1.Saving for your own retirement is more important than saving for college.

Your children will have more sources of money for college than you will have for your golden years, so don’t sacrifice your retirement savings. Comments: This is so true especially if you have helped prepared your children to be financially strong and educationally ready for college. You can start an index strategy of a retirement savings 2x that of your child.

2. The sooner you start saving, the better.

Even modest savings can pack a punch if you give them enough time to grow. Investing just $100 a month for 18 years will yield $48,000, assuming an 8% average annual return.

Comments:

Your money compounds every 8-9yrs depending on annual return. Based on rule of 72, divide 72 by the return your money is getting , 9% and your money doubles every 8 yrs. CD only offers around 1% return. Our index retirement savings strategy is currently at 8%.

3. Choose a long term, low risk, steady return of 8%-13%, guaranteed and secured, tax-free  college savings strategy.

With tuition costs rising faster than inflation, a long-term , low risk savings strategy is the best way to build enough savings in the long term. As your child approaches college age, you can shelter your returns tax-free and liquid.

4. You don’t have to save the entire cost of four years of college.

Federal, state, and private grants and loans can bridge the gap between your savings and tuition bills, even if you think you make too much to qualify.

5. Tax breaks are almost as good as grants.

You may be able to take two federal tax credits — the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit — in the years you pay tuition. But you cannot claim the tuition and fees tax deduction in the same taxable year that you claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.

You also cannot claim the tuition and fees tax deduction if anyone else claims the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit for you in the same taxable year.

A tax deduction of up to $4,000 can be claimed for the qualified tuition and fees paid.

6. The approval process for college loans is more lenient than for other loans.

Late payments on your credit record aren’t automatic grounds for refusal of a college loan.

7. Lenders can be flexible when it’s time to repay.

There are still ways to cut costs after you graduate and begin repaying your student loans. For instance, there is often a one-quarter percentage point interest rate decrease if you set up automatic debit, in which monthly payments are automatically taken from your account.

8. Taxpayers with student loans get a tax break.

You may deduct the interest you pay up to $2,500 a year if your modified adjusted gross income is less than $75,000 if you’re single or less than $155,000 if you’re married filing jointly. The deduction can be taken for the life of the loan.

Few people question the value of a college education, but the cost is enough to break the bank for a lot of families. With the cost of higher education rising faster than inflation, parents of today’s 4-year-olds may face college bills of more than $200,000 – and that’s for a public college! Private universities are more like $400,000.

Also, don’t forget that the availability of financial aid, loans, and education credits and deductions means you may not have to foot the entire bill yourself.

Your children have a lot of resources besides you to help feed the tuition monster, but no one is going to help you finance your golden years. Formulas used to assess need generally don’t consider retirement savings as an available asset when determining how much parents can contribute to tuition.

Putting too much money in your child’s name, however, might work against you. While it’s true that a child’s income is usually taxed at a lower rate than a parent’s income, keeping funds in a child’s name can reduce your financial aid package. Colleges use a formula for aid that assesses a family’s need based on up to 5.64% of parents’ available assets and on 20% of assets in a child’s name or custodial account.

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Contact Connie Dello Buono in 50 US states, CA Life Lic 0G60621 for a retirement /college savings strategy, guaranteed and with zero market risk. 408-854-1883 motherhealth@gmail.com

1708 Hallmark Lane San Jose CA 95124