Saving for college and an introduction

[jmccleary12]

Hi guys,
I normally lurk on here, but I find this board to be really helpful! I'm 32, married and have 2 boys, 4 and 11 months. We're just starting to save for college and we have $200 a month budgeted toward that saving. I hope to increase it eventually but with both kids in daycare. . . yea. Anyways, I have no idea where to start! I'm thinking for the first 6 months or so we'll just put it in a savings account. Once we start to build up though, what is a good option? I have a financial planner, but I feel like he always recommends whole life, and that's not the direction I want to go. Thanks!

[SJ]

www.savingforcollege.com has a lot of good info. I would start by researching your state's plan. See how it is rated, see if there are tax incentives, and go from there.

[Deleted]

Ours is split between a 529 plan and long term CDs.

[makingithappen]

Do you max an IRA yet? I've thought about saving in one since you don't get penalized if they don't go to college, the contributions can be withdrawn without penalty, and any gains would be for me since savings accounts don't really gain right now anyways.

[jmccleary12]

Thank you!

[HoneySpider]

I have nothing to contribute but want to say hi & I hope you will post more often!

[liveintheville]

Sept 25, 2012 12:45:22 GMT -5 makingithappen said:

Do you max an IRA yet? I've thought about saving in one since you don't get penalized if they don't go to college, the contributions can be withdrawn without penalty, and any gains would be for me since savings accounts don't really gain right now anyways.

Yeah we have a coverdell IRA for each kid. It maxes at $2k/kid/yr.

[Deleted]

We save in a 529. We get pretty large bonuses so we just put a large lump sum in when she was born and cross our fingers it will be enough in 18 years