How To Survive Divorce After 50
Shutterstock I was recently talking to a dear friend in her 50s whose husband recently announced that he wanted a divorce. As I talked to her, she reflected not only on the 30+ years of marriage that was coming to an end but also the end of her identity as she […]
Source: Forbes
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FAFSA Checklist
The FAFSA: one of – if not the most, daunting of financial aid forms. The name alone can make students shudder in fear.
But, there’s no reason to be afraid! We’ve got you covered; letting you know everything you need before you even think about filling out the form.
Beginning this year, the form is now available on October 1. Which means that it’s time to gather up your materials and fill it out – the sooner, the better!
It’s important to gather all the necessary information and materials beforehand. Trust us, if you do have the necessary information on hand, filling out the form will become much simpler. Depending on your circumstances (when you filed taxes or what tax form was used), you may or may not need the following information or documents as you fill out the FAFSA.
Your Social Security card and driver’s license, and/or alien registration card if you are not a US citizen.
Your most recent federal income tax returns (this year, you don’t have to wait – you can use the most recent returns you have from last year), W-2s, and other records of money earned. (Note: You may be able to transfer your federal tax return information into your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
Your parents income tax returns, W-2 forms and 1040 forms if you are a dependent (and you are unless declared otherwise). If you or your parents have not completed your taxes yet, you can estimate your income and other tax return information, and then correct your application after you have filed your taxes.
Records and documentation of other nontaxable income received such as welfare benefits, Social Security income, veteran’s benefits, military or clergy allowances (if applicable).
Any additional applicable financial information, such as taxable work-study, assistant-ships, fellowships, grants and scholarship aid reported to the IRS, combat pay or special combat pay and cooperative education program earnings.
Records of any additional nontaxable income: Examples include: child support received, veterans’ non-education benefits, money received or paid on your behalf, etc.
Current bank and brokerage account statements, including records of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other investments (if applicable).
Business or investment farm records (if applicable).
Records relating to any unusual family financial circumstances, such as anything that changed from last year or anything that distinguishes the family from the typical family in terms of unusual marital situations, living situations, separations, etc.
Examples include: high non-reimbursed medical and/or dental expenses, unusually high dependent care costs (e.g., for a special needs child or an elderly parent), death, divorce, salary reductions, job loss and private K-12 tuition.
Title IV Institution Codes for each school you are applying to. You can get this code from the school (some have them listed on their web sites) or you can use FinAid’s Title IV School Code Database.
When filling out and submitting your FAFSA electronically, you’ll need an FSA ID to sign the form. If you don’t have one, you can create a FSA ID online.
If you are applying as a dependent- again, you are unless declared otherwise – one parent is required to sign as well. To electronically fill out your FAFSA online, your parent should also apply for a FAFSA ID at the same site.
Download the FAFSA worksheet during your preparation process, to doubly ensure you have all of the information you need.
Utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which allows applicants who have already filed their federal income tax returns to prefill the answers to some of the difficult FAFSA questions by transferring the necessary data directly from federal income tax returns.
If you are a man, 25 years or younger, you must be registered with Selective Service.
According to the Selective Service System website, “men, born after December 31, 1960, who aren’t registered with Selective Service won’t qualify for Federal student loans or grant programs.
This includes Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Direct Stafford Loans/Plus Loans, National Direct Student Loans, and College Work Study.”
Make sure to ensure your eligibility by following the guidelines detailed on the Selective Service System website!
We’d advise you to gather your materials and fill out your forms sooner than later because the entire process can take a while. Putting off your financial aid is not something you want to do!
Once you complete your FAFSA, save copies of your completed FAFSA form, along with copies of all the information you gathered in order to fill it out.
Make sure to keep all documents in a safe place – you never know when you’ll need to reference them. It’s also a way to prove that you’ve submitted the form on time, since no late applications are accepted!
Source: Fastweb
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The New FAFSA: What’s In It for You?
By now, you may have heard that the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid, has a new release date this year: October 1. And if you haven’t heard – it’s kind of a big deal.
So what’s in it for you?
No more estimating.
Filling out the FAFSA has always been tricky. It’s released after January 1, many state deadlines fall in February or March and your taxes aren’t even due until April 15. With that, everyone has pretty much been estimating their tax information throughout the years.
The new FAFSA, however, hopes to get a more accurate picture of students’ financial circumstances. In addition to the new release date, the form will ask for the prior prior year tax statements. This means that if you’re attending school from July 2017 – June 2018, you can report your tax information from 2015.
With a more accurate picture of financial aid circumstances, students will receive a package that’s more congruent with what they need.
No more missing deadlines.
