New financial aid tool helps families determine whether they will qualify for federal financial aid

Last month, the federal government launched a new online tool to help families predict whether they’ll qualify for federal financial aid. Called the FAFSA4caster, it’s modeled on the government’s official aid application, the FAFSA (which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

The FAFSA4caster estimates a family’s expected family contribution to college costs and notes whether a family will qualify for the federal Pell grant program, allowing families to plan ahead for the cost of college. To use the tool, parents will need to enter their child’s Social Security number, as well as their own tax and financial information.

Which Direction to Go?

As a work at home professional, I’m in a quandry that I’m sure many work at home professionals have faced before.

I have clients requesting a service, but I don’t know if I want to provide it or not. 

The service they are requesting is accounting/bookkeeping support for a certain niche (I’m not ready to reveal that niche just yet).  It’s a niche that I am definitely qualified for and interested in, but I’m much more interested in providing tax planning to this niche than accounting support. 

Here are some pros and cons of providing this service…

Morning Roundup

Here are some articles and blogs worth sharing this Tuesday morning…

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity plays devil’s advocate and tells us why we don’t need an emergency fund.

Jenny and Patrick McKinney at About.com have 5 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Retirement Plan.

FIRE Finance shows us How to Waive the $20 Service Fees on Vanguard Funds.

Free Money Finance talks about Saving on Your Car Insurance by Keeping Your Credit Score High. 

Another great post by Free Money Finance on How to Save on Health Care Costs in Retirement.

10+ Ways to Save on Fuel

by Jenny McKinney and Patrick McKinney, Retirement Planning Guides at About.com

Your Home Costs More than the Mortgage Payment

Since purchasing my first home a couple of years ago, I’ve learned that the cost of owning a home is much more than a mortgage payment.

In addition to your new mortgage payment, you also have to pay real estate taxes and homeowners insurance – okay these two are probably part of your mortgage payment – but then you have a whole new world of expenses you’ve never encountered before.

As a homeowner, you have to pay utilities, repairs and maintenance, you may need to buy appliances and furniture, and you have to either take care of the yard or pay someone else to do it.  Not to mention the home improvements that you’re dying to make!

Weekly Roundup

As much as I enjoy blogging, I find that I don’t have nearly enough time to write as I’d like.  I love reading other blogs though.  Since there are so many great personal finance blogs out there, I’ve decided to do a weekly roundup of my favorite posts, in addition to the posts that I write myself (when I have time…).

Here are my favorite blog posts this week:

• Money Smart Life tells us how he earned a 1,359% return in one hour on eBay
• Free Money Finance shares a survey conducted by the Consumer Reports Money Advisor recently.  The question: ‘Where would you cut your household budget first?‘

Five Ways to Find Extra Cash Today

Do you need extra cash to pay off credit card debts?  To go on vacation?  Just to make ends meet?

Here are five ways to find extra cash today:

1. Adjust your withholding.  Do you typically get a large tax refund?  Instead of giving Uncle Sam an interest free loan each year, why not reduce your withholding so that you get more back with each paycheck?
2. Refinance your mortgage and other loans.  We are experiencing some of the lowest interest rates in our history.  Now’s a great time to refinance mortgages and car loans to lower interest rates.  Lower interest rates mean lower payments and more cash in your pocket for other things.