Saving For Children’s Education

One of the most common financial goals that couples have is to save money for their children’s education, whether that be at a private school or a tertiary institution. Saving for this purpose is no different than saving for any other goal in life, yet there is a common misperception that funds need to be set aside separately or even in the child’s name for this purpose. That can lead to a lower rate of investment return in some cases.

If you are going to save for your children’s education, then you’re probably looking at saving tens of thousands of dollars and it will take a number of years to get to that target.

That means starting when the child is young – in fact, probably at the preschool age. Anybody with preschoolers most probably has a mortgage. With mortgage interest rates being so high, the best place to put your money is into your mortgage to keep the interest payments down. If, for example, you are paying say 7.0% interest on your mortgage you would need to earn at least 7.0% after tax on an investment to make it worthwhile investing and not paying your mortgage. So pay off your debt as fast as you can, and then remortgage later if your still really want to help your kids. If you have grandchildren that you wish to provide for, the situation may be a little different. You probably won’t have a mortgage and you may wish to make funds available that are clearly earmarked for your grandchildren and clearly specified to be used only for education costs. A good way of achieving these objectives is to set up an education trust. This can be done through a solicitor or trustee company. There will be a fee involved to establish and maintain the trust, but there will be safeguards in place to ensure that the funds are used for the purpose you intend. An education trust can be particularly useful in certain situations, for example, where there is a relationship breakdown between parents and a parent or grandparent wishes to make funds available without the risk of the money being used for a different purpose. An education trust can also be used where funds might be at risk of a possible future claim by business creditors.
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Scholarships Help Defray the Expense of Earning Distance Learning College Degrees

The cost of an education these days isn’t cheap and students are continually trying to find solutions to help defray the cost of exorbitant tuition. Scholarships are one of the main sources of tuition assistance for students. Students who are willing to put in the extra effort to find appropriate scholarships will be handsomely rewarded in the most beneficial way possible.

A scholarship, at its most basic definition, is money for college that students won’t be expected to repay after graduation. Scholarships are offered from four basic platforms: merit-based, need-based, student specific and career specific. Scholarships generally reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award, depending on what specific scholarships students pursue.

Merit-based scholarships are usually based on a student’s abilities, specifically athletic, academic, artistic or otherwise. Merit-based scholarships also often factor in other aspects of an applicant’s personality, including their extracurricular activities and even their community service. The most popular scholarships that are merit-based judge applicants by their academic achievement in combination with their scores on standardized tests like the ACT and SAT.
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Financial Aid Resources for Nursing Students

Healthcare industry is one of the most demanding fields and nursing degree is one of the most popular degrees enrolled by college students because most of nursing degree graduated students is easily secure a career in the high demanding healthcare industry. Like other degree’s students, many nursing students always looking for some resources to get their education funded either through scholarship or education loan. This article will points out some of the financial aid resources where nursing students can get help to fund their study in nursing major.

Excellence in Academics Nursing Scholarship

This scholarship is newly launched in year 2006 by Lydia’s Professional Uniforms, a leading supplier of apparel for health professionals in partnering with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). This scholarship is dedicated for nurses enrolled in baccalaureate programs. Under this scholarship program, each scholarship holder will be provided $5,000 per semester. To be eligibility for applying this scholarship, your must posses at least 3.5 GPA and submit with 250 word essay describing their career aspirations and financial need. The scholarship application form and detail information can be viewed & downloaded at AACN.nche.edu/Education.
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