Success! Last evening, Dierdre Farrell, Financial Consultant with Thrivent Financial, spoke to our audience and provided many successful college planning tips.
If you missed the event, here are some highlights:
Deidre outlined the 3 tenets of college planning:
+ Admissions
+ Academics
+ Financial
As you can see, successful college planning is NOT just about the money! College planning involves a complex mix of elements, but the GREAT NEWS is that if you PLAN NOW, you can put the system to work in your favor. For example, we learned:
+ Putting two closely-aged kids through college might be more affordable than you think!
+ There might be exceptions to saving for college via a 529 College Savings plans
+ Strategies for how to optimize your child’s eligibility for grants on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
+ Every financial situation is unique, therefore you need advise SPECIFIC TO YOUR SITUATION
+ Finances are only one component of successful planning and the most expensive/competitive colleges may be more affordable than you think
+ You may want to re-characterize certain assets to optimize your financial scenario
+ Lots more!
We learned a TON of facts about this complex system, so in any case we URGE you to see the advice of a solid TEAM of financial, estate planning and tax professionals. Their advice can more than offset their fees!
You can add your comments to this post, too, if you want to see more topics like this one at future Power Ups for Parents! and Estate Planning events.
