Many of us are diligent about maintaining the “stuff” in our lives… we get regular oil changes in our cars (and have the tires rotated when we think of it), we try to make it to the dentist regularly, and we have the annual inspection of our furnace/air conditioner. But one aspect of our lives sometimes doesn’t get the attention that it really needs: our financial plans. For lots of folks, we’d almost rather spend time in the dentist chair than gather all of those statements together, along with our previous plans (if we have any), and do a thorough review of where we are, where we’re headed, and if we’re on track for our goals – retirement being the goal of foremost importance to most. Yes, we may have gone to a financial planner and talked over our financial situation, then implemented well… some of the recommendations. After that, […]
May, 2010:
Tax Benefits for College
When faced with the high cost of college, you want to find and take advantage of every opportunity that you can to cut down on your out-of-pocket expenses, before you give in and take out loans. So after you’ve applied for all of the grants, scholarships, and other non-loan financial aid that you can, it’s time to consider what sorts of tax benefits may help out with your situation. Credits There are two different kinds of tax credits currently available in tax year 2010 and 2011: American Opportunity Credit – This credit is available for students (and parents of students) that are in their first four years in a degree program at college. The credit is a maximum of $2,500, and is calculated as: 100% of the first $2,000, and 25% of the next $2,000 of Qualified Higher Education Expenses (QHEE) paid for that student. QHEE is limited to tuition, […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.