Good morning. You just woke up to yet another bank being bought out, news of the bailout plan being used as a political football, your house value (and your home equity) has fallen another 10%, and your 401k has been reduced to a 1k. And tonight's dinner table conversation will be about which $20,000 to $50,000 a year college your high school senior should be applying to.
Welcome to the new American nightmare - paying for college while the financial world you were planning to use seems to be falling apart before your eyes.
So what is a college-bound family supposed to do in today's chaos?
First, slow down, take a deep breath and focus on what you can control and create a plan. The reason firefighters seem so in control during an emergency is they have plans for what to do in various situations. Families who have a plan will not react in panic when something outside their control happens -- they move onto plan B and then plan C.
I am counseling my families to think of college planning in these turbulent times as a road trip. You know you want to get from New York to California for a particular budget. You decide to drive and begin the trip. You get 30 miles away from home when traffic stops and the radio tells you about a crash on the main highway ahead. You can choose to wait it out OR take an alternative route. You probably wouldn't turn around to go home and decide to fly would you? If you don't know an alternate route you may pull out a map or pull off the highway and ask someone. College planning in these strange financial times is the same way!
Have a TRIP (College) PLAN! Know where you want to go, how much you can afford to spend to get there, and alternatives in case of an emergency. If you don't know the alternative routes, find someone who does! And like driving across the desert, I wouldn't recommend listening to advisors who aren't experienced in that dangerous part of the journey. I often end up fixing college plans that were based on heresay from friends, family and "professional" advisors who are well-meaning but have never successfully created college plans.
So where should you turn for professional help on your "road trip"? You can hire college financial planners like me to be your personal chauffer and take over the trip. But that's an expensive option and not for everyone. Instead, I would suggest you consider joining a "AAA" for college planning. That's why I am suggesting that all families learn more about the not-for-profit College Leadership Foundation's College eCoaching program.
I am proud to be one of the Technical Advisors to the CLF's eCoaching Club. I feel they are the most cost-effective way I have ever seen for getting help for the college journey for virtually every college-cound family. They are unbiased and independent so there is no risk that they will send you down a "road" that only benefits a lender or a mailing list company!
If you can't find or afford a local "Linda" to be the chauffer, I suggest looking into the CLF eCoaching program to help you on your journey. For a modest monthly fee, you get the information you need sent direct to your family's inbox several times per month. Compared to the ultimate cost of the trip you and your student(s) are about to take, having a college planning "AAA" will be a small but valuable investment.
In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns about your college future in today's economy, respond to this blog or contact me through my webpage at www.LindaPTaylor.com.