For Financial Advisors only
Poll after poll consistently reveals that paying for college is a parent's number one financial concern. And they are right to be concerned.
Even if a family can "afford" to pay for college, I never met a family who wanted to pay for all of it.
So as their financial advisor, how do you help them?
Do you suggest they invest in a 529 savings plan? If they have more than one child, are you being strategic on how you assign the beneficiary? Either way, do you know how that impacts their financial aid eligibility and ultimately the net cost they pay for college?
Have you explored other options, such as saving in an IRA, ROTH, or cash-value life insurance? Are you suggesting tax savings opportunities, especially for business owners?
Let's say your client does have money saved for college, do you know how to find schools that fit their budget?
Or worse, let's say your client has no college savings and cannot afford to pay anything for college, not even borrow, otherwise it will ruin their chances of being able to retire. Can you still provide them a strategy on how to successfully send their child to college?
I don't know any financial advisor who wants to become an expert in all the ins-and-outs of college planning. It's so much more than saving in a 529 or learning how to move money in attempt to lower the SAI calculation. Chasing the SAI calculation is short-sighted.
In addition to lowering the SAI, you need to know how to find which colleges have the money to give out, know how to shop for colleges that fit the family's budget (note: the school's net price calculator is terribly inaccurate), know how to find colleges where the student most likely can win a scholarship, and let's not forget the student still has to get admitted.
What's the point of finding colleges that are a financial fit, but the student can't get admitted? And what's the point of getting admitted to a college that you cannot afford? Both issues are always intertwined, but it's rare to have one expert help with both.
Every financial advisor I know prefers to do what they do best and leave the college stuff to a specialist.
When you partner with J.P., you get a former Director of Financial Aid on your side. I work with you and the financial plan you've set up for your client. Together we'll make sure we've optimized their financial positioning and then I'll do what I do best:
In the end, my goal is to help the family successfully navigate the maze to college and make you look amazing as their financial advisor.
If you think this would be helpful for your clients, grab a meeting on my calendar to discuss how we might work together.
- Overpaying for college is one of the major tripping hazards to being able to successfully retire.
- Retirement-age borrowers are one of the fastest growing segments of the population with student loans, increasing 500% over the last 20 years.
- Borrowers age 50 and older owe over $336 Billion in college debt.
- The cumulative college debt exceeds $1.7 Trillion in our country.
Even if a family can "afford" to pay for college, I never met a family who wanted to pay for all of it.
So as their financial advisor, how do you help them?
Do you suggest they invest in a 529 savings plan? If they have more than one child, are you being strategic on how you assign the beneficiary? Either way, do you know how that impacts their financial aid eligibility and ultimately the net cost they pay for college?
Have you explored other options, such as saving in an IRA, ROTH, or cash-value life insurance? Are you suggesting tax savings opportunities, especially for business owners?
Let's say your client does have money saved for college, do you know how to find schools that fit their budget?
Or worse, let's say your client has no college savings and cannot afford to pay anything for college, not even borrow, otherwise it will ruin their chances of being able to retire. Can you still provide them a strategy on how to successfully send their child to college?
I don't know any financial advisor who wants to become an expert in all the ins-and-outs of college planning. It's so much more than saving in a 529 or learning how to move money in attempt to lower the SAI calculation. Chasing the SAI calculation is short-sighted.
In addition to lowering the SAI, you need to know how to find which colleges have the money to give out, know how to shop for colleges that fit the family's budget (note: the school's net price calculator is terribly inaccurate), know how to find colleges where the student most likely can win a scholarship, and let's not forget the student still has to get admitted.
What's the point of finding colleges that are a financial fit, but the student can't get admitted? And what's the point of getting admitted to a college that you cannot afford? Both issues are always intertwined, but it's rare to have one expert help with both.
Every financial advisor I know prefers to do what they do best and leave the college stuff to a specialist.
When you partner with J.P., you get a former Director of Financial Aid on your side. I work with you and the financial plan you've set up for your client. Together we'll make sure we've optimized their financial positioning and then I'll do what I do best:
- assess where they are in terms of college costs
- run "what-if" scenarios to see how we can maximize potential grant eligibility
- run "what-if" scenarios to see how we can maximize potential scholarship eligibility
- project ahead of time what colleges will most likely cost a family
- shop for colleges that are a financial fit and academic fit for the family
- suggest competing colleges with the end goal of leveraging financial aid awards against each other
- calculate the potential ROI on a college
- prep the financial aid forms to ensure strategic accuracy and timeliness
- help families with financial aid appeals when warranted
- help families review financial aid award letters and calculate the true net cost of colleges
- help families review and decide which financing options are best for them
- help students optimize their chances of being admitted to those schools that are a financial fit
In the end, my goal is to help the family successfully navigate the maze to college and make you look amazing as their financial advisor.
If you think this would be helpful for your clients, grab a meeting on my calendar to discuss how we might work together.
