Money, Markets & Wealth · Education savings
Savings 101
Educational overview of 529 plans and education savings basics.
- 529 plan basics
- Account type comparison
- Timeline + contribution planning
- Tax-treatment overview
- Q&A with parents
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Talk to an advisor about Savings 101.
Free consultation, no obligation.
What this program is
College funding is a subject families meet twice: once vaguely, when a child is small and the number seems distant, and once urgently, in the spring of senior year when the offers arrive and the gap is real. The gap between those two moments is where all the useful decisions live, and most of them are simple once somebody explains the vocabulary.
This workshop explains it. What a 529 plan is and how it differs from a regular brokerage or savings account; how contributions, growth and qualified withdrawals are treated; what happens to unused funds; how savings interact with financial aid formulas; and how families typically combine scholarships, need-based aid, merit aid, savings and, when necessary, borrowing.
It is a workshop, not a sales seminar. No plan, provider or product is recommended, no adviser is introduced for a fee, and the session on aid formulas is deliberately blunt about which assets are counted and which are not — the part that most affects a family and is least often explained clearly.
What the workshop covers
The real number
Sticker price versus net price, why almost nobody pays the published figure, and how to use a school's net price calculator before applying rather than after being admitted.
529 plans and the alternatives
How education savings accounts work — contributions, growth, qualified expenses, withdrawals and what happens to unused balances — and how they compare with taxable accounts, custodial accounts and plain savings.
Financial aid mechanics
FAFSA and CSS Profile timelines, which assets and incomes are assessed and at what rates, whose assets count, and the common ownership decisions that change the outcome.
Scholarships and merit aid
Where merit money actually comes from, the difference between institutional and outside scholarships, renewability conditions, and how a stronger test score can change the aid package as much as the admission decision.
Borrowing, if it comes to that
Federal versus private education loans, subsidised versus unsubsidised, parent borrowing, and how to reason about a total borrowing figure against a likely starting salary.
Building your own funding estimate
Assembling a timeline for your family: what is saved, what is likely to be awarded, what the gap is, and which levers remain open at your child's current age.
Format and logistics
- Live online workshop, plus a 1:1 follow-up option
- Two 90-minute sessions
- Funding estimate worksheet and an aid-timeline calendar
- Parents and guardians; students welcome
- None
- College Planning, where the list and the budget meet
What you leave with
- A funding estimate for your own family and timeline
- A dated aid calendar covering FAFSA, CSS and institutional deadlines
- Clarity on how your savings will be treated by aid formulas
- The questions to ask a financial aid office and get a straight answer
Pricing
Pricing for this program depends on format, cadence and length, so we quote it on the consultation call rather than publishing a number that would be wrong for most families. Ask an advisor — the call is free and there is no obligation.
Common questions
Please read before enrolling
Educational program only. KPM Academy is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, or tax adviser, and nothing in this program is a recommendation to buy or sell any security or to take any particular financial action. Consult a licensed professional before acting on anything you learn here.
Educational content and coaching only — not investment, tax, or legal advice. KPM Academy is not a registered investment adviser.
The College Funding Guide
Six sections plus a worksheet
Ready to start?
Book a free 20-minute consultation. We'll review goals, timeline, and recommend a coach.
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