WAITING UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE
Most parents consolidate 4 to 18 years of college planning into 6 months. Families spend more time in planning their vacation or buying a car than they do on paying their children's college education.
YOUR TAX RETURN AFFECTS FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY
The financial aid formula runs off of parents’ and student’s income tax returns. Income is the largest factor when it comes to qualifying for financial aid. Most middle and high income taxpayers will NOT qualify for NEED-BASED financial aid at most state supported colleges and universities. Therefore, proper tax planning is a must. How you complete your income tax returns can create what we call TAX SCHOLARSHIPS, which can be more valuable than financial aid.
NOT KNOWING HOW TO COMPARE FINANCIAL OFFERS FROM COLLEGES
State-supported colleges and universities do not have a lot of institutional aid available to give to students. But private colleges do. Private colleges must compete with state supported colleges and universities. Therefore, many private colleges attract quality students by offering them what are called “College Enrollment Incentives”. These come in the form of need-based scholarships and grants or merit based scholarships and grants. These incentives are given to low and high income families. Therefore, students should not disqualify themselves from applying to private colleges and universities because of the advertised cost of attending. In some instances, a private college or university can cost the same amount or less than a state-supported college or university.
NOT UNDERSTANDING HOW TO USE ASSETS OR HOW TO BORROW CORRECTLY
Families that don’t qualify for need-based aid do not know how to use their income and assets to their advantage, which can force the parents, as well as the student, into higher debt. But knowing how to best use what you have to work with, can increase cash flow during college years. After the student graduates, these monies could be used to help supplement the parents’ retirement.
Knowing how to borrow correctly can reduce college costs, create additional monthly cash flow, reduce taxes, and increase retirement savings. Knowing how to arrange your finances through borrowing and proper money management can help pay for college without changing your lifestyle or increasing your debt.
COLLEGE EXPENSES ARE PAID WITH AFTER TAX DOLLARS
The dollar amount spent on college expenses can dramatically affect the parents’ ability to fund retirement.
For example: The $50,000 price of a public university (over four years), will cost a 50 year-old parent over $158,000 (assuming a 8% savings rate) towards his retirement at age 65. If the parent is 20 years away from retirement the $50,000 price of a public university will cost over $233,000 (assuming an 8% saving rate) towards their retirement at age 65.
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