College financial planning workshop Sept. 19 Learn long-range and crisis financial strategies for funding a student's college tuition, including financial aid sources and how to apply for financial aid, at a college financial planning seminar from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Aurora Central Library, 14949 E. Alameda Parkway. The seminar, presented by Berkshire Advisor Resource, Inc., also will address the forms and applications required in seeking financial aid, how to negotiate the best possible aid package regardless of financial situation, and facts vs. fiction related to the financial aid process. The seminar is free, but registration is required. To register, call the Aurora Central Library at 303-739-6630. .

Workers Cite Biggest Financial Planning Regrets: Saving Too Little ... DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 2006--When it comes to saving for retirement, are American workers and retirees a day late and a dollar short? According to the latest Principal Financial Well-Being Index(SM), nearly half of American adult workers (45 percent) and a third of retirees (32 percent) surveyed indicated that their biggest financial planning regret was they started saving too late. Around one-quarter of respondents (27 percent of workers; 22 percent of retirees) said they regretted saving too little in their early working years. Others said they had regrets over going it alone and managing on their own when it comes to financial planning (9 percent of workers and 10 percent of retirees). The index, which surveys American adult workers at growing businesses with 10 to 1,000 employees, is released each quarter by the Principal Financial Group(R) and conducted by Harris Interactive(R).

FINANCIAL PLANNING: Seniors can use IRA for charity A provision in the pension reform legislation President Bush signed last month will make it easier for older people to donate money in their Individual Retirement Accounts to charity. The provision, which is effective only for 2006 and 2007, allows individuals who are 70 1/2 or older to take tax-free withdrawals from their IRAs as long as that money goes directly to charity. There are, of course, some rules you must follow to take advantage of this tax break. Among them: The IRA distribution must go directly to the charity. Private foundations and donor-advised funds are not eligible for tax-free IRA distributions. The maximum tax-free distribution you can make is $100,000 a year, and the provision is limited to 2006 and 2007. Talk about this and more on the Courier-Post forums! or send a letter to the editor.