College fund?

BC&LM · December 2013

Have any of you started a college fund for LO yet? If so, what kind, if you don't mind sharing. We were thinking of starting a 529, but are a bit clueless about the whole thing.

JANCANDANCE · December 2013

We have just a savings that gains interest.

Mufflerlove · December 2013

I just have a bank account for her so far. I'll probably so something with it when the balance is a bit higher. Right now she has $550.. One weeks worth of college perhaps?

amanda0126 · December 2013

sctiger said:
We started a 529 plan for her. Clemson class of 2035!

+1

Future roomies?

JANCANDANCE · December 2013

We didn't go with a 529 because what if she wants to go out of state. Seems more logical for us but I wish that option was available. But GA has a scholarship program already called the HOPE. If you maintain a 3.6 you get a ride to any GA public school. You must maintain it through college to keep it though. Hooray for the GA Lottery.

dmlk413 · December 2013

We're opening a 529. It may not be enough to fully fund her college experience but it's better than what DH and I had (which was nothing) In Kansas, you can use the money at any school, not just state schools.

JANCANDANCE · December 2013

REALLY?!? Well well. We were misinformed. Thanks chicas!

kelly422 · December 2013

We're looking into setting up a life insurance account that we can pull out the money and use it when she's 18. From what I understood (and maybe I'm wrong), 529s can't be used for trade school and who knows what kind of college/trade/neither J will want to do.

musicalsilver · December 2013

We're definitely going the 529 route - my ILs want to give LO money for college for Christmas, so we're going to open one soon.

Definitely look into your individual state 529s - some of them have pretty good incentives associated with them!

phishgirl29 · December 2013

We have a 529 for him, a regular savings account, and a Capitol One savings account (formally ING) set up. We invest and transfer money accordingly.

Our financial guy told us that colleges can see what you've invested in an 529 and could decide your child's scholarship money based off of it. We like to not put all of our eggs in one basket so to speak. The ING account has a better interest rate then the regular bank so we put money in there for him most of the time.

Maelara · December 2013

We have started saving for her college fund but are unsure where to put it yet. We have so many options and I'm afraid of picking the wrong one. Im thinking of a No Interest Savings Account.

numbersgirl08 · December 2013

Mufflerlove said:
I just have a bank account for her so far. I'll probably so something with it when the balance is a bit higher. Right now she has $550.. One weeks worth of college perhaps?

My husband is getting his MBA at a private college and we calculated that each CLASS costs $600!! He's not allowed to ever skip like we did in undergrad! I fear it's that expensive for an undergrad degree now too - and if not yet, will be by the time our kiddos are there. Yikes!

ETA I've told him that if he skips one class then I get a pair of Louboutins.

ilovemarfa · December 2013

No. My dad never had one for us (he paid for our college in cash) and he says not to open anything in the boy's names for college. Apparently anything in the kid's names needs to be declared on college grant applications and they won't get as much scholarship and grant money.

skio · December 2013

Savings.

NicoleReed0324 · December 2013

My parents started a 529 for MJ on his baptism day. We have been adding to it each month! In PA it can also be used for trade schools or whatever my little sweetheart decides to do. I secretly hope he's a scientist like me

needanustart · December 2013

We went 529 route. You can use then in other states even though it was set up when we lived in Ny. I don't want their savings counting against them in their financial aid package so 529 makes the most sense. I know it won't pay for the whole thing but I was on scholarship and had student loans myself so I just want to give them a head start at least. My husband works for Berklee college of music and gets free tuition for his kids so I joked they will both get their BAs in music no matter what they are interested in! I feel terrible that the only contributions so far have been from the grandparents but we just can't swing it yet!

tttwalters · December 2013

zigspective said:

We'll be going with a RESP. In Canada they are tax sheltered, the government gives bonuses, they can be used for any child, and if no one ends up going to school it can be transferred to our retirement plans.

this, and in Canada we get a Child tax benefit based on income (we get $25) and a universal CTB which is $100 for each child under 6. So we put all of this money in.

Lizzybizzy80 · December 2013

We moved the extra we were putting towards our mortgage each month into a 529 plan. It is direct deposited so we don't have to think about it. I shudder to think what college will cost in 18 years.

Texas doesn't have a state income tax so there was no benefit in choosing Texas' 529 plan. At least according to our financial advisor.

momofcatan · December 2013

RESP like my fellow Canadians

I don't plan on contributing a ton. Today the best undergrad programs in my province are only $6-11K/year (I know it will be more when LOs are older, but ). We are contributing enough to get the match from the government, will probably do that for a couple of years then just let it collect interest. @zisperspective I didn't know about the retirement thing, but we do have it set up so DD OR any future children could use it.

momofcatan · December 2013

@tttwalters said:

zigspective said:

We'll be going with a RESP. In Canada they are tax sheltered, the government gives bonuses, they can be used for any child, and if no one ends up going to school it can be transferred to our retirement plans.

this, and in Canada we get a Child tax benefit based on income (we get $25) and a universal CTB which is $100 for each child under 6. So we put all of this money in.

I call that my diapers money

people gave us cash gifts when she was born with I'm using that money for her RESP, and clothes and toys.....

Western Diva · December 2013

zigspective said:
We'll be going with a RESP. In Canada they are tax sheltered, the government gives bonuses, they can be used for any child, and if no one ends up going to school it can be transferred to our retirement plans.

+1

We already had one in place for DS1, so we just needed to add DS2.

Achae · December 2013

I'm still paying my college loans! Sorry baby, we are very much blue collar -.-

mysticial · December 2013

zigspective said:

We'll be going with a RESP. In Canada they are tax sheltered, the government gives bonuses, they can be used for any child, and if no one ends up going to school it can be transferred to our retirement plans.

Zigspective have you decided on a company yet?? I am so conflicted on which one and option to go with.

KentuckyKate · December 2013

We have a 529 and a story that goes along with it. MIL gave us a $100 bill to start her college fund, and I held onto it for a week or two so I could research plans. One night we were going to this huge outdoor church fundraiser picnic, and didn't have any cash. So I grabbed that $100 so we didn't have to stop. As soon as we got there, DH bought a $1 pull tab and we won $700. The next day I started LO's 529 with $700, since that was her money! We've put in $100 a month since, and all the money she got for baptism. Ours is a managed allocation plan, meaning it starts out investing really aggressively, and gets more and more conservative until she's 18. She can also go out of state.

RIngReady · December 2013

We set up a high yielding savings account. We decided not to the the 529 because I didn't like the idea of LO having to use it for education. DH and I both find college extremely important, but we both got athletic scholarships and neither one of us spent enough on grad school to equal what my parent's had saved in my 'college account'. I just like the idea that LO can use the money for other things in case we get lucky enough to have another athlete in the family.

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