According to Sallie Mae’s 2015 How America Saves for College survey, while 89% of parents believe college is an investment in their child’s future, only 27% of savers are using a 529 college savings plan. What’s more, 48% use a traditional savings account, despite the low yield on this type of savings vehicle in today’s current interest rate environment.  529 plans are attractive because parents can invest money in the stock market and, hopefully, grow their savings without facing a taxable event when they use the money for qualified higher education expenses such as tuition, books and room and board.

One of the biggest and most helpful changes to 529 plans for this year is what can now be deducted as a college expense.

According to Rick Castellano, a spokesman at Sallie Mae, in the past, parents weren’t able to deduct computers, tablets and other electronic devices as a qualified education expense, but now they can. When the rules were passed for 529s back some twenty years ago, computer equipment wasn’t found in every classroom and attached to every college student’s hip. Now, it’s almost a requirement on college campuses around the country.

In addition to giving families greater flexibility in terms of what their 529 savings can get them, the government has made it easier for students to take off from school without being penalized. Up until Jan. 1, students who used money from a 529 college savings plan and for whatever reason had to drop out of school with a full refund weren’t allowed to redeposit the money into the 529 savings plan. That meant that if an illness, family emergency or other circumstance prevented the student from attending college, the money that initially went to pay for college would be treated as income and taxed accordingly. “529s treated it as once you get the money, it is a distribution and is a completed transaction,” says Betty Lochner, chair of the College Savings Plans Network.

That all changes this year. Now, students who have to withdraw from college for whatever reason and get their tuition back can reinvest it into the 529 account and avoid a tax bill.

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In today’s video we discuss some of the common investment mistakes made by novice investors and how having a financial advisor would have helped to mitigate these mistakes.

Some examples discussed in the video are cases where someone buys an investment without having a strategy to sell the investment. Or, a strategy is in place, but when the moment to sell arrives the investor “moves the goal posts”, or becomes emotionally caught up in the investment and is unable to make the correct decision. Additionally, novice investors don’t always consider the tax consequences of buying and selling investments.

Many investors seek help in managing investments, but the quality and type of help they seek can vary dramatically depending on one small little detail — who’s paying your adviser? In turn, that begs the question… is your adviser on your side of the table?

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It’s important to understand the nature of the relationship between you, your adviser, and the investments he/she recommends.

Advisers come in three blanket varieties.

1. Fiduciary Advisers: These are advisers that work solely on behalf of the client. This means simply that they accept no payment from any investment or investment company. Their only loyalty is to the client.
2. Brokers: Brokers are simply paid to “broker” a transaction between two parties. They are often paid by both parties to do this. Since they essentially represent both parties in a transaction they actually don’t have any loyalty to one or the other.
3. Agents: Agents are just the opposite from fiduciary advisers. They work solely on behalf of the institution, such as a bank or insurance company. Their loyalty by definition is to their employer, whose products they must represent. If this person sounds like a salesman, it’s because they are.

Recent statistics show ownership of life insurance policies is at the lowest level in decades: One in four consumers have no life insurance at all. One of the biggest problems is many consumers simply have no idea how much life insurance they need or the best place to get it.

So, who needs insurance?

Simply put: If you have anyone in your life who depends on you financially, you need life insurance. While many Americans get life insurance policies through their job, the coverage is usually lower than individual policies and is only in place while they’re employed. Fewer than half of Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 with annual household incomes between $35,000 and $100,000 have their own life insurance policies, according to new data released by the insurance industry group LIMRA. In its survey, most consumers said they were not financially prepared for the death of a family member and would need to make a drastic or significant financial change if that occurred.

So how much insurance is enough?

Some experts say you should have enough life insurance to cover five to 10 times your annual income (especially if you have a young family), but often that’s just a guess. The answer really depends on how much money your family and/or dependents will need after you’re gone.

There are three key steps to take to determine the amount of life insurance that is right for you:

Evaluate your family’s needs. How much money does it take to run your household? Do you have unpaid medical bills, a mortgage balance and/or outstanding debts? Don’t forget to add funeral expenses and possible estate taxes to the mix. Life insurance policies can pay immediate expenses, including medical costs, as well as funeral bills, taxes, mortgage payments and other debts. The equivalent of all of that will get you close to the amount of life insurance you may need.

Consider future financial obligations. You should also have enough coverage to pay for future financial obligations. If you intend to help pay for college for your kids, say, factor in pending tuition bill and fees as well. Outline your family’s cash-flow needs as well as financial goals. Add it all up to figure out the estimated amount of money that your survivors would need.

Tally up the resources. Now look at the money that would be available. What is your spouse’s income? Do you have long- and/or short-term savings? Add up the balances in your 401(k)s, IRAs, 529 college savings plan, emergency reserves and estimated Social Security survivor benefits, as well as any existing life insurance policies (perhaps through your employer).