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

Dec 01

5 Keys to Getting the Most Financial Aid

Every year, students and their parents complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Every year, parents wonder, "What's the point?!" The FAFSA is a tool used by the government to calculate a student's need for aid when paying for college. When the FAFSA goes live every October 1st... read more →

Nov 17

How Much Is Too Much To Borrow For College?

For most families, student loans must be part of the college-funding conversation. Families can minimize the amount of debt their students take on through careful planning for smart savings, tax considerations, college choice, cash flow, scholarships, and other mechanisms. However, the question still comes up: How much debt is too... read more →

Nov 10

Free Money for College – Grants and Scholarships

In today's college search, students put so much stress on themselves to find the right "fit." Often, they focus on schools where they can get in and get a great education. In other words, finding a good academic and social fit. However, with the rising cost of education, finding a... read more →

Nov 03

Cwp Grandparents And 529 Plans What You Need To Know

Grandparents and 529 College Savings Plans: What You Need to Know

Updated November 2023. Grandparents want to help. They see the expense ahead for their kids to pay for college education for their grandkids. The goal for everyone is to help the student get an excellent education, graduate with little or no debt, and live a fulfilling life. Many grandparents choose... read more →

Oct 27

Coming in 2024: Roll Your 529 Plan Over to a Roth IRA

Raise your hand if you (or your kids) have untouched money left in an old 529 Plan after you graduated college. Good problem to have by the way! This is an all-too-common problem that the SECURE Act 2.0 is looking to resolve. Under new rulings, people can roll over “leftover”... read more →

Oct 13

Student Loan Payments are Restarting This Month: Here’s What You Need to Know

As of October 1, 2023, the “pause” on federal student loan payments will end. The pause was enacted during COVID-19 in 2020 and has been in place for nearly 3 ½ years. During this time, federal student loans stopped any automatic payments and did not collect interest. Borrowers were permitted... read more →

Oct 05

9 things you should know about the CSS Profile so you can “Know Before You Go”

The FAFSA Simplification Act will take full effect with the 2024–25 financial aid season, including the roll out of an overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. As a result, the DOE has indicated that the new form will not be available until sometime in December 2023, not... read more →

October 5, 2023
Joe Messinger, CFP®
College

Sep 29

Don’t Let the College Dream Become a College Nightmare

This time of year, juniors are starting to consider where they want to apply in the coming year and seniors are starting their application and financial aid process now through mid-spring and are deciding where to attend when acceptances (eventually) roll in. Unfortunately, because some juniors didn't set themselves up... read more →

Sep 22

The FAFSA Is Changing: Here’s What You Need To Know

We originally posted this blog when the changes were announced in April. Since October is in right around the corner, we want to remind you of the FAFSA changes. One of the most important items to note is that the FAFSA form will be rolling out sometime in December and... read more →

Sep 15

Today’s Colleges: Sophisticated Marketing Machines

We have to warn you. The competition for your student is fierce. Many parents already know what we’re talking about. When your student reaches high school (often after they register for their first ACT or SAT exam), the deluge begins. The snail mail, email, phone calls, social media, and more... read more →