Financial Specialist Shares Ways to Help Your Child
While Protecting Your Retirement

From $20,000 to $65,000 a year - that's the tuition cost for one year of college, says John McDonough, a money expert who helps retirees and parents plan for their families' futures.

"For the 2012-2013 academic year, the average cost for an in-state public college is $22,261. A moderate budget for a private college averaged $43,289," says McDonough, CEO of Studemont Group College Funding Solutions, www.studemontgroup.com. "But for elite schools, we're talking about three times the cost of your local state school. Either way, your kid's higher education can easily shoot into six figures after four years."

Along with worrying about rising tuition prices, parents also fear for their own futures if their retirement savings are drained by children's college costs, McDonough says. Only 14 percent, for example, are very confident they'll have the money to live comfortably in retirement, he says, citing a 2012 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

"Families feel they're faced with conflicting goals, but there are numerous ways to pay for college while investing in your future retirement," says McDonough, who offers insights for parents to keep in mind while planning for their child's education:

• The ROI of a college education: At a time when so many American families are financially strapped, college is an especially stressful topic because parents know higher learning will help their kids succeed. College graduates earn 84 percent than those with only a high school diploma, according to Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. Here is how earning breaks down over one's life time, based on education: a doctoral degree-holder will earn $3.3 million over a lifetime; $2.3 million is estimated for a college graduate; those with only a high school diploma can expect $1.3 million.

• Move retirement assets to qualify for grants: Most parents know about the 529 savings account, but that's not necessarily the best or only option. Reallocating your retirement assets, such as 401(k)s, can better position a child to qualify for grants and scholarships. This legal and ethical maneuvering may be the single most important factor when considering how to pay for college.

• Know your student's strengths and weaknesses: Consider independent and objective analysis of your future college student. Assessment might include a personality profile and a detailed search for a future career. Also think about a more nuts-and-bolts approach, including scholarship eligibility, SAT and ACT prep courses, review of admissions essays and an in-depth analysis of chances for enrollment in a student's top four choices of colleges.

• Make a checklist of financial aid forms: In order to maximize a fair price of higher education, remember there is plenty of data to review. McDonough recommends a checklist with a timeline and notable deadlines. Be ready to troubleshoot the "alphabet soup" of data forms: FAFSA - Free Application For Federal Student Aid; CSS profile - College Scholarship Service; SAR - Student Aid Report; and more. Think about this process as a second job, or find professional help you can trust.

About John McDonough

John McDonough is the managing member at Studemont Group, which is primarily focused on helping retirees gain peace of mind with unique market rescue and recovery programs. He is also founder, president and CEO of Studemont Group College Funding Solutions. His experience in the financial services industry includes managing partner at Granite Harbor Advisors in Houston and divisional vice president of AXA Equitable/AXA Advisors, the third largest insurance company in the world. McDonough is a member of the prestigious Forum 400, a qualifier at the Court of the Table qualifier for Million Dollar Round Table, an active member in National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Society of Financial Service Professionals, as well as American Association of Life Underwriters. He has completed the course work to sit for the Certified Financial Planner® professional designation exam from Rice University.

Market Analyst Shares 5 Tips for Institutions, Traders & Anyone
Else Dealing with Lifestyle Changes & Money Flux

You don't have to be a trader on the world's markets to experience the financial roller coaster, says mathematician Lambros Klouvidakis.

"The world has struggled in recent years to absorb the many stresses and negative influences on global markets and everyone's affected. Look at the senior citizens who lost as much as 40 percent of their retirement investments!" he says. "At one point during the crisis, the Dow Jones Industrial lost 50 percent of its value in less than a week; unemployment shop up more than 5 percentage points and consumer spending, at its worst, dropped by 50 percent."

Traders, however, gain and lose on a regular basis, and we can learn a lot from their experience, Klouvidakis says.

The Canadian market analyst has spent more than 12 years, producing more than 9,000 pages of notes, developing a formula called Semathy (www.semathy.com) that accurately calculates forthcoming exchange rates. Videos on his site document the time of his foresights and when stocks hit enumerated targets. And yes - he's counting on more downs, and ups, ahead for all of us.

Klouvidakis offers tips for traders and anyone else experiencing major shifts in their finances:

· Set the right tone immediately. If you've lost a chunk of money and your lifestyle is already compromised, understand that you can get it back. Rather than wasting energy trying to blame someone or something, focus your efforts on problem-solving. Not only does this mindset put time to good use, it also diverts you from negative and painful feelings. On the flip side, if you have recently come into a large amount of money, smart investments and shrewd spending are equally important.

· Take stock of your human assets. Remember, you have important assets that don't show up on the net worth statement. Education, experience, skills and knowledge are hard to put a dollar value on, but don't overlook them as a resource. Talk to other traders about ways to use strengths and skills during this time of income change and in the future.

