40,000 for privates and $60,000 for elites.)

If we didn’t have a fat college savings account, we likely would steer our daughter toward public schools or privates willing to offer merit scholarships to reduce the total cost. It’s much better to start a college search knowing what you can afford than to have to tell your kid, dream school acceptance letter in her hand, that you can’t send her there. Or worse, that you will–and then never be able to retire.

For more about how financial aid formulas work, read my Reuters column this week: “A guide to figuring out the real cost of college.”

 

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: college, college costs, CSS Profile, EFC, estimated family contribution, FAFSA, financial aid

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

November 12, 2014 By Liz Weston

Social-Security-benefitsToday’s top story: With the holidays comes identity theft. Also in the news: What divorcees need to know about Social Security, a different way to budget, and how money can wreck your marriage (but it doesn’t have to).

The 12 Scams of Christmas
‘Tis the season to protect your identity.

What Older Divorcees Need to Know About Social Security
Understanding the complexities.

Focus on Cash Flows, Rather than Expenses, to Spend Without a Budget
Static expenses vs itemizing everything.

Yours, Mine, Or Ours? How Money Wrecks Your Marriage
But it doesn’t have to!

10 Things You Need to Know If Your Kid’s Applying for College
Besides kissing your wallet goodbye.

Filed Under: Liz's Blog Tagged With: budgets, college expenses, financial aid, Identity Theft, money and divorce, money and marriage, Social Security

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 9
  • Page 10
  • Page 11
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 16
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Search

Copyright © 2025 · Ask Liz Weston 2.0 On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in