529 recommendations

[scsarah]

I am starting to think about 529 investing for DS.  I know in the past I've seen a website recommended that does a great job of breaking down which states are best to consider, but I don't remember the actual site.  I also can't seem to get the search function to work to find it.  Does anyone know which one I'm talking about?

My recollection was that it was written by a finance guy, and he did a top 5 to consider if you didn't get any state benefits for your home state.

[orangeglow]

Our financial advisor uses Alaska for his son so that is what we are going with.  If you have someone that manages your assets it works well because they are able to allocate as they see fit with the Alaska 529.  It also allows you to choose how you invest the money (ie age based or... something else - I forget and this is why I have someone to do this for us).  

I don't know about other states because he explained some and picked this one for himself and us and I am always happy with his decisions.

[winemaker06]

Vanguard has a decent comparison. It's probably skewed to theirs, but still had good information.
We ended up going with the Vanguard one, Nevada, because the higher fees charged didn't make my state tax break worth it.

[SJ]

Www.savingforcollege.com is a great resource

[shaynaatl]

We use GA and UT.

Vanguard's NY plan just lowered their already-low fees, so they are a great option right now.

[Deleted]

Sept 25, 2014 19:52:26 GMT -5 @astrid said:

I don't know if you fully fund roths for both you and your husband, but we just saw a financial advisor about opening a 529 for kiddo and she basically said a 529 can really hurt the kid when it comes to applications for college because it looks like they have a lot of money. So consider other avenues in addition to the 529.

I'm sure each state has their own rules, etc. but in PA, having a PA 529 plan will not impact your eligibility for state funded financial aid.  As for federal financial aid, up to 6% of the 529 balance will be applied towards school expenses when determining need if the account holder is a custodial parent.

[scsarah]

Thanks everyone! The one I was thinking of was the Clark Howard @abbycobb mentioned, and I'd heard of the savingforcollege.com one too.

We're definitely not fully funding our Roth's yet, so that's the priority, but when we get gifts of money from our parents for DS, I'd like to have somewhere to put it that will benefit him.

The other complication is that I currently work at a university, and if I can do 8 more years here, DS will get tuition covered. Of course, that assumes he wants to go to this school. So I'm torn about 529s, because I think they're great vehicles for saving for his future, but I just don't know what's realistic right now.

[scsarah]

Sept 26, 2014 17:04:54 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Sept 26, 2014 12:18:19 GMT -5 scsarah said:

Thanks everyone! The one I was thinking of was the Clark Howard @abbycobb mentioned, and I'd heard of the savingforcollege.com one too.

We're definitely not fully funding our Roth's yet, so that's the priority, but when we get gifts of money from our parents for DS, I'd like to have somewhere to put it that will benefit him.

The other complication is that I currently work at a university, and if I can do 8 more years here, DS will get tuition covered. Of course, that assumes he wants to go to this school. So I'm torn about 529s, because I think they're great vehicles for saving for his future, but I just don't know what's realistic right now.

I would read about the qualified educational expenses that you can use a 529 for.  If tuition is covered, he'll still have to pay for books and perhaps room and board if he doesn't live at home.  Not sure whether it can be used for the fees for study abroad, etc., but I think it can.  And it can be used for graduate school or other qualified programs, or for other family members.  

For sure.  There's also the very real possibility that he will want to go somewhere far from home, where he wouldn't get the tuition benefit.  So I'm planning on using the 529s as a savings vehicle, but definitely not going to forgo our retirement for us to set money aside.