FAFSA question

How much money is in your savings account? Is it more than $5?

You canā€™t use that $5 while your account is open, because your bank apparently requires that you keep a minimum balance of $5 to keep the account open. But you could access that $5 by closing your account, so you ā€œhaveā€ that $5. If you have money in another account (or in checking, if the $5 is in savings), just add the $5 to the other money to get your total.

Itā€™s all your money. The available balance is the amount less the $5/$10/$25 required to keep the account open. If you wanted to, you could cash out the entire amount.

If you have a CD or other account that canā€™t be withdrawn without a penalty, the balance is the amount you have in there, not the amount less the penalty.

Maybe if you have filled out FAFSA online there has been skip logic that has bypassed this question for the student (itā€™s question 40):

As of today, what is your (and spouseā€™s) total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts? Donā€™t include student financial aid.

@on4ward

Are you the parent or the student?

Iā€™m asking because both parents AND students need to list their account balances on the FAFSA form.