529 Plans

sadielove

Has anyone looked into these for starting a college savings plan for LO?  I was thinking about setting one up, but wondered if I had to wait until she was born and had a SS#.

MrsDT

That's a good question. We plan on setting one up too, along with the Florida pre-paid plan. I wanted to have it set up before the baby is born, but I'm not sure if you need the SSN.....I'm interested to hear the answers. I've looked in the pre-paid a lot more than the 529, I just know I want to do it!

essey1234

for the government RESP's you need to have a ss# but for private you can start on your own.

IlovemyGeek

We may change our mind, but now the plan is to help them a little in college but we won't pay for it completely. Ex. DH paid for all his on his own working and with student loans and his brother is on full scholarships and fellowships and I was on a full academic scholarship. We want our LO to work hard in school, my brother had everything handed to him and went for 3 years to one school and then went to film school, dragged my mom 80K into debt and currently works at Disney, so I think having to work (either academically or to put themselves through college) is character building.

swirliepop

We have not yet enrolled in a 529 plan, though we do have a savings account for DS, and plan to start one when baby #2 arrives. It varies from state to state but in CA there are no tax deductions for contributions made. So, unless we had ALOT of money in a savings account that we earned high interest on, I'm not convinced it's the right choice for us. Especially after watching what happened to our 401k in the last year!

MrsDT

swirliepop:

We have not yet enrolled in a 529 plan, though we do have a savings account for DS, and plan to start one when baby #2 arrives. It varies from state to state but in CA there are no tax deductions for contributions made. So, unless we had ALOT of money in a savings account that we earned high interest on, I'm not convinced it's the right choice for us. Especially after watching what happened to our 401k in the last year!

Even if you don't get a deduction, you still get tax benefits b/c you don't have to pay tax on the interest earned. Compounding interest over 18 years can really add up...