Many Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors’ clients prioritize helping their children receive the knowledge and education needed to successfully launch their careers. With the rising cost of college tuition outpacing inflation, this goal can at times be daunting.
Our research shows that families achieve these goals most successfully when they are clear on their purposes, prepare in advance for their intended outcomes, and have honest communication with their children about their education path, degree, credentials, and career prospects.
Part of the preparation and communication involves assessing the unique talents and gifts of their children and determining together how to utilize those to develop a meaningful career path.
Preparation might also look like funding a 529 account when a child is very young. Honest communication also includes your children knowing the extent to which you are willing to help fund their education, your expectations of their contribution, and how to assess the return on specific college educations for future career paths.
Planning for the cost of higher education involves several considerations not limited to:
- Should you invest in a state prepaid tuition plan and/or a 529 plan? Or how about a UTMA or UGMA?
- How much capital will you need once your child is 18 to achieve their education goal?
- FAFSA application planning and how different assets are treated for financial aid.
- How do you build the financial maturity of your children so that they gain wisdom in their financial decision making?
- What talents, skills, and interests of your children are worth investing in during their youth and adolescence in the hopes of them gaining scholarship opportunities?
- What practices does your child need to be in to be successful in college? Are they being prepared for these by their schools or is additional training necessary?
- How important is it to you that they have jobs as teenagers and into college?
- Do you want your child to consider an out of state school or a school that is highly ranked for the field they choose to study?
- How many years of schooling are required for your child’s desired career?
If you start this planning when your children are young, you have time to adjust as you learn more about their passions and goals. Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors’ Wealth Management Consultative approach will guide you with these important decisions and help you feel confident preparing your children to be successful.
