Would You Turn Down All 8 Ivy League Schools?

May 21, 2015

That’s what a high school senior named Ronald Nelson did to accept a free ride at the University of Alabama. While very few students will be in Nelson’s enviable position, many families will have to decide between a more expensive higher-ranked school and a lower-ranked but less expensive school. With both education and student loan debt increasingly important factors to many young people’s financial well-being, this is not always an easy decision to make. Here are some things to consider: Continue reading “Would You Turn Down All 8 Ivy League Schools?”

How to Choose the Best Student Loan Repayment Plan

May 08, 2015

I had a conversation with a young man in his early 20’s recently who had just started his first “real job” and was about 60 days from his student loans going out of deferral. He was panicking because there are a whole lot of options to repay student loans today that didn’t exist when I had student loans. (My son would like to add that they also didn’t have electricity or cars when I had student loans.)

Looking at the options in front of him, I could understand his dilemma. I had 2 options when I graduated – a straight 10 year term loan and a “graduated” payment plan that started with small payments and increased every 2 years to a level well above the standard monthly payment. Both of those options still exist today, but there are also many other choices. It is a very tough decision, and it can impact the next 10-20 years of cash flow. This is one of the biggest financial decisions a new graduate will make.

The young man I talked to had about $80,000 in student loan debt and had no idea what to do. So he came in and we talked through some options and did some number crunching. Here are a few of his options, along with some financial highlights:

As a starting point, the fixed payment over 10 years would be about $925/month. A graduated payment for him would start at a more manageable $530 and eventually rise to $1,593/month. The flat payment costs $111,000 over 10 years while the graduated would require $119,000 over that 10 year window.
He has the option to do extended term payments, either at a fixed payment or a graduated payment. By extending from 10 years to 25, his fixed payment drops to $555/month but the total payments over the life of the loan increases to $166,000. In the graduated plan, he starts at $453 and increases over time to $793, and the total payments are $180,000. Lesson learned: Extending the payments can help reduce cash outflow for those at the start of their careers, but the total cost of the loan rises substantially! If there’s any way to afford the higher payments by not extending, don’t extend. It’s a very expensive extension.
A relatively new type of option is an income-based repayment (IBR) plan. These loans are popular because the payment is limited to 15% of the borrower’s “discretionary income.” Discretionary income is defined as the gap between adjusted gross income and 150% of the federal poverty guidelines. For this young man, his IBR payments based on his $50,000 salary would be $400-$900 over the 225 month term of his loan as his income rises. He would pay $155,000 in total, which is more than the 10 year loans but less than the extended term loans. Lesson learned: IBR is the “hot option” right now, but it isn’t always better than a straight standard term loan. Know your numbers and you may see a better option. This could be a much better option for borrowers who hope to grow their income over time than the extended payment plans.
Another relatively new option is the “Pay as You Earn” repayment plan. It is similar to the IBR but with a few differences. It’s more difficult to qualify for PAYE than IBR but the payments are 10% of discretionary income rather than 15%. Looking at his numbers, his payments would start at $270 and eventually move to $825. After 20 years, he would have paid $121,000 and would have $66,000 forgiven at the end of his term. Lesson learned: This is a tough loan repayment plan to qualify for, but it eases the cash flow and makes the risk of default quite low. Of all the options, this one made the most sense for him. He can qualify for the lower initial payments and he can increase his payments as his income rises. He can also, with a low initial payment, add principal to each payment with the hopes of paying off the loans well in advance of the full term.

When looking at student loan repayment options, know that the world has changed. These options are available through the Department Of Education and there are other newer options out there like www.SoFi.com, where borrowers can refinance without a bank being involved through peer-to-peer lending. This can be a great way for borrowers to get out of high-interest student loans. What I learned during my conversation with him is that the right answer is going to be different for everyone. There is no single “best option.” Factors like current income, expected future income, cash flow constraints and other goals (buying a house or car) should be considered as well as things like affordability today, total interest paid over the loan’s life and total lifetime payments. It’s a complex web of options, but if you understand which factors are most important to you, the right repayment option should become clear once you start analyzing your real numbers. This post was originally published on the Financial Finesse column on Forbes.com.

