Here's What We're Talking About This Week! A girl recently contacted me, asking me to explain to her how she could wrestle control of her 529 college savings plan away from her parents. "They are unreliable and untrustworthy," she told me. "What!?" I thought. "Are...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! "We need to see you right away," the anxious mom told me on the phone, her voice shaking. "Our son is $40,000 in debt from a history degree he's not going to complete, and now he's changing his major to music performance. At...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! It was 8:35 am on a Saturday, and I was standing at a whiteboard in a large classroom—drawing diagrams I'd need for the class I was about to teach. From behind me I heard a young male voice. "Hi, I'm early. I wanted to say hi...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! One of the best money-saving ideas I suggest for college students is, "Don't take a car to college." Most college campuses provide easy access to safe public transportation—and when a student really needs a car she can always...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! Your child's headed off to college this fall—and you're wondering how you're going to get all the boxes and totes from your house to there. Or maybe your child's moving out of a college residence hall soon, heading off to...

I'm spending Memorial Day having as much fun as I possibly can—and I hope you are too. Whenever I take time off like this, I like to point you to some of my most helpful articles that you may have missed. This gives you a chance to catch up—right on a week when you...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! During high school, your teen didn't have to think much about how to make friends. Friendships developed naturally out of middle school connections, and with any luck they flourished in the classrooms and activities that were...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! If your child has even a relatively minor medical problem, he or she may qualify for medical-based financial aid to help pay for college. The key thing to know is—medical-based financial aid isn't applied for the regular way...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! Are you parenting a teen or a college student with a disability of any kind? If you are, you need to know about the wonderful services offered by the disability services office on your child's college campus. Whether your...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! Many parents have only one strategy for lowering college costs. Send the kid to the local state university. But is your local state university actually your bargain option—considering all the factors involved? The hidden...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! The last thing you want is for your child to make a series of expensive higher ed decisions, and then regret them later. How can you help your kids to avoid making regrettable higher ed decisions? An epidemic of regret Regret...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! Psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud, co-author of the life-changing Boundaries books and The Mom Factor, says that today’s moms will do more good for their families by giving up “the Supermom model of motherhood, which never worked...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! From the time students are in middle school, they're told the big lie. That colleges and grad schools are looking for students who are "well-rounded." "Don't commit too deeply to any one thing," well-meaning parents and...

I'm spending President's Day with my dear husband, who also has the day off today. Yipppeee! Whenever I take time off like this, I like to point you to some of my most helpful recent articles that you may have missed. This gives you a chance to catch up—right on a...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! If you haven't yet signed up your 10th or 11th grader to take college classes in high school next fall—it's OK. It may not be too late. "Tell me more about students taking real college classes in high school." In the majority...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! The last thing you want to do is raise a child who's just a dull drone, pouring out memorized facts as though facts have the power to save the world. You want to raise a child who will be valued in a future workplace for...

Here's What We're Talking About This Week! Recently I got such a great question from a mom. I’m hoping many parents will benefit from hearing why I told her, “No, I don’t.” Jeannie, I was wondering if you do coaching for students looking to study for the SAT and ACT...