By: Ann Arceo, CFP®

As parents, we want what’s best for our kids and education is top of the list for many of us. Of course we had no way of knowing that this year would disrupt and change so many of our plans. From an economic downturn to school closures, 2020 is a year we won’t soon forget. As we’ve scrambled to adjust our family routine to make this school year work, it can be easy to put off planning for a future goal like college that’s years down the road.

If you can relate to that feeling, you’re not alone. A recent CNBC article highlighted a survey showing “16% of parents saving for college paused their contributions” while 13% reduced contributions and 17% planned to withdraw funds” because of financial concerns due to the pandemic. Worrying about your finances during this time is certainly understandable, but the one rule parents should keep in mind when saving for college or any major financial goal is that time is one of your biggest assets. By starting early, you’ll ultimately need to save less given that your money will have time to grow. So if you’ve started saving and stopped or even if you haven’t started saving at all, the 4 steps below can help you make a plan and get on track.

Just as summer plans have shifted, I thought I’d shift to talk about ways to enjoy the opportunities for entertainment and relaxation you can find around you.

The products available to us in the financial and healthcare industry can be confusing. So, with the use of Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA’s), we are combining the two worlds and this can be overwhelming when trying to pick a health care plan.

Did you know that this week is both fraud protection and simplify your life week? I don’t know about you, but I feel like this is a contradiction of terms. It seems that in order to protect myself from fraud, I have to create very complex passwords, wary of whom my information is going to, and often increasing the complexity of my life. In this weeks edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner Becky Eason (aka Partridge) discusses how marry these two concepts.

In this week's edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner and CFP® Will Morrison discusses the journey to find happiness, the science of “happier spending,” and how he’s implementing it in his life. Perhaps he will give you ideas on how to implement it into your life?

In this weeks edition of Monday Morning Quarter-Buck, Financial Planner Kerrie Beene, CFP® discussed building wealth by keeping your spending “in control.” We all have busy lives and often do the “next thing” that is needed without realizing how much that is actually costing us.

Time to talk about getting vegetables on a budget!