Paying for College
A few months back, Melissa Sotudeh, a financial planner with Halpern Financial reached out to me to talk about the topic of paying for college. I have to be honest and say that I assumed this was a subject matter in which I was well versed; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there's always something new to learn.I think this is a great episode for people with kids of all ages and even if you don't have kids, there are great strategies for how you can plan for and pay for college.
What are we drinking?
Melissa - The Mexican Martini
3 ounces añejo tequila1 1/2 ounces Cointreau
1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce green-olive brine from the jara splash of fresh orange juice, lime wedges, olives
Shake over ice, pour into martini glass and garnish with olives and limes
Shannon - FinCon Martini
1.5 ounces Deep Eddy's Lemon Vodka
1.5 ounces Deep Eddy's Cranberry Vodka
Club Soda
Shake the first two ingredients over ice, pour into martini glass and top with club soda.
Podcast Notes:
Melissa shares some of her thoughts on the benefits of 529 plans as a savings vehicle
Melissa cautions against funding 100% of an expensive college
Shannon asks Melissa what she thinks of saving 30%, paying 30% in real time and financing 40%
Melissa shares her rule of thumb around the amount of money you should consider financing - limit aggregated loans taken out to equivalent of estimated one year salary of future grad
Melissa cautions parents from focusing on getting kids into dream college without consideration for costs
Many parents will think about the best school first and then how they pay for it second
Parents should help kids find colleges that offer merit-based aid and make those schools a focus as far as which ones their kids apply to
Sometimes we have to adjust what we think is the best
Melissa says that you should have a Reach, Target and Safety school not just for academics but for financial costs as well
No matter what your financial background looks like, you should fill out a FAFSA form
Melissa addresses some fallacies about filing for federal aid
Melissa advises researching the graduation rates for schools, if it normally takes 5 years vs. 4 years then this is a 20% increase in cost
She also says that you should look for cooperative education programs at schools to help your student during and after school
Shannon shares her best practice strategy for applying for student loans
Links that we mentioned during the podcast:
Random 3 Questions Melissa Answered:
What’s one of your biggest money mistakes?
What is your favorite thing to do to relieve stress?
What is a book that has influenced your life?