NWMR: College fund?

MaggieF516 · February 2014

Hi everyone, I'm going to start putting money away for my son's college education. I was wondering what types of plans/funds, etc. everyone has used (Section 529, investment funds, etc.) for this? It seems like there are a lot of options and I absolutely loath anything investment-related (even though I got my undergrad in finance, big mistake LOL). Thanks!!

aglenn · February 2014

We have 529 accounts for each of the kids with our bank. Our state has a pre-paid tuition program but right now their rates are too high and don't make much sense. We felt like the 529s would be a better option.

dglvrk2 · February 2014

DH and I are not specifically saving for our two daughters' college educations yet. Instead we are maxing out our retirement contributions -figuring we can borrow $ for college but not for retirement - and plan to scale back on these once our kids get close to college age and we have a better idea of what they will need for $$ and how much we can provide. They also get a substantial amount of money from a great grandmother each year. It goes into an account -one for each girl- and we don't plan on allowing either girl access to this money until they're older and have solid post high school plans in place.

82Sonia · February 2014

We opened a 529 (not in our home state). We put a couple hundred dollars in it monthly and any cash gifts she gets. Here's a good, easy to understand article about selecting a 529 - https://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/education/clarks-529-guide/nFZS/ (we also consulted a CPA who came up with the same advice).

aglenn · February 2014

BTW, this site also has a lot of good info and plan comparisons.

www.savingforcollege.com

JessAnnJ · February 2014

We have a 529 from our state (GA) that we contribute to monthly. My ILs also opened their own 529 account.

jf198400 · February 2014

We have a 529 for each kid in our home state PA. We did the prepaid credit type plan b/c I don't want to have to monitor it. I have it setup to direct deposit every month. We don't have a lot of money to save but something is better than nothing,

Samiantha101 · February 2014

We're not doing 529s. Right now, we're putting any cash gifts into an utma account. We having been buying bullion, have a seperate saving account for her that we put a small denomination in each months, and have a little bit of stock.

C12H22O11 · February 2014

We have a 529 through AK, which had great performance historically. We put in $200 a month, which is much less than our CPA recommended. I believe our CPA said at least $600 a month to fully fund an in state tuition given the cost of inflation. We'd rather max out our 401K and IRA each year.

Mustardseed2007 · February 2014

We are doing a 529 savings plan that has mutual funds in it. We selected it using an investment advisor at a brokerage firm.

CarrieB. · February 2014

We are doing a small amount monthly into our state's 529. My parents also make an annual deposit for their Christmas gift. We like it for the tax benefits.

kristennd · February 2014

We have the 529 from our state because they match the first $300/year.

snicksnack · February 2014

we purchased two years pre-paid for each child and then they each have a 529. Our goal is to cover 4 years each at a state school. If we have more great if we don't and they want to go private there are schlorships, loans etc...

mae0111 · February 2014

We have our 529 plans through Fidelity. We don't have a ton in the accounts right now, but we have some other brokerage accounts that are earmarked for education. Since we're strongly considering private school, we didn't want to tie up all of the education funding in 529's right away.

As another way to save, we're strongly considering switching our current Blue Cash Amex cards for the Fidelity 529 Amex. We charge everything (including DH's work travel) and pay it off every month. 2% of all purchases will go into the 529 accounts. Seems like an easy way to save.

jlaOK · February 2014

Both DS and DD each have a 529. We chose one outside of the state that we live in because we liked the mutual funds this particular state offers. Right now we don't contribute to them but grandparents make a nice donation at Christmas and birthdays. We plan on contributing after we reach some other financial goals.

Kbrittonhart · February 2014

529. We deposit a monthly payment, a lump sum on her birthday, and any cash gift she gets throughout the year.

JACKIE_RS88 · February 2014

I'm already behind with DS1 so I need to look into this for both kiddos.

kmh2201 · February 2014

We have a 529 for each LO through Franklin Templeton. We chose that financial institution because it is open to any college or university in the country. (Although we are going to strongly encourage the kids to choose an in-state college/university so we/they don't have the extra cost of out-of-state tuition. At least we can share with them that the 529 savings will result in fewer student loans afterwards if they pick an in-state.) We contribute a monthly amount (we have the funds withdrawn from our checking account electronically so we don't have to think about it), plus some gift money here and there. The funds are invested in age-based investment fund. We're not planning to pay for all of their college (they need to have some skin in the game), but we'd like to be able to help them out with half.

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