Category Archives: College/Education Planning

Student debt – the monster in the closet

Posted on by Friday, February 24
The rising costs of education continue to put the “squeeze” on my clients’ retirement plans.  The truth is that paying for your children’s college educations can cause real strains on vital retirement assets.
Sometimes, it’s too late for clients to re-establish their own retirement savings if paying the college expenses for their children has drained their financial resources. That’s something we may have been able to manage, and to prepare for, if these well-meaning people had met with me five or ten years earlier.  READ MORE

College planning – it’s more than choosing a college

Posted on by Wednesday, September 7
Have you heard the news?  It just got tougher to pay for graduate school.Before the recent agreement on managing the debt ceiling, students were able to defer interest on “government subsidized” loans until six months after graduation.  And if they made the first 12 monthly payments on time, they received a “credit” equal to the 1% loan origination fee they paid.  Now, students begin owing interest on their debt while they are still in school, and they have lost the “credit” that reimbursed loan origination fees.  Paying more for graduate school makes paying less for college even more important.   READ MORE

Just when you thought the college planning was over

Posted on by Thursday, August 26

The good news:  the kids are off to college & they’re fiscal adults for the first time

– The bad news:  the kids are off to college…

You’ve spent years preparing for this moment.  Maybe you’re saying good-bye at the curb, maybe it’s in front of the dorm, 1,000 miles away.  You saved to fund the tuition; you did the college visit trip(s), assisted with endless college and financial aid applications and essays.  Now they’re beginning the transition into adulthood.  Most likely, this is their first opportunity to manage their own expenses.  READ MORE

Question: when is education NOT the key to success?

Posted on by Thursday, June 10

Answer: When the burden of debt acts as an anchor to your personal finances

When I heard the concept “education debt relief”, I was all ears.  It’s not just homeowners that are catching a break with loan modifications. New government programs allow students or former students to benefit from programs that do not require that the borrowers negotiate with their lenders. READ MORE