FINANCIAL HOUSEKEEPING | Finding the best 529 plan
Consumers saving for their children’s college education have so many choices in education-savings programs that picking the best one can be a tough choice.
created an online tool that helps match parents with the best plans for them. Even if the recommendation is not one that the consumer follows, the program is helpful because it gives a quick-and-dirty assessment of the saver’s home-state program and points them in other directions.
You can go directly to the tool by setting your Web browser to .
SHORT COURSE | Debt vs. deficit
Two of the most frequently confused financial terms are debt and deficit.
A deficit occurs when expenditures exceed revenues. In recent years, the federal government has operated at a deficit – tax revenue fell far short of the money the government was spending. In some years earlier, the government operated at a surplus.
Whenever a government operates with a deficit, it borrows money to make up the difference, creating a national debt.
The national debt – also known as the public debt – is the outstanding amount of all federal government borrowings, plus interest.
