Learn from Spaugh Dameron Tenny's Shane Tenny, CFP® and Will Koster, Associate Planner in this 4 part series. Read the full blog here: http://bit.ly/2melHkC
Transcript:
SHANE TENNY: All right. Welcome to Paying for College 101 with Spaugh Dameron Tenny.
WILL KOSTER: So you may have a son or daughter who's a senior in high school and the college application process is making it seem oh-so-real.
SHANE TENNY: Yeah, or you might be an overachiever looking to get an early start, which is a good job. Either way, we want to cover in this video series some important topics around the things that you need to be prepared for as your child starts college and as you start paying the bills.
WILL KOSTER: We'll be talking about things like the FAFSA. Do I even need to fill one out?
SHANE TENNY: And the expected family contribution.
WILL KOSTER: We'll also be talking about assessable versus non-assessable assets in income.
SHANE TENNY: Yeah, I hope this is going to be a really great lineup for you. But Will, maybe you can just start us off on this episode by addressing the question around when to start planning for college.
WILL KOSTER: Many of you may have already done things like Fund a 529 or other savings vehicles. In this video series, we're going to be talking about paying for college. And one of the most important things to remember is what we call a base year.
SHANE TENNY: Yeah, the base year is actually the second semester of your student's sophomore year of high school. And this is because when they get ready to go to college and they are required to complete a FAFSA form, the information on the FAFSA comes from the prior two tax returns, which will start during the second semester of their sophomore year of high school.
WILL KOSTER: That's right. So your assets and your income during your child's sophomore year will begin affecting your FAFSA. And thus the earlier you can start planning, the better off you may be.
SHANE TENNY: Yup. There are a lot of details in planning for college, but don't worry. That's why we've put this video series together. So stick with us and stay tuned for all the information you need to know as you plan for college.