Arlington Community Education

With both humor and knowledge, a local attorney and estate planning specialist will address fundamentals of estate planning. Essentials: Estate planning is not just for the wealthy—or the old. Nearly everyone has an “estate,” consisting of everything you own: your car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, and personal possessions. Regardless of the size of your “estate,” good planning lets you control how your assets are given to the people or organizations you care most about; sets up your heirs for success by passing on their inheritance in a way that helps them; helps you and your heirs pay substantially less in taxes, fees, and court costs; minimizes family strife; and makes it easier for your loved ones to handle your affairs during a time of loss. Advanced Concepts: Dive deeper into end-of-life planning as we cover how to structure trusts for children and heirs to support them on their life journeys, while still encouraging their personal growth and achievement. We’ll discuss additional tax planning techniques to minimize estate and capital gains taxes, potential new tax law changes, as well as charitable giving tools that can build family unity and shared purpose.

You know about Google search. Maybe you use Gmail, Google’s email program and Chrome, Google’s popular browser. But did you know that Google has over 100 apps, all of which are completely free and work on any computer or mobile device? Discover a convenient alternative to Microsoft Office, visit a location and “walk around” like a pedestrian with Google Maps, or safeguard your photos and videos with 15GB of free storage. We will learn some tips and tricks about Google search and then explore Google’s other apps, designed to help you work and play, stay organized, get answers, keep in touch, grow your business, and more. Please note: Bring your laptop, phone, or tablet to class so you can explore for yourself.

Taking & Enhancing Photos: You can take amazing photos with your iPhone or iPad camera. We will go over the basics of how to use your camera and improve your photo-taking skills. Get introduced to apps that have great editing, fantastic special effects, and enhancement features that the standard camera doesn’t include. This course is for the beginner as well as more experienced iPhone/iPad users who want to take better and more creative photographs. Using Mail, Contacts & Calendars: The ability to manage your Mail, Contacts, and Calendars is fundamental to using your iPhone and/or iPad to its fullest potential. Review the many features of these three apps and learn lots of handy tips and tricks that will keep you better organized and more efficient.

Join us for this not-to-be missed opportunity to review your retirement finances and make sure your money lasts as long as you do. Look at the big picture for developing a hierarchy of spending and investing, including strategies that provide a better outcome, regardless of investment performance. Discover how to manage your 401(k), 403(b), and pension as you approach retirement and what you need to know about target funds. Find out why investment strategies must be different in retirement; when a Roth IRA makes sense; exploring the hype around annuities; forgotten financial pitfalls; and alternative ways to preserve your nest egg against long-term care costs. Many who attend this course are on the cusp of retirement. However, those who learn these strategies decades in advance not only improve their outcome at retirement, but also have better financial results along the way.

Learn how to use and take full advantage of all the amazing features your iPhone offers: great camera and video capabilities, text messaging, Siri, FaceTime, Calendars, Contacts, Maps, and more. This class is perfect whether you just got a new iPhone or want to learn more tips and tricks to make the most of your device.

Get direction on the right mix of marketing channels for your business. We’ll explore how to identify your target audience, build your brand, create an impactful website, and determine which social/digital channels to use. You’ll leave with strategies you can put into use immediately and an understanding of how to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to attract and retain customers.

Social Security is a significant piece of the retirement puzzle. Learn how to get the most from your benefits and coordinate this income with your overall retirement strategy. We will talk about the current state of Social Security, what to consider when planning your benefit start date, spousal benefits, options for divorcees, buy-back strategies, tax reduction strategies, and coordination with state and federal retirement plans. We will also review recent changes in benefits and special planning considerations for self-employed individuals.

You can’t afford to miss this course! Get empowered to make educated and informed decisions about your investments: how to allocate assets, choose equity ETFs, pick new stocks, and manage a stock portfolio. Develop your skills as an amateur “equity analyst” and learn how to monitor the performance of a professional mutual fund manager or advisor. Topics include understanding the stock-picking wisdom of iconic investors such as Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett, using online resources like Google and Yahoo Finance, and managing an existing portfolio of stocks that may already contain strong winners or significant underperformers. We’ll also cover financial ratios, reading a basic balance sheet, and recognizing an undervalued vs. overvalued stock.

At least 70% of available jobs aren’t posted anywhere. So how do people like you find out about these opportunities? Networking! Most people find their next job by leveraging their network of contacts, especially past colleagues and current acquaintances. Find out how you can feel more empowered when building professional relationships through class discussion and practical exercises. Build your confidence, get clear about your strengths, understand your networking goals, and recognize what is in your control in a networking situation. Don’t let your reluctance to network hold you back any longer.

