Financing Your Family's Education

Overview/Description
 Would you like your family to have the benefits of obtaining a college education? Do you wonder how you are going to finance your family's future education costs? The first issue that comes to mind is usually how to finance your family's future college expenses. But, there is more to think about than that. Many parents want to know how to finance their children's private elementary and secondary school expenses. In addition, it's increasingly necessary for adults to periodically take college courses. This course will show you how to asses your family's future education costs. You will learn to calculate how much you need to save annually to pay the price when the bill is due. You will discover sources of education funds, such as scholarships and federal loans that may lower the education cost, and learn about the tax rules for education funds. With successful financial planning, your family can enjoy the benefits of obtaining a college education. Throughout this course, the tax rules or tax values provided in the examples and calculations are based on the year 2001 tax guide. When you are creating your personal financial plan, be sure to use the tax guide rules and values for the current year.

Target Audience
 General American Audience

Expected Duration
2.5 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Cost of a Future College Education

  • recognize the benefits of assessing the future cost of a college education.
  • match the factors in estimating the cost of a future college education to their definitions.
  • calculate the total cost of a future college education in a given scenario.
  • identify the factors involved in calculating the required level of savings to meet future college costs.
  • calculate the required level of savings to meet future college costs in a given scenario.

    • Personal Sources of Funding

  • recognize the benefits of understanding the personal sources of funding for future education.
  • match sources of family funding to their characteristics.
  • identify reasons to consider hiring your college-bound child.

    • External Sources of Funding

  • recognize the benefits of understanding external sources of funding for future education.
  • match different types of grants and scholarships to their characteristics.
  • identify reasons to consider participating in a work-study program.
  • match different loan type to their descriptions.
  • identify the federal college financial aid formula.
  • determine the impact of family gift planning on financial aid in a given scenario.
  • identify the sources of funding for private education, given examples.
  • match sources of funding for adult education with examples.

    • Tax Rules for Educational Funds

  • recognize the benefits of understanding the tax rules for education funds.
  • match tax break strategies that can be implemented to examples of ways to protect college education funds.
  • use tax break strategies effectively to minimize after-tax educational costs, in a given scenario.
  • match the Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Credit with characteristics of each.
  • determine an individual's eligibility for federal education tax credits.
  • determine whether given applications qualify for federal education tax credits.

    • Course Number: PD0145