In recent years, colleges and graduate schools have experienced an influx of older students. And many of them are borrowing money to pay for their educations. According to Sallie Mae, baby boomers still owe some $11.5 billion on student loans -- much of it related to their own undergraduate or graduate study. Even more interesting, some in this group have borrowed for their children's educations before fully repaying student loans of their own.

Loading up on debt that may take as long as 20 years to repay is never a step to take lightly. Here are some factors to consider before you borrow.

• Realistically assess your ability to repay. Consider all the obligations you now have -- your mortgage, car payments, etc. -- as well as those you expect to take on in the next decade or two.
   
• If you (or your child) is offered a financial aid package that consists of scholarships and student loans, try to find out whether the scholarship portion (the money that won't have to be paid back) will be available at the same level every year. You don't want to have to borrow more than planned so that a half-finished program can be completed.
   
• Don't forget about your retirement. Evaluate whether the education loans could prevent you from building a sufficient nest egg. If so, you should eight all other alternatives before you sign for a loan.
  

Writing Off Equipment Purchases

The section 179 election allows qualifying taxpayers to deduct the cost of business assets (such as equipment) in the year of purchase rather than claim depreciation deductions over time. S corporations and partnerships can pass through the Section 179 deduction to their shareholders/partners. Self-employed sole proprietors also can claim the deduction if eligible.

The Section 179 deduction is capped at $19,000 in 1999. (Other limits apply.) If you own multiple business interests, do some planning. Your goal should be to claim the deduction against any income that is subject to both regular taxes and self-employment taxes. So, for example, if you are a self-employed painting contractor and also own an S corporation engaged in other business activities, you may prefer to write off purchases made by the contracting business against your contracting earnings. The reason: Self-employment earnings are subject to self-employment tax while S corporation income generally is not. See us for details