Episode Details

Brad Baldridge breaks down how real estate investors and business owners can legally reduce college costs — using income control, asset positioning, and tax strategy.

In this episode of RealDealChat, Jack Hoss sits down with Brad Baldridge, financial advisor and college planning specialist at Taming the High Cost of College, to unpack one of the most overlooked financial planning opportunities for real estate investors — using their assets and income control to dramatically reduce what they pay for their kids' college education.

Brad covers:

• Why families come too late — and the ideal planning runway (sophomore year of high school)
• The difference between need-based aid and merit aid — and why elite private schools can actually be cheaper than you think
• Why real estate investors and business owners have levers W-2 employees simply don't have
• How to use income control, bonus timing, and salary adjustments to improve your FAFSA position
• Why investment real estate must be reported as an asset (at net value, not gross) — and what that actually means for your aid calculation
• How to shift income and assets to your student to unlock tax credits that phase out at higher income levels
• Real case study: a teacher's family inherited $500K and still qualified for a full ride by repositioning assets correctly
• Real case study: an engineering manager calculated that paying full price for NYU cost him 3 extra years of work — and decided that was fine
• Why applying to five schools of the same type is one of the most common and costly mistakes families make
• How to vet a college financial advisor — and why most people don't know to ask about the CSS profile vs. FAFSA
• Brad's take on AI: useful for research, not yet replacing expertise — and why the "AI will take all the jobs" panic is overblown
• Niching down: how becoming the college planning specialist transformed Brad's financial advisory practice

This episode is for:

• Real estate investors who have kids approaching college age
• Business owners who want to understand how income control affects financial aid
• Any parent who wants to stop leaving money on the table when paying for college

🔗 Learn more: https://taminghighcostofcollege.com

#CollegePlanning #CollegeCosts #RealEstateInvesting #FinancialPlanning #FAFSAStrategies #RealDealChat #CollegeFinancialAid #BusinessOwner #MeritAid #CollegeSavings

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