529 College Plan????

Hi K.,
I know a great deal about 529 plans, as I am a financial advisor, and I also have a 529 plan for my 10 year old son. The texas website you quoted is not the whole story about 529's however. Try www.savingforcollege.com.
I would be happy to visit about this, if you would like.
Bob Sweeney
Allstate Financial Services, L.L.C.
____@____.com
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K., there are definitely differences that can effect your fund choices long-term. My husband specializes in financial education and part of what he shares with families is the child/college funds. Feel free to contact him. Joe Roppolo ###-###-#### email ____@____.com does not charge for his education (as some companies will) and he enjoys helping families. Hope this helps!

HI. a 529 is a much better option than traditional savings. Personally, I use a Coverdell Savings account, because the money can be taken out at ANY time as long as the money is used for education, even K-12. I believe a 529 is only for college. Hope that helps!

We have a 529 for both of our kids. yes, much better than a savings account. it gains more interest; so you will earn more over time. they can use it for books, tuition, etc and you won't have to pay taxes on the money. good luck

We started one for our daughter while I was still pregnant with John Hancock. It was pretty easy and easy for us and family members to put money in.

There is a even cheaper way to get a degree without going to College. You get the books take tests and send the work to NY and they send you a degree. I heard about this from a business class I took. He works for the SBA. I have the steps in a folder and may be taking another course from him as soon as I get his name I can give you information. Send me your e-mail. College set me back. I went online as soon as I was done that 6 mos goes by fast. They were there to hound me. I had to refinance my home to pay it off one two yr course was $24000. G. W
Sally Mae is a joke.

K., a 529 plan is an ok tool but there are a couple questions you should ask yourself first. 1st - is the money you plan to sock away significant enough to make a difference. 2nd- Investing in any kind of plan ---you have to do your research because ---we all have learned a valuable lesson since the economic crisis and that is we can't just let the so callled professionals manage our investements without restrictions. Example: your 401k has a money manager- you should know what that manager is doing if your 401k is not doing well- it's difficult for anyone right now to deal with the stock market b/c that's where your money ends up going. The plan you talking about is no different & can be a tax savings for you as well- the money is not taxable-- but the test is -- inflation vs your investement- it maybe be that if your cashflow is limited to look at a mutual fund which gives you liquidity in case you need for emergency... anyway, i am sitting here with my husband who is off to work this am and ask him a few questions... hope this helps
He also told me to advise you if you are working to start a homebiz to reduce your tax liability to keep more money for investments in the future--
here is my husbands website www.BarryLewisLive.com

We opened one thru our Farmer's Agent when my daughter was born. Right now we only put $50 a month in but plan to increase that once we are not paying for daycare anymore. The most important thing for me was that if she decides not to go to college-the money is ultimatley mine to take back.

We've had a 529 plan for years for our 14 yr old daughter. There are a lot to choose from so do your research.

We also have a regular savings plan as well as other investment plans (coins, savings bonds, real estate, etc) in place to cover her college and our retirement. Make sure you are diversified and all eggs are not in 1 basket!!

If you don't already have one, I would suggest a financial officer you trust to get some guidance. Many people are "selling" these plans and they get profits everytime you invest. Just be wary....

My hubby is a numbers man...he lives and breathes numbers, projecting and estimating.... even with his knowledge and experience, we still worked closely with our Edward Jones rep to make sure we were looking at all details of the plan.

Good luck! It is a lot of info to sort through but kudos to you for looking out for your children's best interest in getting them educated.

Yes, we have a 529 account for our Son's college expenses. We chose to do it thru Edward Jones, that is where our investments are. Yes, it is much better than a savings account. You get a better rate than a savings account. If you want to talk to our financial guy with Edward Jones, we'll be glad to give you his info and he can tell you more about 529's and why they are better than savings accounts. I believe 529's involve mutual funds where a savings account doesn't.

Have you heard of upromise? We are saving money for our son thru this program. Your family can help also thru their credit cards and their purchases. Check out www.upromise.com You may be interested in doing upromise as another way to save money for your child's college/future.

we have one, it is better than a bank because is is tax sheltered. You can choose how risky you want the money invested based on your child's age (or rt now the economy). Check out different performers. I have to give a plug here b/c it's helpful, we have a State Farm Insurance agency and the plan they have is one of the only solid performers out there in this economy, if you are interested you can call our office ###-###-####, my husband is the agent and his name is Garrett.

Both of my kids have 529s. You don't have to choose the TX plan. Each state offers them. You can go direct to the state's website to get it. My kids have the Utah plan. It was the highest rated plan at the time and I believe it is still well regarded. You can google to get a comparison of each states plan.

K.,

We have a 529 wor both of our children, ages 5 and 7 now. However, I don't recommend the Texas Tomorrow Fund. We have lost so much money with them. We have another 529 which we opened through my brother-in-law at Edward Jones. It is doing good. I do recommend them for college savings.

Absolutely. I have a 529 plan for my son.I started it when he was 1. I use Fidelity Investments. They can help you with that. They choose the best investment portfolio for your child depending on his or her age. You can have an automatic contribution set up from your checking out each month. I hope this helps. L.