Should You Sacrifice Retirement to Pay For College Expenses?

April 27, 2015

Should you focus your financial plans on funding your children’s college education out-of-pocket or through parent loans? This is a question on the minds of many parents that I speak with on a regular basis (and also a question that I personally have to deal with having a third grader and a kindergartener growing up too fast). The retirement vs. education question gets even more challenging when children reach high school and the time horizon to save gets shorter. Continue reading “Should You Sacrifice Retirement to Pay For College Expenses?”

College is NOT a Right

January 21, 2015

Today I met a man who is taking a rather practical approach to teaching his kids about college planning. This gentleman has three kids, the oldest of which will be going to college in a few years. He said something rather profound that made me reconsider how I’ve been talking to my own kids about college. He said, “College is not a right.” Continue reading “College is NOT a Right”

Doing the Math on College Planning

January 06, 2015

During the holidays, I had so much fun visiting family as did many of my colleagues. So as we all got back into the groove of working, we shared stories of those sometimes amusing family encounters. Tania, our Atlanta-based CFP, talked about how it was wonderful seeing her cousins, who only a few years ago she was bouncing off her knee, now that they are all taller than she is (which isn’t a stretch since she is barely above five feet tall). Here’s her story: Continue reading “Doing the Math on College Planning”

Why Your Choice of School Matters

December 12, 2014

I read this article about parents shouldering a massive burden for student loan debts for their children.This is currently a huge problem in the middle class. Lower income families receive significant financial aid. Higher income families can support the cost of college out of cash flow. It’s the middle class that is getting hammered with this and it’s creating some ripple effects into other areas of life. I have talked with countless couples who are delaying retirement for 5-10 years in order to pay down student loan debt. They all hope that their employers keep them around that long and that they don’t get caught up in a downsizing or have serious medical bills like the family in the article. Continue reading “Why Your Choice of School Matters”

How to Make College More Affordable

November 26, 2014

We all know that education is a key element in achieving the financial hopes and dreams that we all have, but is it possible that college education is getting too expensive? One of my colleagues calculated that when he started college at a public university in 1988, a student would have to work 34 hours a week at minimum wage to pay for a year of college. At that same school today, a student would have to work 53 hours a week to pay their way. Continue reading “How to Make College More Affordable”

Is A Degree Worth It? How It Can Impact Your Career

June 15, 2014

With the cost of an education rising year after year, is it still worth it to get your college degree? Although it may not seem worth spending $50,000, there are real benefits to doing so. With all of the grants and financial aid available, the cost is often not as high as you would expect either. Here are some benefits to getting a college degree or going back to school for even more education: Continue reading “Is A Degree Worth It? How It Can Impact Your Career”

Using Retirement Plan Assets for Education

June 04, 2014

As the school year winds down, many graduating high-school seniors are looking ahead to the promise of a new day come next fall, but for many parents, that day is fraught with mixed emotions—and a handful of college bills. To help pay for college, some parents will set aside money using more traditional ways to save for college expenses. Each has its own set of pros and cons and seldom are parents able to save enough to pay for their student’s entire education. As such, many students will require student loans in order to continue their education. The result is an average student loan debt of just under $30,000. Continue reading “Using Retirement Plan Assets for Education”

Celebrate 529 Day this Thursday, 5/29

May 27, 2014

This Thursday is 529 College Savings Day, a day to raise awareness about the value of planning ahead for college expenses with 529 plans. The general theme is: Don’t panic, plan. Any amount saved in advance can lower amounts that may need to be borrowed for college, trade or technical school down the road. Continue reading “Celebrate 529 Day this Thursday, 5/29”

