https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 24 May 2026 15:24:50 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047408 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:32:17 +0000 MK0180 2047408@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My dad set up a 529 through college invest (Colorado) for DS - we have a generic savings for DS but I want to eventually have it be solely for education purposes, esp if we decide to have more kids.<br /> As someone who works in financial aid in higher ed, it's becoming more and more paramount to start saving for college. Right now, as middle-class income earners, we (and DS) would not qualify for any federal aid besides loans and although I think a little debt is ok (subsidized loans - while they last), students accruing thousands upon thousands before they earn their first BA makes it very difficult for them to pay it off. I'm one of those students with a lot of student loan debt (combo of undergrad and grad) and so I hope we can help our kids with their undergrad degrees (at least pay half) if we have the means to do so. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047373 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:18:17 +0000 catlady 2047373@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have one (I think the Nevada one). So far we put about half the money we want to save for LO in the 529, and half in a normal (taxable) investment. Any time we get a cash gift earmarked for "college", we put it in the 529. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047368 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:12:23 +0000 Applesandbananas 2047368@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. I think it's very important that we sock away something for lo's higher education costs. Right now, even though things are tight with daycare payments, is the best time to put as much in as possible due to the time value of money. </p> <p>We will also pay out of pocket when the time comes and help with student loan payments, but we feel very strongly about saving today. </p> <p>It's also a nice place to put LO's cash gifts. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047361 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 12:05:25 +0000 sarac 2047361@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, we put a small amount in each month. I plan to increase contributions in a few years when I'm working too - my goal is to be able to fully fund four years of state college for each of my children. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047319 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:42:39 +0000 mediagirl 2047319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. We put all gift money she gets into it and we put in a small amount every month. We don't expect it to cover a 4 year college tuition but we hope it will help with a 2 year technical college. Or pay for one book knowing how the prices of colleges are escalating. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047312 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:36:14 +0000 lawbee11 2047312@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a 529 through Utah but we live in Texas. I think they're a great way to save for college. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047311 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:34:57 +0000 LaughLines 2047311@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: right, i understand what you're saying. You could also argue that it is possible the capital gains tax will be increased (gets tossed around often and is usually shot down by republicans, but the possibility is out there) and in that case you'd want to be diversified enough to have investments that aren't affected by capital gains taxes (529s and ROTH IRAs). </p> <p>I think the overall point is it's hard to know what things will be like in 18 years when our kiddos go to college, but being proactive about savings in one way or another is probably wise </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047299 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:30:29 +0000 honeybear 2047299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@LaughLines: I noted that the proposal was only to tax the earnings on future contributions. It wasn't retroactive and I know that. I merely noted that the rules can change. And regardless of when you put the money in, the rules are always subject to change vis-a-vis qualified expenses, so the government could say "hey, we think it would be great if everyone had underwater basket-weaving degrees, so now qualified expenses for 529 plans are only for courses leading to an underwater basket-weaving degree." Now, do I think that's likely? No. But politicians are reasonably creative, particularly when designing ways to extract revenue, so I'd argue for diversifying one's college savings and not putting everything in a 529 basket. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047284 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:19:22 +0000 teawithpaloma 2047284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm in NY and we did it - you get a break on NY state taxes. I am happy with the peace of mind in starting it... even if legislation changes down the line. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047283 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:18:23 +0000 QueensBee 2047283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, we do, and we try to contribute as much as we can right now. DH and I both met at a private college (same dorm!) and we loved the experience. Our degrees and the connections we made have served us very well, and our friendships with classmates are still strong. We were able to graduate without debt because our parents saved for it. If we can, we want to be able to offer the same experience to LO. </p> <p>@gingerbebe: We have the same set up and also put in any cash gifts and a monthly contribution. The NY-529 aggressive plan did pretty well this year! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047273 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:14:31 +0000 LaughLines 2047273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@honeybear: His recommendation was on future contributions, so if you already had stuff in a plan that wouldn't be affected.... so if you put stuff in now it wouldn't matter if laws changed in the future, they wouldn't change something retroactively, you might just decide to not do future contributions if the law ever did change (against all odds). May as well take advantage of the benefits while they exist!!</p> <p>I thought it was interesting that his plan was to cut back on the 529 benefits because some huge percentage of the people who actually use the benefits by having a 529 are people who make over 200k/year. He was saying it doesn't affect the middle class because most of the middle class (&lt;$200k/year) doesn't use it. That seems like MORE incentive to use it, because it's out there and helpful to people who do use it, just not being utilized as well as it should. So take advantage of it while you can!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047270 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:12:31 +0000 blackbird 2047270@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have one for E/our kids. I'd be surprised if none of our kids go to college, honestly. It won't cover them 100%, but we put in what is comfortable for us </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047267 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:11:30 +0000 yoursilverlining 2047267@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a 529 for LO (2 actually, but 1 is sufficient. We only opened a second to benefit from a state grant) and contribute monthly. My in-laws contribute yearly to them as well. It’s something we all feel strongly about, and feel is extremely important.