Congratulations on your graduation! So what are you going to do now?

Does this sound familiar? Most likely you received a great deal of advice and questions about your future plans during graduation celebrations. Before tackling the next part of your life, I suggest taking a few minutes to do some life planning, specifically financial planning. Life planning should cover what you would like to do and accomplish, your career desires, spiritual goals and how you will support your dreams financially. Use your plan to help guide your daily choices.

Many young adults get bogged down trying to start their financial lives believing they can pick up where their parents left off. They can get in over their heads in debt trying to live a lifestyle that doesn't match their reality. The following are my thoughts to help you fulfill your potential and make your life personally rewarding and financially secure.

Another school year is here. For some this means new experiences at college.

When coursework gets difficult, some students will wonder, "is it really worth it?". The answer is still YES! A recent Pew Research Center survey and the U.S. Census bureau found on average, college graduates earn $20,000 per year more than those who did not attend college. Over 86% of graduates say the experience was well worth the effort. Besides from financial benefits graduates say they grew intellectually and matured as a person.

Financial advisors are often asked if parents should pay for their children's college education or tell them to get loans.

My experience is that this is not only a financial decision. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and others to model values and encourage good habits in their children.

You just returned from seeing Megan in her first starring role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. Her teachers say she really does have unusual talent.

Megan loves her acting classes and it's starting to look like Broadway, London or the screen might be in her future. You know that getting there will take instruction and college to assure she has a chance to make it. Do you know what four years in New York might cost or how to cover these costs?

529 plans offer a way to put aside significant savings for education.

There are a number of ways to save for higher education expenses. Given the substantial amount of money required it pays to start early and enlist the help of others, such as grandparents and relatives, in achieving this goal. For a child born in 2003, planning to attend a four-year public college would need to accumulate $160,341 in 18 years, assuming costs rise at a 6% rate. The monthly savings required to reach this goal would be $506, $412, or $332, assuming 4%, 6%, and 8% returns, respectively. For a private school the amount required could be 2 ½ times as much. Some financing vehicles include scholarships and grants, financial aid, and tax advantaged savings programs. Savings programs include UTMA/UGMA, Coverdell accounts and 529 plans. I will only cover 529 plans here as they have significantly more flexibility and allow greater savings while still being sheltered.

Continuing to look at higher education savings options, this month we will look at Coverdell ESAs.

Originally these were titled Education IRAs. When updated in 2002 they became more attractive as an education savings vehicle.

Advantages:
•    Can be utilized for primary and secondary education expenses.
•    Works similar to a Roth IRA in that contributions are made on a post tax basis and all withdrawals are tax free.
•    A Coverdell ESA can be rolled over into a 529 plan if desired.

This month we will look at Uniform Gifts to Minors (UGMA) and Uniform Transfer to Minors (UTMA) acts.

These two acts are similar with the primary differences being that the Transfer act accounts are allowed to include real estate and partnerships. The Transfer act also allows the custodian to designate when ownership is transferred to the child, with a maximum age of 25.