If you have an HHI under 200k and no family money, where do you go for financial advice

[Anonymous]

Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I sometimes struggle with finding good advice for things like saving for college, allocating retirement savings, financing a home purchase, etc., because so many resources are geared towards people with higher incomes or additional money resources.

Curious where others are going for guidance truly geared towards middle class people. Mid-40s, one kid. Own a home, both have 401ks plus we have money in Roth and brokerage accounts. And we have a 529 but college funding is still kind of a mystery.

You should be saving monthly in a 529 and your kid may get some merit aid but not count on it. Some brokerage firms have free help like fidelity. We do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

Income is not low and some schools count the house, which they should. Someone shouldn't get aid if they have a million dollar house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

Income is not low and some schools count the house, which they should. Someone shouldn't get aid if they have a million dollar house.

Again, research. Some schools do not count home equity or retirement funds in their financial aid calculators, and some do. Some schools, like Yale, consider $200,000 or less in household income "poor" and meet or exceed tuition in their aid packages. At OP's income level, they may even want to strategically keep their income at or below $200,000 and continue funding retirement or paying down their house, in order to qualify for aid. Research and learn, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

Income is not low and some schools count the house, which they should. Someone shouldn't get aid if they have a million dollar house.

Again, research. Some schools do not count home equity or retirement funds in their financial aid calculators, and some do. Some schools, like Yale, consider $200,000 or less in household income "poor" and meet or exceed tuition in their aid packages. At OP's income level, they may even want to strategically keep their income at or below $200,000 and continue funding retirement or paying down their house, in order to qualify for aid. Research and learn, OP.

How does it work for divorced families? Are both parents income taken into account, or just the income of the primary custodial parent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

Income is not low and some schools count the house, which they should. Someone shouldn't get aid if they have a million dollar house.

Again, research. Some schools do not count home equity or retirement funds in their financial aid calculators, and some do. Some schools, like Yale, consider $200,000 or less in household income "poor" and meet or exceed tuition in their aid packages. At OP's income level, they may even want to strategically keep their income at or below $200,000 and continue funding retirement or paying down their house, in order to qualify for aid. Research and learn, OP.

Agreed. $200K or less HHI is considered poor by some elite colleges (shocking I know) and as a result your kid can get a full ride if they’re able to get in. Ironically you might be better served scrounging up the funds for a private school where they’re competing against less kids for a select # of admission spots vs saving for college. The admission stats for the publics around nova / moco / nw dc are brutal and it’s mostly because UVA can’t take 100 kids from Langley alone etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid would probably qualify for aid at many schools, given that your net worth is tied up in a home and retirement funds and your income is low for some aid calculators. Spend some time researching and learning how financial aid works, and how to work it...

Income is not low and some schools count the house, which they should. Someone shouldn't get aid if they have a million dollar house.

Again, research. Some schools do not count home equity or retirement funds in their financial aid calculators, and some do. Some schools, like Yale, consider $200,000 or less in household income "poor" and meet or exceed tuition in their aid packages. At OP's income level, they may even want to strategically keep their income at or below $200,000 and continue funding retirement or paying down their house, in order to qualify for aid. Research and learn, OP.

How does it work for divorced families? Are both parents income taken into account, or just the income of the primary custodial parent?

It's brutal for divorced families. Both parents are considered, even though one parent may refuse to contribute. One of the bigger casualties of a divorce.

[Anonymous]

- mandatory retirement savings and get 100% of employer match.

- aggressively pay off all debts. Refinance mortgage if the rates are good

- live pretty frugally. Find gigs like small scale catering, babysitting, laundry, dog walking, before and after care - (even if SAH parent),

- buy a home that does not bankrupt you

- college savings? start small. First save for 2 years of community college tuition. That takes away the extreme stress and anxiety. Then stretch it to cover - 2 years of in-state public college.
Now, in worse case, your kid can go to CC for 2 years and in-state for next 2 years. Now, stretch for the full 4 years of in-state public college tuition. So on and so forth. Don't think that you have to have 1/2 million of college tuition. It is dumb and it does no favors to you or your kid.

- If you do not have insider knowledge and lots of money - go for an index fund.

- Under 200K is a good HHI. You can choose - retirement, good choice of housing, college. No need to keep up with the Joneses.

- Finally - Invest your time in your health, your kids, your relationships and in acquiring skills and knowledge. You can be very wealthy - but if you raised your kids to be terrible humans, or your relationship/marriage fails, or you have health problems - then I think you are not successful in life.

[Anonymous]

Boggleheads is great, IMO. https://www.bogleheads.org/

[Anonymous]

I'm a fan of Rob Berger's YouTube channel, which covers personal finances and retirement. His website has a list of low-cost financial planners. As always, do your own due diligence.

https://robberger.com/low-cost-financial-advisors/

[Anonymous]

Okay, I'm going to be be the black sheep here, but I'd start at your bank. My DC just started working as a wealth manager at a bank, a job I sort of pooh-poohed TBH because I've been interested in finances since HS, but I have to say that for this kind of investor it could work, even if just for awhile.

There are a lot of new products that aren't available otherwise, and you can meet with a financial planner for free. The manager will sit with you through the entire thing. They really do walk through your goals before they do anything and all plans must go through the bank, and all calls and emails are monitored by AI and flagged for any whiff of violation (like giving advice over email).

A friend of mine just said she's used one at another bank and has had lots of handholding over 15 years (a single doctor).

Now, some are better than others, surely, but my DC has opened my eyes to their benefit for many people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These days, I would also try feeding info to ChatGPT and ask what to do.

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boggleheads is great, IMO. https://www.bogleheads.org/

+1. DCUM kinda sucks for this stuff, Bogleheads is much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, I'm going to be be the black sheep here, but I'd start at your bank. My DC just started working as a wealth manager at a bank, a job I sort of pooh-poohed TBH because I've been interested in finances since HS, but I have to say that for this kind of investor it could work, even if just for awhile.

There are a lot of new products that aren't available otherwise, and you can meet with a financial planner for free. The manager will sit with you through the entire thing. They really do walk through your goals before they do anything and all plans must go through the bank, and all calls and emails are monitored by AI and flagged for any whiff of violation (like giving advice over email).

A friend of mine just said she's used one at another bank and has had lots of handholding over 15 years (a single doctor).

Now, some are better than others, surely, but my DC has opened my eyes to their benefit for many people.

You’re kidding, right? You could have broken up the sales talking points a bit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boggleheads is great, IMO. https://www.bogleheads.org/

I second this. Boggleheads is a great group