College Admission: Early Decision and Early Action

What’s the difference between early decision and early action?
If you and your child think the early decision process is too limiting, one alternative might be for your child to apply to college under an early action plan.
Early action plans are similar to early decision plans, but are less restrictive. First, a student can apply to [...]

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Providing for Children of a Previous Marriage

For many married couples, when one spouse dies, all marital property passes to the surviving spouse. This means that the surviving spouse has sole responsibility for deciding what happens to that property when he or she dies. In the traditional family, this is rarely a concern. But, more and more often, the so-called traditional family [...]

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Top Ten Money Moves for Today’s College Freshmen

With average college tuition up 6.3 percent at private schools and up 6.6 percent at public schools this past school year, money management is a bigger issue than ever on college campuses. That’s why it’s good to send your freshman off to school with a 10-point plan on how to best manage their money:

Take baby [...]

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How New College Grads Can Get a Jump on Financial Planning for a Lifetime

The average college graduate with a four-year degree now takes about five years to put on a cap and gown, and her average debt is growing too. According to 2006 figures from the Project on Student Debt, the average college I.O.U. was approaching $21,000.
With all that student loan debt, it’s genuinely tough to focus on [...]

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Stafford Student Loan Rates Drop Significantly

Finally, there’s some good news on the student loan front. On July 1, 2008, the interest rates on variable federal Stafford and PLUS Loans will decrease significantly. These new rates apply only to loans issued on or after July 1, 1998 and before July 1, 2006.
The interest rate on Stafford Loans in repayment status will [...]

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Why UTMA & UGMA Custodial Accounts Aren’t Making the Grade

UGMA/UTMA custodial accounts let children hold assets like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in their own names–under the watchful eye of a designated custodian–that they legally wouldn’t be able to hold outright in their own names. Earnings, interest, and capital gains generated from assets in the account are taxed every year to the child. At [...]

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Will Your Kid’s Inheritance Make Her a Monster?

The airwaves are full of cautionary tales of young people with too much money too soon – wretched excess is in, and responsibility seems, well, pretty boring. And your last name doesn’t have to be “Hilton” for you to worry.  Inheritances, trust funds and other benefits from hard-earned family fortunes of any size can affect [...]

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What You Can Do Before the Kiddie Tax Loophole Closes

When President Bush signed new legislation in May to limit gifts to children that take advantage of their lower tax rate, it was the second time in just over 12 months that Congress extended the reach of the so-called kiddie tax, which subjects a child’s income to his/her parents’ higher tax rate.
Maneuvering around the kiddie [...]

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Senator Clinton: Let’s Give Every New Baby $5,000

Last week, Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton proposed the idea of giving every child born in the U.S. $5,000 “to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.”
Clinton said such an account program would help Americans get back to the tradition of savings that she remembers as a child, and [...]

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Christian Teens Rank “Not Enough Money” as a Significant Issue

In a recent poll of Christian parents of teens, George Barna reported the following findings:
When given a list of possible challenges their teens might face, 45 percent of parents said not having enough money was a “very” or “somewhat” significant issue to their teen; 43 percent listed feeling misunderstood by their family; 40 said struggling [...]

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