Are 529 plans only for younger children? The answer is absolutely not! I think a lot of parents with college-bound teenagers, however, assume that their days of contributing to a 529 plan is over. By this time, parents are beginning to drain their 529 plan. You could save a bundle in taxes, however, if you […]
Archive | College Savings
New College eBook: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of College
Are you worried about how you’re going to pay for college? I thought so, which is why I wrote an eBook that’s packed with ways to cut college costs. The title of my new eBook is Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree. Click the book icon […]
Financial Advice for College Graduates: 6 Financial Tips
By Lynn O'Shaughnessy on April 20, 2010 in Careers, College Savings, Graduate degrees, Money, Other, Parents
I banged out an email full of financial advice this week to a soon-to-be college graduate, who luckily has already lined up a job. She wanted to know if she should start saving for retirement as soon as she graduates. Here’s what I told her: Absolutely! I was thrilled that this young woman was already […]
College Taxes: Beware of 529 Plan Taxes
Ever hear about college taxes? No this isn’t a joke. If you aren’t careful you could owe college taxes on your 529 plan. Nobody tells you that you could ultimately owe taxes on a 529 college plan, but plenty of people discover this nightmare during tax season. Before I get to the bad news, let […]
Saving for College with a Roth IRA: 8 Things You Need To Know
There’s been tons of media attention over the years on the best places to save for college. The 529 savings plan has grabbed the most attention. I’ve used 529 plans for both of my kids through Vanguard, but today, I want to suggest another potential way to save for college: a Roth IRA for your […]
No. 1 FAFSA Myth: College Savers Are Penalized
I want to follow up on yesterday’s post that explained why saving for college almost never hurts a family’s chances for student aid. Yesterday I shared a chart that illustrates how colleges allow families to shelter a large chunk of their savings from FAFSA financial aid calculations. You can see the FAFSA chart by clicking […]
The Horrors of Student Loan Defaults, 529 Plan Tax Deductions and More
Here are links to my college blog posts for CBSMoneyWatch for the past week: The Horrors of Defaulting on a Student Loan In some respects, the college admission process can be fun. It’s fun to visit colleges and it’s fun to receive acceptance letters in the mail. What’s not fun is paying for college. Sometimes […]
College Blog Roundup: Green Colleges, Ivy League Discrimination, 529 Problems
By Lynn O'Shaughnessy on October 10, 2009 in California universities, College Savings, Ivy League, Universities
Every Saturday I share the college blog posts that I wrote for the week for CBSMoneyWatch. As usual, this was an eclectic bunch. Are Elite Universities Discriminating Against Asians The post that I found most fascinating was about a book — soon to be released — that examined the admission practices of seven elite (unnamed) […]