Taxes, Tuition and Time

Yesterday was all about getting the taxes finished. I have to have them complete so that my daughters can complete the FAFSA and apply for scholarships. Fortunately, they weren't too complicated this year.

I love being able to e-file the taxes. It seems much faster. The software asks questions which makes it easy. The entire process is relatively painless. I think Free-File is great! If you qualify, you must go to www.irs.gov and pick a software vendor from there. If you go directly to the software site, it won't allow you to free-file. I just love modern technology!

With that done, it was time to work on some scholarship and financial aid info for my daughters. My oldest is attending a private college in another state and my youngest will attend the same school next year. I was really surprised to learn in our search for colleges that the private colleges often have financial aid packages which make them more affordable than public universities. That is certainly the case with the college my girls have chosen. I am not wealthy. I could not afford the tuition which is close to my annual salary. However, between scholarships and grants, the cost was reduced to less than what I would pay for them to attend a state univ. Talk about a bargain!

Right now, I'm working with the financial aid office to have them re-evaluate my oldest daughter's financial aid package. We had a change in our financial situation which made a significant change to our income from what was reported on the FAFSA used to make the determination. It's important to know that if this happens, the financial aid office can re-evaluate. It's crucial to notify them as soon as possible and provide them as much information as possible. It's a slightly painstaking process, but well worth the effort. I'll have all of that ready to mail next week.

It's hard core scholarship season. I'm cracking the whip daily to make sure my daughters are applying for scholarships. Every little bit helps. They both have a goal of trying to have everything paid for through scholarships and grants. This would leave their college fund available to help pay for graduate school, for which it is more difficult to receive funding. I appreciate their goal. I think it's entirely do-able. My goal, is simply to have their schooling remain affordable!

Time...really does fly by. It seems that it wasn't long ago I was completing scholarship applications myself. I recall when my daughters were little thinking about them heading off to college and it seemed so far away. Now that it's here, where has all the time gone? Perhaps, I should learn to be more frugal with my time.