· Share the burden & ask for advice. During times of stress, the support of friends and acquaintances is critical. New traders, for example, have difficulty revealing their vulnerability and inexperience to more seasoned traders, but when they do, they open the door to receiving excellent advice. The same is true for those who are not marketplace professionals but need encouragement.

· Accept change and uncertainty (be flexible). Income changes require that we prepare for a journey of uncertainty. We often cling to the very things that hold us back. Traders who adjust well to change know when to hold on to a position and when to let go. Many of us grew up believing strength meant holding on, when it often takes more strength to let go and move on.

· Don't forget your family. Trading, looking for a job or studying for a new career can be consuming, but even when things have gone bad ? especially when things have gone bad ? stay involved with your family and create stability at home. What's good for the family is also good for you. In difficult times, new traders tend to take others for granted and forget to provide the attention they need and deserve. If necessary, make a strong conscious effort to pull together with family and work through tough times.

About Lambros Klouvidakis

Lambros Klouvidakis is the creator of Semathy, an elite foreign exchange consultancy. He is a math expert who has dedicated 12 years of his life to the study of currency exchange behavior. The formula he developed, an algorithm based on the behavior of money and supply and demand, marks current Foreign Exchange rates versus forthcoming rates. The Semathy formula is designed to give financial institutions and governments the ability to capitalize on the foreign exchange market's unique qualities and make viable trading decisions.

Tips for Growing Farm-fresh Herbs & Veggies in the City

Improvements in container gardening equipment and techniques have cleared the way for even the most "brown thumb" city dwellers, and anyone without a yard, to grow their own groceries.

"There's nothing to stop anyone who wants a garden from having one," says Roy Joulus, CEO of Greenbo, www.greenbo.co, a company that designs award-winning innovative products for urban gardening including the new Greenbo XL flowerbox.

"Plants add a great deal to our quality of life - from cleaning the air we breathe to keeping us in touch with nature. Fresh, home-grown herbs and vegetables not only taste so much better than supermarket produce, they're convenient, and you know exactly where they came from and what was used, or not used, on them."

While hydroponic and vertical gardening systems have been developed to maximize the yield in small spaces, Joulus says starting a balcony garden needn't cost much. Start with the right materials and choose plants that are right for your conditions, and you'll soon be eating from the pots on your porch.

He offers these tips especially for balcony gardeners:

Plant the right plants for the amount of sunlight you have:

Most herbs and vegetables require six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. So what do you do if you have just one balcony and it doesn't get that much sun?

• Choose edibles that can take partial sun/shade (three to six hours of sun in the morning or early afternoon) or light shade (two to three hours of direct sun or lightly shaded all day.)

Some partial shade herbs: cilantro and parsley (both prefer cooler weather); dill, bee balm, spearmint chamomile.
Some light shade herbs: garlic chives, peppermint, rosemary.
Some partial or light shade veggies: lettuce, broccoli, green onion, collards, cabbage, peas, carrots, strawberries, beans, sweet potatoes.

• Remember, pale-colored surfaces increase the light your plants receive. Plants in regions with short growing seasons usually need the full six to eight hours of light per day.

Choose the right pots:

• Bigger pots require less water and are less likely to blow over on high-rise balconies where the winds can be fierce. Terra cotta allows moisture to escape fairly quickly, which is helpful for people who like to water a lot. Non-porous plastic or glazed pots hold water longer and are better for windy balconies, where soil dries out quickly. Use brightly colored containers to add style and visual interest to your garden.

• Most vegetable plants require even watering - don't let them dry out completely and don't keep them soggy. Apply water directly to the soil.

• Make sure your containers have drainage holes or a drainage system. If they have an attached tray to catch excess water, don't allow the plants' roots to sit in the water, which promotes rot and fungus. Either empty the tray regularly, or use a design that holds the water away from the roots.

Use the right dirt:

• It's important to use dirt that allows for good drainage. Most edible plants don't like to sit in wet dirt, and soil without good drainage tends to become compacted - a difficult medium for plants that like to stretch their roots out. You can buy a sterile soilless potting mix, a soil-based potting mix, or mix up your own batch using 1 part compost, 1 part perlite and 1 part potting soil.

• Don't use garden soil or top soil, which won't allow adequate drainage.

• On windy balconies, top-dress your container with small rocks to keep the soil from drying out so quickly.

Joulus offers one more tip for high-rise dwellers: Rely on self-pollinating plants, or plants that don't need pollination by insects, unless you're willing to hand-pollinate.

"You likely won't see many bees buzzing around the 40th story," he says.

Don't worry about pollination for root vegetables, like carrots and potatoes. Some self-pollinators include beans, peas, tomatoes and peppers.