Five Myths About Your 529 College Savings Plan

May 21, 2014

As the school year winds down and the invitations to high school graduations start pouring in, I can’t help but think about the day when my own little girl Rachel—who is finishing up her sophomore year—will be sending out her own invitations. It all seems to be going by so fast but fortunately Susan and I have been preparing for that day by saving in a 529 college savings account. For some of you moms and dads out there, you too have been using this savings vehicle to help pay for those oncoming college expenses but as Kathryn Flynn writes in a recent post called “Clearing up the confusion: Five popular 529 plan myths,” there are a number of myths floating around out there that could cause confusion when it comes time to using these accounts. Understanding each one will help you and I when it comes time to funding our child’s higher education. Continue reading “Five Myths About Your 529 College Savings Plan”

Common Myths About 529 Plans

April 22, 2014

For my grandson’s upcoming first birthday, I mentioned to my daughter-in-law that we might invest in a Pennsylvania 529 college savings plan as our gift. She was a bit concerned since my stepson and his family are Maryland residents, not Pennsylvanians, and would that mean that he’d have to go to a PA school? The reality is that the 529 funds can be used at any college across the country and even accredited schools abroad so her fear was unfounded. My grandson will have the ability to use the money for any college of his choosing and by opening the PA 529 plan, we get the benefit of up to a $14,000 state income tax deduction and the advantage of Vanguard investment options. Continue reading “Common Myths About 529 Plans”

How to Invest for Your Child

March 06, 2014

While we usually discuss investing in the context of retirement planning in 401(k)s and IRAs, I was recently asked by a young mother about investing $50k in her 1 year old child’s name. (Since it’s in the child’s name, the money has to be used for his benefit but since he’s a minor, the mother has control over how the money will be invested and spent on his behalf.) Here are some things to consider. Continue reading “How to Invest for Your Child”

Say NO to Student Debt (Part II)

January 22, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed a call from a father who was trying to do the right thing by helping his daughter pay for her education through the use of parent loans, a.k.a. PLUS loans. PLUS loans are often used to help pay for education when there is an insufficient amount available through regular student loans, savings, or other forms of borrowing. In many cases, PLUS loan repayments begin within 60 days of disbursement but in some cases, repayments can be deferred until 6 months after graduation. Continue reading “Say NO to Student Debt (Part II)”

Say NO to Student Loan Debt (Part I)

January 08, 2014

My colleague, Erik Carter, and I just recently finished our 2013 research report on generational financial issues. In this report, we looked at internal and external data to see what Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers are dealing with in terms of financial planning. As I began to look further into the lives of Millennials, I was shocked to discover just how much college debt the average graduate carries these days—averaging $35,200 according to a recent Fidelity study. Continue reading “Say NO to Student Loan Debt (Part I)”

Don’t Fear the FAFSA

December 10, 2013

One of the great things about the holidays is that you get to spend time with family members you don’t otherwise see throughout the year. For me, that meant seeing my nephew for the first time since he graduated from high school last summer. I had assumed he had started his freshman year at college this fall, but sadly that was not the case. Continue reading “Don’t Fear the FAFSA”

You Are Not Your College Major

May 30, 2013

In this blog post, my colleague Michael Smith writes about his daughter going to college next year and the big decision she’ll have to make about what to major in. But I’m not sure that I agree that it’s as big a decision as he thinks it is. As you’re probably aware, some of the most financially successful people like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t even graduate from college at all. Continue reading “You Are Not Your College Major”

A Major Decision

May 24, 2013

It seems that lately my personal life has been dominated by questions about “next year,” “next phase of life,” “what do you plan to do after….” Actually, not so much my life, but my kids. All 3 are in the last year of their respective schools right now. Continue reading “A Major Decision”

The College Fund You Don’t Know You Have

March 14, 2013

I talk to many parents of students approaching college age who fret about having little or nothing saved for college. They know how important a college education is and want their children to be able to go to the school of their choice while graduating with as little debt as possible but at best, they only have a few thousand dollars set aside for college expenses, barely enough for one semester’s worth of meals. The rest of their money is tied up in emergency savings, retirement accounts, and a home with little or no equity. Yet, there is one potential bright spot… Continue reading “The College Fund You Don’t Know You Have”