529 College Plans
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 child. [...]
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 on [...]
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 that turns into [...]
College Blog Roundup: Green Colleges, Ivy League Discrimination, 529 Problems
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) universities. The [...]
10Oct2009 | Lynn | 0 comments | Continued
Fixing 529 College Savings Plans
Changes may be coming to 529 college savings plans.
I think most parents will like the proposed college savings changes, which could lead to lower costs and more plentiful tax benefits.
As a financial journalist, I’ve been writing about 529 plans since states began rolling them out in the late 1990s. During that time I’ve seen too [...]
The 529 College Plan Debacle
Any parent who owns a 529 college plan knows who to blame for their shriveled-up account balances — Wall Street.
But the real story behind the 529 debacle is much more complicated than that. I explain how why we got into this 529 plan mess at my other college blog at CBSMoneyWatch.com.
Please check it out today!
Lynn [...]
Are Prepaid 529 Plans in Trouble?
Are prepaid 529 college plans in trouble?
Thanks to the stock market implosion, it’s a question families are naturally asking.
This particular breed of 529 plan — the most conservative of the bunch — typically allows parents to buy all or a part of a college degree at today’s costs. If you bought a year’s worth of [...]
Will Saving for College Penalize My Chances for Financial Aid?
Will my chances for college financial aid be hurt if I have saved for my child’s college education?
I an always running into parents (usually dads) who worry that their college savings accounts will penalize their chances for financial aid. These parents also tend to be angry at the prospect that colleges will reward families who [...]
A More Flexible College 529 Plan
One of the rules that I always disliked about 529 plans was this one:
You can only change the mix of investments within a 529 plan once a year. It’s always struck me as an unfair rule since other investments accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s don’t impose this restriction.
In light of the stock market turmoil, [...]
Worrying About the Wrong Thing
I was visiting Wheaton College in Norton, MA, yesterday with my husband and son, who is just beginning to get interested in finding a college.
While I was at the beautiful campus during the fall open house, I sat in on a session devoted to financial aid. Lots of parents had showed up to hear [...]
