Planning for College Expenses: Tips for Meeting Your Financial Goals

Funding a child’s college education is one of the biggest expenses you will have in your lifetime, so it’s never too early to start planning and saving. Just make sure that you’re doing so in the smartest way possible and that you aren’t sacrificing equally important things, such as saving for your own retirement.

Three Tips for Meeting Your College Finance Needs

Here are three tips to keep in mind when saving for a college education:

1. Make sure that you set realistic financial goals when determining the amount you will ultimately need to save for a child’s education, particularly if college is still many years away. Rising costs for the average college or university have historically exceeded inflation for the past several years.

2. If financial aid plays a part in your plans for financing a child’s higher education, you need to be mindful of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and how it will impact the amount of aid your child will ultimately be eligible for. The EFC is a barometer of your family’s overall finances and is the amount that colleges and the federal government expect you to be able to contribute to your child’s education. The amount of your EFC is determined using a formula set by law and is only applicable to those students living in or citizens of the United States and Canada. If you’re interested in determining what your EFC is likely to look like, you can use an online calculator.

3. Saving for a child’s college education can take many forms, and 529 qualified tuition plans are among the most popular because of their federal tax benefits. Though it’s possible to withdraw money from a Roth IRA for college expenses without incurring a penalty, doing so will open you up to having to pay income tax on whatever portion you withdraw that is related to earnings generated within that portfolio. In the case of a 529 plan, however, so long as the money you have invested in the plan is used for “qualified education expenses,” such as tuition or room and board at an accredited U.S. institution, any earnings generated within that account are tax-free. Depending on what state you live in, you may also receive state tax benefits for investing in a 529 plan.

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• April 17, 2020
• Financial
• Alpine Bank Staff

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Alpine Bank Staff

Alpine Bank is an independent, employee-owned organization with headquarters in Glenwood Springs and banking offices across Colorado’s Western Slope, mountains and Front Range.

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