Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “parents”
Most parents are happy to make sacrifices for their children. Many parents won’t hesitate to withdraw funds from their 401(k) to help their children pay for college. Unfortunately, the drive to provide for the next generation can lead to major financial mistakes. The Harm in Withdrawing Money from a 401(k) …
Over the years, I have gotten many heartbreaking emails from readers. Frequently, these emails come from student loan cosigners who feared they made a mistake. At its core, cosigning is a selfless decision. The cosigner receives no benefit, takes on tremendous risk, and helps a loved one afford college. Sadly, …
With each passing year, paying for college becomes more difficult. High tuition prices have made getting a degree without debt nearly impossible. For many students, the target is to get a degree with minimal student debt. Leaving school with affordable and manageable debt levels requires careful planning. The students who …
Being a cosigner on a student loan can be a huge burden. If the primary borrower falls behind on the loan, cosigners must make payments. Even if things go according to plan, cosigners may find it more difficult to qualify for additional lines of credit or a mortgage. Fortunately for …
There are a wide range of reasons a student might elect to take a gap year. Some want to earn a little extra money or focus on travel, while others use the time to prepare for graduate school. Covid-19 has become the latest reason why students are taking a break …
When it comes to paying for school, it can be tough to decide whether it is better to pay for college expenses out of a savings account or to borrow additional student loans. Some people are very reasonably debt-averse, but exhausting a savings account comes with significant risks as well. …
Even when everything goes right with a cosigned student loan, there can be negative consequences for the cosigner. Cosigned student loans can be a considerable hurdle on a mortgage application. In some cases, it can be the reason for a denial. For other applicants, a cosigned student loan can mean …
Dealing with undergraduate student loans can be tricky during grad school. The transition from undergrad to graduate school often includes attending a new school, a break between classes, and employment changes. These adjustments can make managing student loans complicated. The good news for most grad students is that many of …
Reviewing a financial aid package from a college can be overwhelming. Schools take tens of thousands of dollars worth of expenses and fit everything into a short document. Many families make the mistake of deferring to the Financial Aid Office’s assumptions without doing any additional investigation on their own. Not …
Scholarships are by far the best form of financial aid for college. Scholarships are not required to be repaid, and scholarships are available from a wide variety of sources, including schools, non-profits, and many corporations. College students who invest their time seeking out assistance are often handsomely rewarded for their …
