FAP906: Parent loans, tax refunds, free stuff, Black Lab
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Weekly Financial Aid Roundup
Breaking – the Department of Education has canceled PLUS loan auctions.
Through a notice in the Federal Register of March 3, 2009, the Department established an April 1, 2009 deadline for the submission of pre-qualification requests under the Competitive Loan Auction Pilot Program for Parent PLUS Loans, relating to loans to be made for loan periods beginning on or after July 1, 2009 and ending on or before June 30, 2011. In order for …

Daily Aid 111: How to increase your education tax refund
Student Financial Aid News
From NASFAA and the Seattle PI:
“In the wake of the governor’s proposal to raise college tuition by 30 percent over two years, University of Washington students and administrators are trying to find ways to blunt the financial impact on families,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. “One possible solution is federal money. The economic stimulus plan President Obama signed in February expanded tax credits to low- and middle-class families who are paying for higher education. ‘That’s the magical one,’ UW spokesman …

FAP890: Expert interview with financial aid consultant Reecy Aresty
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In today’s interview, Reecy Aresty makes a return to the podcast with tips on moving around money for maximizing financial aid, a look at fixed equity indexed annuities, and much more.
Disclosure: neither Reecy nor I are certified financial planners or CPAs. With a lot of the more complex financial stuff he talks about, you will definitely want to hire a CPA to make sure you’re 100% in compliance with all federal, state, and local tax laws.
Learn …

Daily Aid 28: FAFSA Secrets and Hidden Traps
A special blog post while I’m on the road to Arizona for a couple of days off – and yes, vacation for me is doing public speaking! I’ve been working on the 2009-2010 FAFSA guide for the coming year over the past week or so, learning the ins and outs of IRS tax code, the new draft FAFSA (which won’t be finalized until November), and a bunch of stuff that goes with it all. Some interesting lessons I’ve picked up so far:
The FAFSA …

Daily Aid 6: Warren Buffett, FDIC, student loan settlements, savings bonds
Student Financial Aid News
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo settled with Nelnet (ticker: NNI), Campus Door (ticker: LEH), GMAC Bank (ticker: GMAC), NextStudent, Xanthus Financial Services, EduCap, and Graduate Loan Associates for $1.5 million in a lawsuit against deceptive student loan marketing practices.
From the Wall Street Journal:
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (ticker: BRKA) has told one of its subsidiaries to stop insuring bank deposits above the amount guaranteed by the federal government, dealing a fresh blow to the financial-services …

April 15 is the deadline for filing a federal tax return. But not everybody can meet that deadline. If you need more time to get your paperwork in, make sure you file a Form 4868, Automatic Extension of Time to File, with the IRS by the April 15 deadline and you’ll get an automatic six-month extension of time to file. The extension gives you until Oct. 15 to file the tax return.
Remember, a delay in filing your tax return will also delay your receipt of your economic stimulus payment, if you …

FAP721: Expert interview with tax author Barbara Weltman
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Expert Interview
+ Barbara Weltman of the JK Lasser Institute
+ Barbara Weltman is an attorney, a nationally recognized expert on tax and small business, and a member of the J.K. Lasser Institute Team of Editors & Writers. Barbara has written dozens of top-selling business books, including J.K. Lasser’s Small Business Taxes 2008: Your Complete Guide to a Better Bottom Line, J.K. Lasser’s 1001 Deductions and Tax Breaks 2008: Your Complete Guide to Everything Deductible, The Complete Idiot’s Guide …

FAP508: The student loan scandal widens, scholarship for social justice, mail bag, Rayko KRB
Student Financial Aid News
+ Pretty much an OS day in the news.
+ Disclaimer: the opinions in this show are mine and not representative of the Student Loan Network.
+ The cover story from Inside Higher Ed: When Andrew M. Cuomo started asking questions about the relationships between lenders and colleges, many in higher education scoffed (off the record) that this was a case of an ambitious politician looking for headlines and that there wasn’t much for his inquiry …

FAP460: What students need to know for filing IRS taxes and the 1040, Latino scholarships, Citigroup and Sears, Laura Hughes
Student Financial Aid News
+ Too many people are paying down their Sears credit cards, much to the dismay of Citigroup Inc.
+ When Citi [ticker: C”>MP3 file purchased the portfolio three years ago, there were $29 billion of outstandings. That has dropped 20%, to $23 billion as of Dec. 31. Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince went as far as to say that the Sears portfolio is having a “real drag” on Citi’s …

FAP458: Audio blog about Massachusetts College Goal Sunday, David McMillin
A very different Financial Aid Podcast today, more like an audio blog than a “show”. I talk about my experiences with Massachusetts College Goal Sunday and the FAFSA form, address some of the shortcomings of the federal aid process, and thank all of my new friends at MASFAA for letting me be a part of the team.
Please get in touch if you met me yesterday!
Podsafe Music
+ David McMillin, Goodbye Southern Skies
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
Reminders
+ Private student loans
+ Stafford …