Making Cents
Viewing entries tagged with 'education'
Planning for a Child's Private School Education
Planning for a Child’s Private School Education
Sending your child to private school is an expensive proposition. For most people, it’s made a little tougher by the fact that it’s necessary to save for a child’s college education at the same time. Some have the income that makes this easier, but for the rest, it’s necessary to create a pay-as-you-go system that will somehow make it all work.
Could a Roth IRA Conversion Affect a Student's Financial Aid?
COULD A ROTH IRA CONVERSION AFFECT A STUDENT’S FINANCIAL AID?
Run the numbers, because the answer could be “yes.”
An underreported story. In 2010, we have a wave of IRA owners converting traditional IRAs to Roths. There are all kinds of compelling reasons to make that move. Yet for some IRA owners, the Roth IRA conversion may have an unintended consequence: it may reduce their son or daughter’s chances for college financial aid.
A Roth conversion will increase your taxable income. As some scholarships, grants and loans are awarded based on income levels, a big jump in AGI could potentially jeopardize them. This can be a problem if you’re a “millionaire next door” who wants your kids to exploit financial aid as much as possible.
That income must be recorded on the FAFSA. Universities commonly use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as a test to determine whether a student is eligible for grants, loans and some scholarships. The FAFSA is all about family income – factors like net worth and invested assets don’t come into play. Mom and Dad’s higher AGI could mean lower levels of financial aid, because the income boost from the Roth conversion will make it look like Mom and Dad can now shoulder a greater percentage of education costs.(source)(source)
NAPFA Consumer Webinar Series
NAPFA Launches Consumer Education Series to Help
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the country's leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors, has been a vocal advocate for consumer protection in the financial industry. Now NAPFA is gearing up to further educate people on a variety of topics in an effort to help Americans become educated consumers of financial planning advice and products.The Consumer Webinar Series is a year-long initiative beginning August 7, 2009 that will provide an opportunity for anyone in the country to learn about a wide range of financial issues from NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors. Each month a new session will be conducted live online. Consumers can attend the live session after registering for free, or listen to an audio file after the program. The instructors NAPFA has recruited for the various sessions are among the industry's leaders in truly comprehensive financial planning and includes members of NAPFA's National Board of Directors, past NAPFA national chairs, educators, and authors.
"Each session is intentionally designed to help attendees better understand a specific issue and why it is of particular importance to them," said NAPFA National Chair Diahann W. Lassus, CFP®, CPA/PFS. "We want attendees to take something away from the sessions that helps them tackle these issues at home. As an industry we have done a poor job of helping consumers increase their financial knowledge. This program, along with the successes of the Your Money Bus Tour, is NAPFA's way of doing its part."
The series will include 12, one-hour sessions delivered via the internet. The individual sessions will be conducted from 1 to 2 pm Eastern time and will include:
September 4, 2009 - Kids & Money
October 2, 2009 - What is Financial Planning?
November 6, 2009 - Protecting What You Have
December 4, 2009 - Investments: The Basics
January 8, 2010 - Investments: Advanced Concepts
February 5, 2010 - Managing Your 401(k)
March 5, 2010 - Leaving a Legacy
April 2, 2010 - Women and Money
May 6, 2010 - Financial Planning and Small Business Owners
June 4, 2010 - Your Retirement
July 1, 2010 - Financial Windfalls
Registration for the 2009 sessions is open now. Learn more about the Consumer Webinar Series by visiting http://www.napfa.org/consumer/ConsumerWebinarSeries.asp.
In addition to registering for the sessions, consumers can learn more about the topics and the NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisors who will be instructing the sessions.
"We hope people will take advantage of this opportunity to better themselves and their families. Only through education will consumers be better capable of addressing their own financial situations," added Lassus.
Members of the media who would like to learn more about the Consumer Webinar Series can contact Benjamin Lewis of Perception, Inc. at 301-963-7555 or Benjamin.lewis@perceptiononline.com.
About NAPFA
Since 1983, The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) has provided Fee-Only financial planners across the country with some of the strictest guidelines possible for professional competency, comprehensive financial planning, and Fee-Only compensation. With more than 2,100 members across the country, NAPFA has become the leading professional association in the United States dedicated to the advancement of Fee-Only financial planning.
For more information on NAPFA, please visit www.napfa.org.



