The recently passed OBBBA added some new uses for 529s, including test prep, tutoring, additional K-12 educational expenses, and credential programs. This comes after other recent legislation making Roth IRA conversions, student loan payments and apprenticeship programs qualified expenses for 529s. Which is great, although with the average 529 account balance just over $30,000 one might wonder why this change…

Sending your kid off to college is a veritable cocktail shaker of emotions. Excitement and pride mix with sadness and worry to make for some messy parents. Keeping it all together matters– not just to avoid family pictures with mascara streaming down your cheeks but also because your student is probably feeling some of the same things and looking to…

Extra long sheets, shower caddy, medical proxy? Yes, there are things your student needs for college that aren’t fun to shop for. Legal documents in particular. What forms does your student need? There are three essential ones, and a few others that might make sense depending on circumstances. Note that even if your student is not yet 18, in many…

Congress’ just-passed “Big Beautiful Bill” brings with it significant changes to higher education, both directly and indirectly. Here’s what families need to know. First, the changes begin with the 2026-27 school year; students who are enrolled as of this year will be able to continue accessing federal aid programs as they are currently available. The direct changes come in several…

Last week the Department of Education announced that this year’s FAFSA will be available on Oct. 1, hopefully avoiding the delays that have plagued the first two years of the simplified version of the federal financial aid application. The announcement also highlighted a couple of improvements: real-time verification of Social Security numbers for immediate access to tax information from the…