About Roy Joulus

Roy Joulus is CEO of Greenbo, which was founded in 2012 in Florida with a focus on simplicity, efficiency and innovation in creating urban agricultural products. Its Greenbo XL flowerbox, designed to hang securely on any balcony railing up to 6 inches wide, won the prestigious 2012 Red Dot Design Award. Greenbo products are manufactured in a multi-cultural Israeli-Arab setting using sustainable and recyclable materials, and with safety the No. 1 priority. Find Greenbo products at garden centers and independent nurseries in the United States and Europe, and online at amazon.com.

Leading Physician Team Offers
Outside-In and Inside-Out Skin-Care Tips

Thanks to the myriad of photos now being posted online, more people than ever are undergoing cosmetic procedures, according to a new survey of plastic surgeons.  Requests for surgery as a result of social media photo sharing rose 31 percent in 2012, reports the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

"People especially want to look their best when hundreds, or even thousands, of viewers are looking at their photos - we hear it, too," say Drs. Rick and Arlene Noodleman, the husband-and-wife physician team at Silicon Valley's Age Defy Dermatology and Wellness, (www.agedefy.com).

"The good news is that there are now effective, minimally-invasive, low downtime approaches that reduce or even eliminate the appearanceof sun-damaged,  aging skin," dermatologist Dr. Rick Noodleman says.

Both physicians emphasize that the key to youthful skin is both correction and prevention - and no, it's never too late to start addressing the latter.

"Achieving beautiful, healthy skin is a process, not an event. It's accomplished by working from the outside-in and the inside-out," says preventive medicine specialist Dr. Arlene Noodleman. "The link between nutrition and the quality of your skin is also 'written all over your face'."

To ensure Facebook, Instagram and Google+ users look their best online, the Noodlemans offer this advice, based on more than 25 years of research and clinical experience:

Work from the outside-in: "There are a number of corrective and preventive steps you can take to achieve a more youthful look," says Dr. Rick Noodleman.

· For all skin types -- Protect your face from the sun. Use a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB light, and wear a wide-brimmed hat.

· For older skin -- Exfoliant creams remove dead skin cells that don't slough off as readily as when we were young. Prescription creams such as Avita, Avage, Renova and Retin-A have been shown to reduce wrinkles and "liver spots" due to sun exposure.

· For forehead wrinkles - Injected Botox, a brand of botulinum toxin, partially immobilizesthe muscles that form expression lines so the skin smoothes out, although some deep expression lines may not go away.

· For sun damage and acne scars - Lasers can resurface facial skin by stripping away the outermost layers. Some "non-ablative"lasers also stimulate collagen formation, which helps smooth wrinkles.

And from the inside-out: "No matter what your skin type, healthy eating is an essential component of a good skin care regimen," Dr. Arlene Noodleman says. "And, for some people, eating the wrong foods can actually cause problems."

· A natural defense system : Foods rich in antioxidants seem to have a protective effect on the skin. For instance, a 2007 study by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition found that women ages 40 to 75 who consumed more vitamin C, an antioxidant, had fewer wrinkles. Antioxidant-rich foods include carrots and other yellow and orange fruits and vegetables; spinach and other green leafy vegetables; tomatoes; blueberries; peas and beans; fatty fish, and nuts. The study also found that women who consumed more linoleic acid?found in nuts and seeds?had a lower incidence of dry skin.

· Curbing acne flare-ups: Acne-prone individuals should avoid dairy products, especially cow's milk; processed foods high in white flour, such as white bread; and white rice and sugary foods and beverages such as candy bars and soda. Foods that cause 'spikes' in blood sugar levels can also trigger hormone production, which in turn can boost oil production.

· Psoriasis, rashes and other skin conditions: Certain foods can cause hives and other reactions. Individual sensitivities vary, but common culprits are gluten, dairy, eggs and additives. People with psoriasis may see improvement by eating a low-glycemic load, Mediterranean-style diet.

"Take a holistic approach to your skin's health," the Noodlemans say. "Your skin responds not only to what you put in and on your body, it also reflects your overall mental and physical health. Taking corrective and preventive measures that reduce sun-damage, increase exercise, promote healthy eating and decrease stress will help you look your best on social media."

About Drs. Rick and Arlene Noodleman

Dr. Rick Noodleman, a board-certified, Stanford-trained dermatologist, is an expert in the medical and surgical management of skin disease, aging skin, and advanced cosmetic techniques. Dr. Arlene Noodleman, board-certified in preventive medicine and fellowship-trained in integrative medicine, is a healthy aging expert who focuses on the whole person and strategies that facilitate the body's innate healing. Together, Drs. Noodleman created the Revercel cosmeceutical and neutraceutical product line.