Dear Liz: We have two children in college, both entering their junior years. We have two more in high school. The two currently in college need additional financial assistance, as they've tapped out their federal student loans.
We are middle class, grossing about $125,000 a year, so we don't qualify for much financial aid. We're considering a cash-out refinancing of our home, but we feel as though we can do it only once, since each time we refinance it will cost us some fees, plus interest rates are likely to start edging up soon.
However, if we take out a big chunk of cash that could last us for the next two years for the first two children, and possibly some for the other two, we're concerned that having that much cash sitting in the bank will reduce the amount of financial aid we receive, which would be counterproductive.