The team at Heritage Financial Strategies really takes a family approach to helping you with your finances. Today, we take that approach quite literally. Alden Rowe brings in his dad, Tom Rowe, who used work in a college's financial aid office.
Going to college can be daunting enough, without figuring out how to pay for it. Tom walks us through the process, starting with the FAFSA - the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA can be found on FAFSA.gov, which redirects you to https://studentaid.gov. There are scammers out there, so be sure your URL ends with .gov. And it's FREE - don't be scammed by someone who wants you to pay for it.
Fill out the FAFSA with your student in the fall of their senior year of high school. In the spring, when they are narrowing their list to specific schools, many will have their own calculators to look at as well.
Financial aid comes in three forms - loans, grants (usually from the federal or state government), and scholarships. You'll need to figure out what combination these will come in for your student when figuring out your out of pocket expense. You'll also want to start a 529 savings plan as early as possible - Alden and Jon will get into that in our next episode.
Finally, Tom mentions that college isn't for everyone. It's often too expensive a proposition for someone who's not sure what they want to do. There are many other options out there to start highly successful careers. We cover some of those as well.
Need more help with this topic, or anything related to your financial future? Contact Alden Rowe, Shanna Tingom, and the team at Heritage Financial Strategies. Shanna Tingom and her team at Heritage Financial Strategies are here to help. Find them here:
https://www.heritagefinancialaz.com/
Or (480) 397-1184.