Get personalized help with marketing planning and execution. This one-on-one marketing mentoring will help give you direction on the right marketing channels for your business, how to create an impactful website, what social/digital channels to use to reach your customers, and how to build your brand. We will work together to prioritize which marketing efforts to work on first. Times are flexible; please call 781-316-3568 or email the ACE office communityed@arlington.k12.ma.us to learn more and register.

Get one-on-one help with your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows computer. Focus on a specific software application (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, email, Facebook, etc.) or receive more general assistance, such as how to organize and find your files, delete unneeded items, and more. Times and location are flexible; please call, 781-316-3568 or email the ACE office communityed@arlington.k12.ma.us to learn more and register. Additional fee may apply for travel outside Arlington. You may need to provide your own laptop or device for this single, two-hour session. Sessions must be scheduled in advance

This training is ideal for new QuickBooks users, working on their desktop or online versions, who need help getting their company file set up correctly, or existing users who want advice on how to get the most from the software. Please call (781-316-3568) the ACE office or email communityed@arlington.k12.ma.us to learn more and register for a two-hour session.

As we get older, many of us wrestle with important questions: Do I want to age in place or move to a new living environment? What will my health needs require? What can I afford? This class will focus on leveraging your assets to provide for your best possible care, while also protecting assets for children or other heirs. Learn about various long-term care strategies and the pros and cons of each. This discussion will include the eligibility rules of the MassHealth program and asset protection strategies available to those engaging in advance or last-minute planning.

Get started with QuickBooks (QB) Online. We’ll review the various QuickBooks Online offerings available and take an in-depth tour of the QB Online homepage to learn how to navigate the areas you’ll use most often. We’ll also cover best practices when setting up key elements of your company file, including the chart of accounts, products and services you sell, and customer list user permissions and forms. Get hands-on practice entering sales, expenses, and banking transactions as well as running important financial reports. To get the most from this course, you must know how to use a personal computer and the internet and bring a laptop to class. Please note: All students must bring a fully-charged laptop to class. This class is geared toward students with no prior QuickBooks experience.

Future doctors decide to go to medical school for many reasons—personal fulfillment, intellectual stimulation, humanitarian purpose, and financial success—but how do you get there? These sessions lay the groundwork for creating your roadmap to becoming a physician and are designed for both medical school applicants and their parents. Choose the Right Path: There are many paths to medical school including BA/MD programs, Early Assurance programs, traditional pathways, and postbaccalaureate routes. We will cover the multiple pathways to medical school and discuss how to figure out if and when a student is ready to apply. The Application Process: Reduce some of the stress and surprises of the year-long process of applying to medical school. We will go step-by-step through the stages and timing of applying to allopathic and osteopathic medical schools so you can anticipate what the year ahead will look like, estimate the costs, and understand the preparation steps.

Are you thinking about becoming a real estate agent but aren’t sure where to begin or what it will take to make it? Get an inside look at this booming industry so you can decide if helping people navigate the housing market is the right career move for you. Learn the difference between a real estate salesperson and broker and talk about what kind of personality and abilities are helpful for both. Discuss your reasons for wanting to be in real estate, learn how to get started, and discover some best practices to get you on the track to success.

If you are like most people, your investments are in a single asset allocation. Maybe you’ve gone with the typical 60% stocks and 40% bonds split or bought a lot of shares of the big tech companies. Perhaps you are conservative and are mostly in bonds. Quite possibly you aren’t even sure. This workshop will cover the basics of the bucket strategy, a method to manage risk in your portfolio. We’ll walk through a real example and discuss how to take on the appropriate amount of risk for your situation while not forgoing growth potential. You should come out of the workshop with a better understanding of investment risks and returns and how to balance them for your individual needs.

Students and families should be concerned about the implications of student loans for higher education planning. Student loan debt is unlike any other—it’s extraordinarily difficult to discharge in bankruptcy, standard consumer protections have been legislatively removed from it, the U.S. government can garnish your Social Security benefits if you default on it, you generally can’t refinance it, and 18-22 year olds can borrow tens of thousands of dollars in minutes without any credit history or collateral. Yet there’s an (unwarranted) assumption that students “need” to take out student loan debt for their college plans. This class will educate you about student loan debt and why you don’t necessarily have to take it on and focus on why financial considerations should be primary in your higher education plans.

Financial aid goes to families who plan and act in advance–before December of the child’s sophomore year of high school. Learn how to maximize your financial aid by understanding the process and why implementing strategies may increase a family’s eligibility even if you have a “high income” or own a business. All schools are not alike, so it is important to know your options and opportunities. A free financial aid analysis will be available to all attendees. Visit collegefundingadvisors.com