All College planning Articles

Deciding where to go to college can seem like making a deal with the devil these days. You can obtain a premium education at one of the top schools in the world, but there's one tiny catch: You just have to give up your firstborn child and two appendages of your choice. Or live in debt -- forever! (Cue evil laughter.) Gary Carpenter, CPA, executive director of the National College Read more...

Don't toss that final suitcase in the SUV and start the drive to college just yet. Here are a dozen tips to help you manage your money so the last two months of the semester aren't spent munching stale potato chips in the dorm room or scanning the sidewalks for dropped change. 1. Track it. Track your spending for two to four weeks to find out where your money is going. Are four trips to Read more...

Whether you're living on- or off-campus, know what's on the line when you sign a housing contract or a lease. In both cases, you're agreeing to abide by a set of rules and if you're caught breaking them, consequences range from financial penalties to eviction. Parents have a major stake in these contracts because in many cases the financial penalties fall on them if they are covering their Read more...

More and more teens and college students have credit cards. Like the population at large, some have good deals and some don't. Credit card companies target these groups because they are a fast-growing segment of the population and they have money to spend. So it's no surprise when a high schooler or a college freshman receives piles of offers. If you're a college student, or the Read more...

Dear College Money Guru, I'm only 15 years old, but after watching my parents put my sister through college, I realize they're going to need help. Since I don't have a college fund, how can I save or put away money strictly for college? -- Tori Dear Tori, It's wonderful (but, alas, not too common) that you are thinking ahead and looking to save for college. Many parents Read more...

The first tuition bill is due any day now at most colleges and universities. As the market crunch continues to impact the student loan financing market, families are scrambling now more than ever to find the funds to cover the fall semester bill. For example, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) recently announced that they will no longer offer loans of any kind - affecting Read more...

If you need to pay for college within the next year, the tuition should be in: a) Stocks b) Bonds c) Cash d) A balanced fund e) Internet stocks See answer on next page. Answer: C. When your goal is close, you want to make sure the money you need will not fluctuate in value. You cannot afford to have your investment decrease in value when the bill is due. Read more...

Once you've been accepted at college, you'd think you could relax because the hard work of writing essays, taking SATs and sending application forms is done. But you'd be wrong. Now comes the business of navigating among a confusing array of housing and meal plan choices. At big universities, it can be overwhelming, but it's no picnic at smaller colleges either. Housing Read more...

For students heading to college this fall, getting financial aid will be a good lesson in money management. It may be tricky to find loans, and the landscape seems to change from one week to the next. For many borrowers, private loans will be hard to get. That's because several of the nation's largest banks have either shut down or significantly reduced their private student loan Read more...

Ah, the freedom of college, where you can subsist on pizza and skip your biology class without the threat of parental retribution. But being on your own has its downside, too. Suddenly, you're paying some of your own bills. You may be taking on thousands of dollars in student loans. And you have to figure out whether your new Abercrombie jeans will push you over the spending limit on your Read more...

Dear College Money Guru, Does a scholarship withdrawal from a 529 college savings plan need to be taken in the same year as the scholarship is awarded, or can that withdrawal (with the 10 percent penalty waived) be elected anytime? According to your site, a scholarship withdrawal is a nonqualified distribution requested after the beneficiary receives a tax-free scholarship. For Read more...

Dear College Money Guru, I'm only 15 years old, but after watching my parents put my sister through college, I realize they're going to need help. Since I don't have a college fund, how can I save or put away money strictly for college? -- Tori It's wonderful (but, alas, not too common) that you are thinking ahead and looking to save for college. Many parents struggle to afford college Read more...

Every spring, high school seniors watch their mailboxes, dreams of fat envelopes from their favorite schools dancing in their heads. Meanwhile, their parents are wondering just how they're going to swing covering the ever-climbing price tag for junior's first-choice school. Well, parents and students, take heart -- no tree grows to the sky, and the college tuition redwood may be due for a Read more...

DENVER (AP) - As many parents know, paying for their children's college education is often a financial nightmare. That's where many grandparents are stepping in. "It's becoming almost a necessity for grandparents to help with the expense of college education," says Gregg Parish, an academic associate at the College for Financial Planning. But help how? Grandparents face Read more...

Off to college go the kids. For them, it's the thrill of independence. For parents, it's the thrill of victory -- and also the "cha-ching, cha-ching" of money, gobs of it, out the door. There's the inevitable tuition and room and board, of course -- expenses typically paid up-front, before the semester starts. But for another category of costs, everything from cell phone Read more...

If you think your student's college financial aid paperwork reads like a Greek 101 exam, you are not alone. Sorting through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form can be cumbersome, at best and an incomprehensible nightmare at worst. If you haven't filed a FAFSA yet -- get on it. This form must be completed if you want your son or daughter to be eligible Read more...

QUESTION: My brother-in-law is notsatisfied with his current job and wants a college degree. However, hehas a wife (who does not work), two small children and no savings. Heearns approximately $35,000 per year and has about $130,000 in home equity. Since he feels he cannot earn a degree while working full-timeand being a father, he is considering selling his house and buying amodest home Read more...

One of the toughest financial dilemmas parents can face is how to provide for both their children's college education as well as their own golden years. All too often, parents stash the bulk -- if not all -- of their savings in college accounts, say many financial planners. "Parents take a look at a newborn infant, and they start saying: 'We have to do everything we can to help Read more...

Question: I heard the Education IRA has a new name. Has anything else about the account changed? Answer: The Education IRA was renamed in July 2001 and now is the Coverdell Education Savings Account (CESA). The action was taken in honor of the late Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Georgia. Coverdell was a proponent of major education proposals and served as chairman of the Senate Republican Task Force on Read more...

Question: How can I use my gift tax exclusion to pay for education expenses? Answer: A 529 Plan is a type of education savings plan in which you contribute to an investment account to pay for higher education costs. You can open an account for yourself, a child or another person and make tax-deferred contributions. Each year, you can contribute up to $11,000 per student per year ($22,000 for Read more...