Because of its January 1 availability and prior year tax information requirements, many students and families were actually missing state deadlines, which tend to fall in February and March. Most financial aid is awarded on a first come, first serve basis, meaning students who file the FAFSA sooner get the greater advantage. So those students and families that were waiting until after their taxes were filed to complete the FAFSA were potentially missing out on financial aid dollars.
With the earlier release and use of prior prior year information, students will have plenty of time to fill out their forms for a better chance at financial aid.
No more confusion.
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. As a college applicant, there seem to be countless deadlines. Once the college deadlines have passed, the financial aid deadlines begin.
Releasing the FAFSA earlier allows students to stay in application mode. It just lines up better with the college application cycle, enabling students and families to take a breather over the holiday break in December instead of gearing up for the next big application.
The new FAFSA release date may come with its own set of issues; but for now, major problems have been solved for students and their families. Hopefully, it will help alleviate financial costs for those that may have been missing out before.
Source: Fastweb
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Are You Using The Wrong Retirement Account?
Shutterstock We all know we need to save for retirement, but let’s face it. We also have limited funds with which to save. With all the various tax-advantaged retirement account options available to use, it can be tricky to know which ones to prioritize with our limited savings. Making the wrong […]
Source: Forbes
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How To Fit Student Loans Into Your Financial Life Plan
What started out as whispers of a potential financial crisis related to recent student loan borrowing has grown to a cacophony of fear, frustration, and concern. The staggering $1.3 trillion in student loan debt in our country has been a shocking wake-up call. As a result, many recent graduates are […]
Source: Forbes
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College Graduates Should Budget (And Save!) Right Away
When Ryan Dwyer received his undergraduate history degree from the University of South Florida in 2016, he felt a sense of accomplishment. His hard work had paid off with society’s definition of the ticket to a brighter future. But the degree has simply given him entree into another realm of much harder work: grinding through […]
The post College Graduates Should Budget (And Save!) Right Away appeared first on Debt.org.
Source: Debt . Org
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In the Obama Student Loan Forgiveness program, interest in the IBR does not capitalize on the subsidized portion of your Direct Loan. This applies only for the first three years of your IBR payment, and only if your IBR payment is less than what is normally due in interest. This can amount to many thousands of dollars depending on your loan balance and what type of payment you currently qualify for.
Example: Borrower owes $40,000 in Subsidized loans. The interest rate is 6.875%, and the term is 25 years. Borrower is single with an adjusted gross income of $25,000/yr. The interest on this loan would normally be $229.17 per month, but the borrower would qualify for an IBR payment of $93.69. In this case, the borrower would be forgiven $229.17 – $93.69 = $135.48 of interest per month. If this persons financial situation does not change for three years, they would be forgiven $135.48 x 36 = $4,877.28.
If you enroll into either the Income Contingent, Income Based, or Pay As You Earn repayment plans, you loan balance would be forgiven at the end of the term if you still have a remaining balance. The term of the loan would be between 20-25 years depending on which repayment plan you choose, and when your loans were originally borrowed. How much you will forgiven will depend on your original loan amount, how much you are earning, and how much your earnings fluctuate during your repayment term.
Example: Borrower owes $85,000 in federal student loans. The interest rate is 6.875% and the term is 25 years in the Income Based Repayment Plan. The borrower is currently earning $35,000 per year, and expects their income to stay the same for the term of the loan. This borrower would qualify for an IBR payment of $218.69, and assuming the income doesnt change, would make these payments for 25 years or 300 payments. The total amount the borrower would pay on this loan is 300 x $218.69 = $65,607 of the original $85,000 that was borrowed. This person would qualify for $19,393 in student loan forgiveness after making those qualifying payments. This does not include the interest that is being forgiven as the borrower would normally pay much more than the original debt due to the interest on the loan.
Payments made in the Direct Loan program in an IBR, ICR, or PAYE repayment count as qualifying payments for those who work in the public sector and would like to apply for public service loan forgiveness. In the public service loan forgiveness program, you may qualify for forgiveness after 10 years or 120 payments instead of the standard 20-25 year forgiveness. Unfortunately, many people are not aware that they must be in the Direct Loan program and in one of the correct repayment plans to qualify for this forgiveness. The public service loan forgiveness program is also quite often confused with the term Obama Student Loan Forgiveness.
There are other programs that offer student loan forgiveness as well, but they are not part of the Obama Student Loan Forgiveness (Direct Loan) program. These are separate programs that exist specifically to help teachers by offering principal reduction, or the disabled by offering a complete discharge on your federal student loans. For more information on these programs please visit theTeacher Loan Forgiveness page, or the Total & Permanent Disability Discharge page.
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