Prepaid college plans are not a risk-free solution

April 12, 2010

Thank you for your editorial “An affordable option for tomorrow’s tuition” (March 28), highlighting the need to begin saving early for college. As Southwestern Virginia’s first certified college planning specialist, I believe that prepaid plans are indeed valuable tools for many families who struggle to fund their kids’ college. However, the very guarantees that make [...]

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Let’s pick on the kid nobody likes

April 6, 2010

What do you do when everybody hates you? Well, if you’re a Congress with historically low 11% approval ratings, you deflect. Find someone more reviled than you. Fortunately, there is such a group – the bankers who make student loans. Guaranteed student loans were historically made by private lenders who were indemnified against some risk [...]

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What’s in it for them?

February 10, 2010

529 plans are the best way to save for college. When I hear someone proclaim this as fact, my inner 12-year-old screams, "Says who?" Well, it seems that most everybody says so. In fact, I once had a senior tax partner at one of Virginia’s largest CPA firms tell me that he "recommends 529 plans [...]

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Pre-paid tuition plans: don’t trust the government

January 4, 2010

At first blush, pre-paid tuition plans seem like a pretty good deal, especially with interest-bearing accounts giving little and tuition rising 6 to 7 percent a year. Prepaid tuition plans, one type of 529 Plans, allow families to buy all or part of a public, in-state education at present-day prices. The value of the investment [...]

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