Educational Tax Credits
Educational tax credits are a valuable tool within the realm of tax policy that seeks to encourage and support higher education pursuits. These credits are designed to alleviate the financial burden of education expenses by allowing eligible taxpayers to claim a credit against their income tax liability. Typically, there are two main types of educational…
Funding: Childcare Expenses
The Dependent Care Tax Credit and the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) are both financial tools designed to assist individuals and families with the costs of child or dependent care. These resources aim to alleviate some of the financial burden associated with ensuring the well-being of dependents while caregivers work or pursue other responsibilities.…
Funding for Higher Education – 529 Plans
As the cost of education continues to rise (and often outpace inflation), many parents and guardians have taken an interest in proactively saving for their children’s education. The most common vehicle used to save for education is called the ‘529 Plan.’ These accounts have been around for several years, and they are popular due to…
Family Finances: Teaching Teens About Money
As children age into teens, they become more independent and more capable to learn about basic financial concepts. Many teens work in some capacity, whether that be after school, during the summers, or even doing a larger share of the chores around the house. As they start to earn more income, the teenage years are…
Family Finances: Teaching Kids About Money
It’s never too early to start learning about money! While young children won’t understand complicated financial jargon, they will certainly pick up on the actions and habits of the way their parents handle money. One of the best ways to teach good money habits in children is to establish a routine set of chores and…
Family Finances: Financial Roles
When it comes to communication regarding the family’s finances, assigning roles within the marriage can help lead to success and clarity. This can be a great opportunity to utilize each other’s strengths in a positive manner. One spouse may be more analytical, while the other spouse may be more of a ‘big picture thinker’. In…
Fixed vs. Adjustable Mortgage Rates
Should I Utilize a Fixed-Rate Mortgage or an ARM? Over the past decade, fixed-rate mortgages have ruled the housing market. Interest rates have been extremely low, and it made perfect financial sense for households to utilize a fixed-rate mortgage. Fixed-rate mortgages operate exactly how they sound – they have a fixed interest rate for the…
How Do I Prepare For My New Payment?
Congratulations! You’ve accomplished the first step and now know how much house you can afford. Now that you’re soon to begin your housing search, how can you prepare for your new payment? One of our favorite financial planning techniques is to “pay yourself” the difference in your current payment and your new projected payment. Let’s…
Home Buying: Where to Start?
As we enter into the summer months, real estate activity tends to pick up significantly. Summer is a popular time to buy and sell. Before beginning the housing search, an important first step is to determine how much you can reasonably afford. There are a couple rules-of-thumb to help guide this conversation. 1. Strive to…
Credit Freeze and Monitoring
In our first segment on credit, we discussed the importance of reviewing credit reports each year. Not only does this help to ensure accuracy, it also helps to protect against fraud. Utilizing a “credit freeze” is also a helpful way to protect against accounts being fraudulently opened in your name. When a credit freeze is…