Using other people’s money to pay for your child’s college may seem too good to be true. But there are some ways to do this, besides scholarships. One is rewards credit cards that contribute cash back to a 529 account. If you are accruing frequent flyer miles or another reward and not using it, it may be worth looking at…
The crazy number of pictures on Facebook of my friends’ kids graduating from high school means it’s time to talk about how you get money out of the 529 plan to which you’ve been diligently (or otherwise) contributing. First of all, a 529 plan isn’t like an HSA or medical savings account where you get a debit card to use…
Regardless of who is going to be paying back the loan, it’s worth looking at both parent and student loans when you consider borrowing for college. Each has its pros and cons and depending on your situation, one may be better than the other. In general, interest paid on student loan debt—federal or private loans—is tax-deductible to the named borrower,…
According to a recent report from the Pew Research Center, “Student debt is the only kind of household debt that continued to rise through the Great Recession, eclipsing credit card debt to become the second largest type of debt owed by American households, after mortgages. According to a new Pew Research report, a record 37% of young households had outstanding student…
Fed economists Mary Daly and Leila Bengali explore this question in a new research paper. Their conclusion? Based on lifetime earnings, yes: “for the average student, tuition costs for the majority of college education opportunities in the United States can be recouped by age 40, after which college graduates continue to earn a return on their investment in the form…