Blog | Capstone Wealth Partners - Financial Planning for College-Bound Families

Dec 03

Did You Know You Were Wealthy?

Wealthy. Financially successful. Most people don't walk around saying: I'm so wealthy! -- unless you're a Kardashian or something. For the most part, the average investor doesn't perceive themselves as being wealthy. But how are those words defined when we are talking about paying for college and financial aid? You may... read more →

Nov 26

How Much Is Too Much To Borrow For College?

For most families, student loans have to be a part of the college funding conversation. Through careful planning for smart savings, tax considerations, college choice, cash flow, scholarships, and other mechanisms, families can minimize the amount of debt their students take on. How much debt is too much, though? How... read more →

Oct 29

Pros and Cons of Community College

When choosing a college, 45% of people in a recent survey named cost their primary consideration. The runner-up reasons were: Major offered Location/size University's reputation Cost was the most important factor when making their choice. When weighing the choices, community college can be a valuable college option for post-high-school education.... read more →

Oct 20

PSLF Overhaul: What You Need to Know

In October 2021, the US Department of Education initiated an overhaul of the existing Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF). Per the US Department of Education: “The Department estimates that the limited waiver alone will help over 550,000 borrowers who had previously consolidated their loans see their progress toward PSLF... read more →

Oct 13

College Funding Nightmares: Mistakes That Keep Parents Up At Night

Do money worries keep you up at night? The truth is, paying for college can be scary stuff. It can cause nightmares for parents. As financial planners who help college-bound families balance paying for higher education with their other goals (like retirement savings), our job is to help dispel some... read more →

Oct 08

Colleges That Don’t Offer Merit Scholarships

Updated October 2021. If we compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions we hear from our clients, one of the top among them would be: Do all colleges offer merit scholarships? The answer, in a word, is no. Let's dig deeper into what type of scholarship awards different... read more →

Oct 01

Early Decision College Applications

Updated 10/2021. It's college application season! When it comes to deadlines, colleges throw around several terms for when the application is due--early decision, early action, regular decision, and rolling admissions to name a few. Some colleges get even more creative with terms like "restricted early action" and others. In this... read more →

Sep 24

FAFSA Mistakes To Avoid

FAFSA will open and ready to be filled out, next Friday, October 1, 2021! In 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Education, fafsa.gov has enhanced help topics by providing images of the form along with relevant line numbers to help students navigate the form. Now, let's take a closer... read more →

Sep 17

Capstone Wealth - Using the FAFSA Mobile A

Using the FAFSA Mobile App

Every fall, we spend some time talking about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. Recently, FAFSA gave applicants a new way to apply--via their smartphones! The hope is that the FAFSA mobile app called myStudentAid will make the FAFSA more accessible to students who don't have a... read more →

Sep 10

Teaching Finances to Your Future College Student

Updated September 2021. Teaching finances to students is something we feel passionately about. In the State of Ohio, the legislature has gone back and forth about how to teach budgeting and financial concepts to students. They have left it to the local school districts to incorporate learning standards as they... read more →