Many families question whether to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You might think you’ve saved enough for college, or that your income and assets are too high to qualify for aid. With all the talk of how much Americans owe in student loan debt—$1.78 trillion as of the first quarter of 2023—you might think it’s better to avoid expensive schools than to borrow. If your child is going to college in 2024, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) opens on October 1st. Here are five reasons to fill it out—and why I often recommend it.

Are we still on Recession Watch? If they are following the financial news and hoping for clarity, it is confusing times. We are in the same place we’ve been for the last six months to a year. The economy remains strong with some signs of slowing although job creation continues. Meanwhile the markets are trying to figure out where we are. So, yes we are on Recession Watch but aren’t we always. There’s always a recession ahead. The problem is nobody ever knows when.

You might think your kids are too young to understand money. But the reality is that most of us pick up our money habits in childhood. We learn by exposure: how our parents model personal finance is how we learn. That means the earlier you start teaching your children about money, the more comfortable they’ll be managing it in adulthood. Here are four tips to foster good habits early.