Author: Joe Messinger, CFP®

Teachers…We appreciate the work you do every week and every day. Choosing to be an educator is not a profession that you enter into if you are not passionate about it. For many it is a true calling. But for some the low starting salaries deter them from following their passion. We need great teachers now more than ever, and the good news is a number of federal programs are now available to help aspiring teachers pay for college like the TEACH Grant program. 

Read the paper this morning? The news was not good…“Ohio No. 45 in College Affordability”. What does this mean? Ohio families have the hardest time paying for public colleges and universities—only 5 states had worse college affordability rankings. Ohio is one of the least affordable states in the US! How did this happen? But more importantly…what can be done?

At Capstone, our advisors sit with families every day to discuss their unique situations. One of the things we love about good financial planning is there is no one size fits all cookie cutter solutions. Sometimes we have a client whose situation may be similar to yours, and who we can learn from in the form of a case study. Their situation brings up many facets you can learn from including tax considerations, loan payments, and grandparent’s estate planning.

In the world of college finances, you’ll come across lots of acronyms, and all those letters can be so confusing. Today we’re talking about the FSA ID. What?! Is that a type-o? Do we mean to type FAFSA? No, these acronyms are two separate things. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. We talk about the FAFSA in other posts. Today, we’re talking about the FSA ID. It is related to the FAFSA but is a whole different thing. AND more importantly the FSA ID is an important teachable moment for your student!

Dear Class of 2017:

A lot is changing in the college application process, and frankly, your child (and the whole Class of 2017) is caught in the middle.

Grandma and Grandpa, are you looking to help your grandchildren pay for their college education? Wouldn’t you also like to see an estate planning benefit? You can by incorporating 529 savings plans in your estate planning strategies.