Posts by Bryan Dewhurst

The goal of parenting is, of course, raising solid, self-sufficient kids into adulthood. We’ve been exploring a bunch of different ways to do that, from money set aside in Roth or Traditional IRAs, to helping kids understand what it takes to run a business. With this article, we are going to focus on a variation…

Ok, it’s soapbox time. We’re going to get into yet another area where our Uncommon approach varies from the conventional wisdom out there. You are probably familiar with the line of thinking that you should take more risks when you are younger because you can afford to lose money and rebuild. You have time. But…

In our previous post, we talked about the value of work. We stand by that, but, of course, we also have an uncommon twist to this idea – what if your college-bound child treated applying for scholarships and grants like a job? It may sound a little bit far-fetched, but it’s not. If a high…

You have started saving—or maybe you haven’t—for your kid’s future. The idea of saving enough for education or whatever next step your children choose beyond high school is a big source of anxiety for many people. The good news is that your kids can definitely help with this financial equation. One way they can help…

As parents, most of us have kids that participate in extra-curricular activities whether its soccer, band, gymnastics, drama or anything in between. In all of those activities our kids have a coach; someone who is teaching them and guiding them toward mastery of that activity. But something is missing from this picture of teaching and…

As a retirement savings vehicle, almost everyone has at least one IRA. And the Roth IRA has become a very popular option when it comes to planning for your children’s future. Let’s take a closer look at how to use these products to the best advantage for college and adulthood planning for your kids. We’re…

To be honest, we are not huge fans of the Coverdell ESA. Beyond limiting you to funding educational endeavors alone, there are some other pitfalls that people can fall into if they don’t understand the Coverdell rules. That said, it remains a popular instrument. It can be used not just for college expenses, but for…

What if you could teach your kids about investing with a real-life, real-time investment instrument? That’s what Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA) and Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts are. As you can imagine, we love to educate our kids about money. So, for that reason, we find UGMA and UTMA accounts fascinating.…

If you are planning on sending your children to college, you have probably heard of 529 plans. Named for Section 529 of the Federal Tax Code, a 529 plan is a college savings account that’s exempt from federal taxes. They have become wildly popular. While they can only be used to fund higher education, there…