Leaving a Legacy by Assisting with Family College Expenses with Maria MacDougal

EP 017: In this episode of The Retirement Success in Maine Podcast, we are joined by Maria MacDougal of the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME). Maria is a College Access Counselor who serves the eight central Maine counties; traveling to high schools, colleges, and businesses, talking about planning and paying for education after high school, furthermore presenting on topics related to financial literacy, from budgeting & saving, to understanding banking and credit, and more. Many of our clients express to that they want to leave behind an educational legacy to their next generations by helping with education expenses, so we thought Maria would be a perfect guest to talk to this topic. What are the pros and cons of our kids and grandkids attending school after high school? How can someone go about paying for a family member’s school? How does someone take into account forecasted rising costs that may not be funded until 18+ years in the future? For the answers to these questions and more, be sure to tune in!

Chapters

Welcome, Maria! [3:16]

What is FAME and what kind of services do you provide? [10:50]

What are the post-high school options that someone may have? [21:22]

Is a college degree really worth it, considering all of the debt I went into to attain it? [23:20]

What are the different ways someone can save on education expenses? [35:43]

How can you forecast how much to save, considering the rising costs of education? [42:59]

How can someone who is saving for their own retirement, still help with their kid’s or grandkid’s education expenses? [45:18]

Taking into account these uncertain times (COVID-19), and someone who may now want to invest in their own education, later in life, how can that process work? [50:20]

What is Retirement Success for Maria? [56:09]

Ben, Abby, and Curtis wrap-up the episode. [58:28]