Financial aid award letters are confusing primarily because colleges like it that way. It’s in a school’s interest to confuse families so they think an award letter is more generous than it really is.

This award letter from the University of Arizona illustrates just how...

It’s not easy to contemplate your own mortality, but a good estate plan can provide for your heirs, protect your assets, and promote family harmony once you’re gone. Estate planning is complex and because it involves facing your own mortality, it can be difficult subje...

Rational investors make better decisions—or so the thinking goes. However, new studies show that rational thought and emotions are both necessary to cut through the details, focus on what’s important, and get on with the decision that needs to be made.

The science of e...

If the thought of paying for college keeps you up at night, you are not alone. Between 2005 and 2016, the cost of an undergraduate education at public colleges and universities increased 34%. And it goes up more each year—by an average rate of 3.1% for a 4-year public...

One reason to have insurance of any kind is to protect against potentially high out-of-pocket costs associated with events that may or may not happen. From the insurer’s perspective, the lower the likelihood of a dreaded event happening, such as a house fire, the less...

Parents may assume they earn too much to qualify for financial aid.
However, there are a number of strategies that even wealthy families can employ to cut expenses.

While it’s no surprise that parents stress about how they’re going to pay for college, you may be shock...

You are not the only one who needs to be on guard about their personal data safety. Minor children are 35 times more likely than adults to suffer ID theft. Here’s what parents need to know.

The latest target of identity thieves is not you, but rather your children. With...

A lack of knowledge leaves individual retirees dumping thousands of dollars out of their own pockets. 

The graph below says it all. The age at which most people claim Social Security (green line) is opposite to the age at which they should claim Social Security (purple...

One of the biggest questions that parents with college-bound children puzzle over, is whether their child has a chance for financial aid.

This is more confusing than you might think, because at some schools a family could qualify for need-based aid if they make $200,000...

Two years after Equifax’s massive data breach affecting over 140 million people, the credit bureau and the Federal Trade Commission have agreed to a $700 million settlement. The money will be split between government fines, legal fees, and consumer fees. According to t...