</p> <p>Higher education is an expectation in our family (and our families) and I don’t want money to be the main hindrance to LO furthering her education. That said, there is no way that we will be able to save enough to cover the full cost of college with rates raising at steady levels - people often talk like there is no in between, or that they aren't saving because they don't intend to cover the full cost of tuition. There is lots of in between. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047256 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 11:04:56 +0000 NovBaby1112 2047256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, we will not open a 529 plan or any other savings plan for college. We want our LO's to be able to reap as much financial aid as possible. Plus, we don't like the restrictions on it. What if LO decided not to go the traditional college route? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047233 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:52:49 +0000 honeybear 2047233@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One drawback is that the government can change the rules on the tax treatment of withdrawals at any time and the rules about how the expenses can be used. President Obama proposed eliminating the tax-free treatment of earnings on future contributions to 529 accounts just before the State of the Union. He later withdrew that proposal under political pressure, but he made that proposal in order to pay for his other education plans, so if those happen the money has to come from somewhere. Also, it used to be that a laptop for general use at school was a qualified expense, but it's not anymore. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047226 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:48:43 +0000 Anagram 2047226@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We just started one--as pps have said, you do not have to use the 529 from your state--and the money can be used at any university for any school-related expenses.</p> <p>Certain states have higher-yielding 529's--Nevada, Utah, New York are three we considered. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047225 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:48:36 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 2047225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have two and are trying to put away as much as we can in them. Utah's and Illinois' are rated the two best 529s in the country and Utah's gives us a break on state taxes, so that's what we're using. It's great because we're already starting to compound interest and in 14 years we should be in really good shape. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047224 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:48:07 +0000 lisa1783 2047224@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Agreed with @Espion - you don't need to live in the state or have your child attend a college in that state. There are a few states where they offer tax incentives for their local residents but not every state has that. If your state has no tax incentives, then you're free to choose from any plan. I personally look for ones that had a very low management fee and ended up with the NY plan. However, Utah and Wisconsin were my other top choices. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047218 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:46:37 +0000 gingerbebe 2047218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes we have the New York plan and basically asked all our relatives to donate to that fund through UPromise in lieu of a million toys and gifts for holidays and birthdays. We are also auto-deducting each month and putting any cash gifts we receive from family into that account. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047204 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:43:23 +0000 ShootingStar 2047204@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, we have one for him and so do my parents. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047199 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:42:36 +0000 Eko 2047199@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH and I have started looking into it and it's appealing for the purposes that it is non-taxed money. However, I really don't like the restrictions and the fact that the money can only be applied towards college. I am looking into other savings and investment options so if LO wants to use the money for something like a trade school or starting his own business, there would be funds available. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047188 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:38:18 +0000 snowjewelz 2047188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not yet.. We are considering it vs a non restrictive investment acct alao </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047181 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:36:43 +0000 skipra 2047181@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We do have one for each of our guys but my dad set it up and maintains it so I'm not sure about the details. I think it is through Vanguard. I think it's a great idea to have one but we also have a separate savings account because I don't want them to have all their money tied up in something with rules and restrictions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047153 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:26:16 +0000 Pumpkin Pie 2047153@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes we have one. We wanted to secure at least a little something for LO so we started the 529. We don't plan to continue adding to it though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047151 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:24:42 +0000 Espion 2047151@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can use it for all education related expenses (meal plans, books, equipment, etc.) DH and I could even use it. There is a hefty fee to cash it out and use it for other things. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047147 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:22:58 +0000 Espion 2047147@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can use a 529 from any state plan. We have one through USAA which uses the Nevada plan, I believe. An advantage to using your state's plan is tax breaks (just on state taxes, not federal). It didn't matter to us, because we live in a state without state income tax. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-have-a-529-plan-for-your-lo#post-2047143 Fri, 30 Jan 2015 10:20:27 +0000 LovelyPlum 2047143@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We want to start saving for college for LO, and I'm exploring options. I've been hesitant to start one, since I thought there were too many restrictions and I didn't know if we would live in our current state until little one went to college. I'm now finding out, though, that in New York you don't need to live here to use the funds later. It's making me reconsider.</p> <p>Do you have one? Do you like it? Any drawbacks? </p>