Don’t Let Money Get in the Way Of Your Grandchild’s Education
College expenses aren’t what they used to be. What used to be affordable to any student with a part-time summer job now can take years to pay off. If your grandkids want to go to college, the cost of education should not be a barrier to their future. Luckily there are ways that you can help ease that financial burden. There are no limits on age, income, or monetary contributions attached to this college savings account, and contributions are tax-deductible in some states. Just like a Roth IRA, the earnings grow over time and can be used tax-free for qualifying expenses, like tuition and room and board. There are a few downsides, however. Funds from a grandparent’s 529 savings plan are considered student income and could hurt your student’s eligibility for financial aid. If you choose to fund through a parent’s 529 savings plan, which doesn’t count as student income, you Invest in a 529 savings plan. According to PERE, in January, European investors were poised to be the most bullish faction in the real estate market this year. A joint survey conducted by real estate groups around the world found that 91.6% of European investors were eager to expand their holdings, compared with 55.3% of North American investors and 35.5% of those in the Asia-Pacific. Despite appearances, this is actually good news for the American real estate market — which happens to be the preferred playground for European investors. That preference stems from the fact that European real estate markets move slower than those in America, held in check by government interference, a pervasive stay-in-one-place mentality (The Atlantic reports that the average American moves almost three times more frequently than the average European), and barriers to fluidity like variations on currency, tax, and language from place to place.
lose control over the funds you contribute.
Pay their tuition.
Not everybody has $20,000 just lying around, but if you do, using it to pay for your grandchild’s tuition isn’t a bad way to spend it. Normally, annual financial gifts that are exempt from the federal gift tax can’t exceed $15,000, but payments toward someone’s tuition, for any amount, are not taxed. Keep in mind, however,
that the money can only go toward tuition, not toward other college expenses like room and board or textbooks.
thousands of available scholarships, grants, and programs to help students pay for college, and helping them look online and in your community can go a long way. College could be your grandchild's first stop on the path to achieving their dreams. You can be a part of that journey by making sure money doesn’t get in the way of that.
Help them find opportunities to save.
Even if you don’t have thousands of dollars to give, you can still help your grandkids look for other opportunities to save. There are
The Fluidity Factor
Why European Investors Favor U.S. Markets
All of those factors cause friction in the market, making the comparatively volatile U.S. an attractive option by comparison. It’s true that the dollar volume of homes purchased in America by foreign investors dropped significantly from April 2018 through March 2019 as compared to the previous year — a full 36% according to the National Association of Realtors — but the majority of that exodus was made up of Chinese, Canadian, Asian-Indian, and Mexican buyers. Chinese investment alone fell 56%, a statistic that Chinese real estate investment website Juwai. com chalked up to the current political climate in a CNBC interview. With the exception of the U.K., which has seen a slight drop in investment that could be attributed to its own political turmoil over Brexit, European investment in the U.S. real estate market remains strong. Across asset classes, the U.S. is the largest recipient of foreign
investment on the planet, and, as the most historically proven asset class there is, it’s no surprise that real estate remains the market of choice for a large share of those funds. When it comes to investing across the pond from a home base in the U.S., however, do so at your own risk — or at least with an experienced investment company like Jason Hartman in your pocket.
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