Financial Planning
Are You Overspending On Rent?
The most expensive colleges are now over $65,000 per year. At the same time, student loan debt is over $1 trillion and escalating right along with the cost of college. Student loans, however, are not the only way families can borrow to help pay for college. The following is an overview of the 8 common types of loans used in education funding, followed by a bit of guidance to help you understand which loan(s) might be best for you and your child. 2015 Guide To FAFSA, CSS Profile, College Financial Aid And Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
How To Raise Children To Be The Opposite Of Spoiled – Using Money To Teach Values
No parent wants to knowingly raise a spoiled child. Yet in a world where money is a taboo subject, there is remarkably little guidance available about how to turn a child into the opposite. Certainly making children financially literate is a good start – so at least they understand the mechanics of money and how it works – but that still doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make good responsible decisions. But what else can be done?
Freelancers, Here’s How To Protect Your Business Assets From Liability
Let’s say you’re self-employed and run your business as an LLC. The LLC earns $100,000 a year, and $95,000 of it goes toward your salary.
If a client unhappy with your work were to sue you, the client’s lawyer could sue the LLC for professional liability but then also sue you personally saying that your LLC wasn’t properly capitalized.
It’s a nightmare scenario, but the right precautions could prevent it.
Understanding Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
One of the most common ways to get student loan forgiveness, beyond the secret student loan forgiveness options built into some repayment plans, is to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The PSLF program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue to work in full time public service jobs after graduation. Realizing that many of these jobs have lower salaries that other careers, the PSLF program is designed to strike a balance between the cost of education and the post-graduation salary offered by many public sector employers.
Divorcing Women – Know The Laws Affecting Your Beneficiary Designations
In an earlier post, I wrote about how important it is for a divorcing or recently divorced woman to update key documents so they accurately reflect her new status. A major part of that financial housekeeping involves revisiting the named beneficiaries on life insurance policies, retirement plans, annuities, TOD (transfer on death) bank and brokerage accounts, and any other instruments on which a beneficiary is designated.
Hidden Dangers With Aging Parents’ Financial Advisors
Many older investors have had a relationship with a broker-dealer for many years and have trusted that individual to help them. But as clients age, will that broker-dealer protect their interests? This is a real case, with names changed, showing how risky it can be to trust a long time broker who does not have a fiduciary duty to anyone, and in fact may not even adhere to a “suitability” standard of conduct for managing assets for an aging client.
Tapping 401(k)s, IRAs Early Is Costly
It’s fairly easy to withdraw money prematurely from 401(k)s and IRAs – a practice that depletes roughly one-fourth of account balances over a worker’s lifetime.
Grads With Student Loans: Rent or Buy?
Some college graduates are so overburdened with student loan payments that they struggle just to stay afloat. But for those who can make their payments and even save some money, the logical next question might be: when can I buy a house?
How-To-Save-On-Auto-Insurance
No, this isn’t a plug for a specific insurance company. It’s more of a plug on how you can put more money into your pocket by following a few simple steps to lower your auto insurance premium without sacrificing the importance of liability coverage.
Savings Products Deter Senior Fraud
Ken Osborne became vigilant about safeguarding his 81-year-old mother’s savings as her memory loss set in. She often failed to recall what she’d said during frequent, unsolicited phone calls from people prying into her personal life and financial affairs.
