Financial Wize
What Is Solana (SOL) and Should You Invest in This Cryptocurrency?
A Guide to Large Personal Loans
In the financing world, personal loans are unique in that the funds arenât tied to a specific purpose. A personal loan offers freedom and flexibility to spend your funds as you see fit, with few exceptions. With the extra funds a large personal loan provides, you could cover higher-cost expenses like a single, substantial expense […]
The post A Guide to Large Personal Loans appeared first on SoFi.
Dear Penny: Should My Husband Demand More Money After 45 Years on the Job?
Dear Penny, My husband has worked at the same company for almost 45 years. Itâs a small manufacturer that is run by a family. Over the past 20 years, raises have been few and far between (up to eight years if I remember correctly). When he does get a raise, itâs often offset by increases [â¦]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Chase Southwest Personal Cards Referral Offer: 30,000 Points + Companion Pass Through 3/14/22
Chase is offering a signup bonus on the Southwest Plus, Premier, and Priority cards via referral link only: Get 30,000 points + a companion pass which is good through 2/28/23. Referrer gets 20,000 points
How to Win a Debt Collection Lawsuit
In some cases, going into debt is unavoidable. If you don’t pay your debt on time, your creditors may sue you. Debt collectors are persistent and aggressive, and the likelihood of winning a debt collection…
The post How to Win a Debt Collection Lawsuit appeared first on Crediful.
What happens to credit card rewards after you return a purchase?
Whether itâs cash back, points or miles, credit card issuers will deduct rewards from your account when you get a refund for a purchase.
By: Sirenbliss
Horrible experience with a radio station. I owed a 100 dollar bill, and got overwhelmed financially. I am not sure how to handle them now because — the debt, a year old now — is trying to be recovered by someone at the radio station who is calling associates of mine trying to find my name and number … people have been contacting me telling me the collector verbally stated that I owe them money and are trying to collect. Anyway — I am exhausted. Because its a business debt its not protected under the FDCPA. Does anyone know what other protections might be available to me legally? I am contacting an attorney to have them write a cease and desist letter for defamation. Thanks … any thoughts would be appreciated
By: Cherise Romero
In reply to <a href="https://www.credit.com/blog/ways-a-debt-collector-may-be-breaking-the-law-18624/#comment-122027">Jeanine Skowronski</a>. The debt was already sold to collections before I could make any kind of payment. Ive been getting calls left and right on it. It went from a few hundred dollars to 2 grande due to all the. Collections ridiculous interests.
Uncoupling, Kids and Paying for College
Nowâs the time of year when high school seniors are getting those much-anticipated letters from colleges. It can be a thrilling time for kids who get a âyesâ from their dream schools. It can also be a scary time as students and parents contemplate how to pay for that dream.
- SEE MORE How to Balance Saving for Retirement and Your Kidsâ Education
If you started planning for your childâs education as soon as he or she was born â or even before â youâre not alone. Aside from their own retirement, itâs likely the biggest expense for which parents will ever save.
Divorce may alter how (and how much) you save for college, but it need not wreck your kidâs college dreams. Like so much involved in divorce, funding college in a fair and equitable way involves advance planning.
Parents who are splitting up have several options to consider, whether their children are in diapers or closer to getting a diploma. Of course, the closer a child is to the pomp and circumstance, the more urgent it is that couples splitting up agree on how to handle paying for college. Here are some scenarios for divorced or divorcing parents to consider.
Both parents agree to a certain rate of monthly savings for tuition
The amount could be a percentage of current income, or it could be a set amount ($250 per month per child, for instance) that both parents agree to set aside for college in an account type of their choosing. You can stipulate that the monthly amount may increase over the years or keep it at the agreed-upon amount for the duration. Itâs all about forethought and writing it into your agreement at the time you split.
A third, a third, a third
In this scenario, both parents each agree to pay for a third of a childâs college tuition, room and board with the last third being paid by the child â likely with student loans or scholarships. The child may be too young to understand the arrangement at the time of the parentsâ divorce â and doesnât need to know it until the time comes to talk about the expense of college and the ways families go about paying for it.
âThe UNC provisionâ
Thatâs how family lawyers in North Carolina, where I practice, informally refer to this option, which entails parents agreeing to split the cost â at the tuition and room and board rates at the time â of four years at the in-state university systemâs flagship campus. But it works the same no matter what state youâre in. The child doesnât have to attend UNC Chapel Hill (or the University of Tennessee or University of Nevada-Reno, etc.) but the idea is that parents plan and save for tuition at a public, in-state university. If, when the time comes, the child decides to forgo college or attend a less expensive community college or trade school â they have a financial leg up because their parents planned ahead.
- SEE MORE When Divorcing, What Financial Specialists Do You Really Need?
If the child wants to go to a more expensive, private college, the family will have to decide how to handle that based on what has been saved. It could be that the difference is made up in student loans, or perhaps one or both parents are willing and able to pitch in more. The point is to have a reasonable goal in mind and to have both parents committed to and working toward that goal.Â
Tax-advantaged 529 accounts
The money in a 529 college savings account can be used for a host of educational expenses. In addition to college tuition, it might cover K-12 tuition, apprenticeship costs and student loan repayments. If you have a 529 plan set up for your child already, you need to know that it canât be jointly owned by both spouses. It must be set up in one spouseâs name only.
But if parents divorce, each parent can open their own 529. If uncoupling parents choose this route, both Parent A and Parent B open 529s and agree to the amount each will contribute. There should be some type of accountability mechanism written into the divorce agreement to keep everyone honest and on track. In some cases, each parent sends the other a statement each quarter showing contributions made and the current balance. Â
Plan ahead for all contingencies
Letâs say youâve done everything right and saved â one way or another â for your childâs college and are able to fund all or a portion of it, but Junior decides not to go. Or â and all parents can dream of this â Junior gets a full scholarship. It should be written into your agreement how that money gets dispersed and to whom. In the case of a 529 plan, there are rules to follow. But if youâve saved outside of a 529, you may want to make some rules of your own. Could any leftover money roll from an older child to a younger child? Do you want to many any stipulations on how that money can be used? (For instance, itâs only for schooling; it canât be used to fund a gap year.) Again, it pays to think through even unlikely scenarios and address them when youâre divorcing, rather than having to negotiate years down the road.
In addition, you want to make sure that your divorce agreement has recourse built in if one parent fails to live up to their end of the agreement. You may have to go to court to enforce it, just as you would if child support payments were to suddenly stop coming. College tuition and expenses are financial obligations and should be agreed to at the time of the divorce.
No matter which route you go, itâs important to talk to your kids, at the appropriate age, about the expense of college and expectations you have of the child if youâre funding or helping to fund their schooling. One of the expectations my parents set for me, well before I started applying to college, was that they agreed to be on the hook financially for four years maximum. If it took me longer to graduate, I knew Iâd be funding those extra semesters. It was terrific incentive to ensure I finished in four years.
Having money banked for college gives your child options, and itâs always nice to have those. Your child may choose a community college, and that can be a smart place to start. Or your child may choose trade school â and that can be a great route as there will never be a shortage of need for skilled trades. But itâs definitely more liberating to be able have a financial plan to help fund your childâs choice, whatever it may be. Advance planning allows a better shot that you get to call the shots when the time comes.
- SEE MORE What Women Should Know about Post-Divorce Tax Planning