Maximizing Need-Based College Financial Aid
If your child is a sophomore or junior in high school, repositioning some of your financial resources now may reduce the price you pay for college later.
Category: College
What Could Hinder Your Financial Future?
What do you think is the number one “financial disruptor” — the most common event or situation people have experienced that has had a negative impact on their long-term financial plans? A health emergency? A lengthy bear
The New Law of the Land on RMDs, IRA Contributions, and More
Here's an overview of recent changes affecting required minimum distributions (RMDs), IRA contributions, inherited retirement accounts, and retirement-account investment options.
Giving Gifts to Your Grandkids That Will Be Long Remembered
If you’re considering more than a small gift that fits under the tree this year, here are two suggestions.
SMI on the Radio: Investing in a College Education (audio and transcript)
A college education doesn't come cheap, and a lot of the expense these days is funded with debt that can take a decade or more to pay off.
Is going to college really worth it?
I had the opportunity to discuss that topic
Is a College Education Still Worth the Investment?
Investing in a post-secondary education involves risk, especially if borrowed money is involved. To manage that risk, parents and students should re-think the assumptions that have guided post-high-school choices for
Parents Expecting Their Kids to Cover More College Costs, But Haven’t Told Them
Fewer parents of college-bound children are planning to cover all of their kids’ college costs, and those who plan to share the cost are less certain as to how to the bills will be paid. Those are some of the key takeaways
Paying the School Debt of Would-Be Missionaries
Many times I heard financial teacher Larry Burkett (my boss from 1990 until his death in 2003) warn that taking on too much college debt could become an obstacle to responding to a call to mission work or other kinds of
529 Plan Money Now Available for Private K-12 Expenses – Or Is It?
One of the more confusing provisions of the new federal tax code centers on how 529-plan savings account money can be used. It has long been the case that earnings in such accounts are tax-free if used for qualified higher
Now Available: Personal Portfolio Tracker and Fund Performance Rankings with Data through 6-30-17
SMI's Personal Portfolio Tracker and monthly Fund Performance Rankings report have been updated to reflect mutual-fund performance data current through 6/30/2017. The Tracker and FPR are typically updated monthly between