These days, high school grads as well as their parents view a college education as a “must have” to get a career-worthy job after graduation. But college is an expensive “necessity” and getting more expensive each and every year.
With the cost of higher education rising faster than the cost of inflation, it is estimated that the parents of today’s 4-year-olds could face college bills of more than $200,000 per year.
Sure, the numbers are scary, but if you start saving regularly while your child is in diapers, you’ll put yourself in a good position financially by the time your son or daughter is ready to hit the co-ed bathrooms. Also, don’t forget that the availability of financial aid, loans, and education credits and deductions means you may not have to foot the entire bill yourself.
The problem is that most of us have not done a good job at saving for college. We have known of this impending doom since the day the children were born, but the everyday challenges of life have gotten in the way.
In an effort to help families save for college, the government set up a “so-called” tax advantaged investment vehicle known as the 529 plan. Recently, 529 college savings plans have suffered big losses, down 12% from 2009. Nevertheless, college tuition continues to increase and parents whose 529s shed significant value have very little flexibility to change course and are now facing difficult options given the shortfall.
This challenge illustrates the serious flaws these types of well-known 529 Plans have. Parents with freshmen entering college in the next couple of years currently have two problems. First, they must find the funds to cover the shortcoming in costs, and second, what remains of their personal savings has less earning power to recoup their losses!
Your Family Bank® is a perfect solution to this dilemma. As a parent, you might think your most important financial duty is to pay for your children’s education. You’d be wrong. Saving enough money for your own retirement is even more crucial. Your Family Bank® is way to do both. Our plan provides you a way to safely and securely plan for college, and have a tax-free source of income during your retirement years!
As you start Your Family Bank®, you will also see the value of the tool in getting out of debt, stop paying 34 cents of every dollar you make for interest, retire with tax-free income, have an emergency fund, and change your life!
This college planning alternative can propel you down the road to success. Your children have a lot of resources besides you to help feed the tuition monster, but no one is going to help you finance your golden years. And, you don’t have to worry that socking money into Your Family Bank will be held against you if you apply for financial aid.
Formulas used to assess need generally don’t consider cash value in life insurance as an available asset when determining how much parents can contribute to tuition. Putting too much money in your child’s name, however, might work against you. While it’s true that a child’s income is usually taxed at a lower rate than a parent’s income, keeping funds in a child’s name can reduce your financial aid package.
Colleges use a formula for aid that assesses a family’s need based on up to 5.64% of parents’ available assets and on 20% of assets in a child’s name or custodial account.
10 Reasons to use a Whole Life Insurance policy for College Planning:
