529 College Savings Plan?

We did some research and opened up the Utah plan when our little one was born.
It seems to have lower fees than most of the other plans.
Good luck on your decision.

Hi K.,

I recently met with a financial advisor Greg Hanson at Northstar Bank in Denton. He is awesome. He really helped us to understand available plans and to get the best one to prepare. I was shocked to discover that by the time my dear 5 year old daughter is ready to go to college it will cost 150K just to get her a BA at a public college. We need to be saving $600/mo to do this. At any rate I would highly recomend Greg. It's a free consult and more information is always better! My 2cents!

We use John Moore at Edward Jones. He is at Beltline and MacArthur in Coppell/Valley Ranch. He got us signed up with the Virginia 529 plan which the Wall Street Journal wrote was one of the best. I trust him and don't worry about him leading us into plans that just have high fees. He is also not one of those guys who only works with high net-worth people. We've been with him for 6 or 7 years.

Most states offer a plan. Many people choose the plan in their state b/c many state plans offer state income tax incentives. Since Texas doesn't have state income tax we really don't have that opportunity so for us it's a matter of picking the state plan that is the best managed with the lowest fees. If you google you will find independent studies that compare plans. When I picked a plan 6 years ago, Money Magazine highly rated the Utah plan so that is the one my children have. You can go to third parties to set these up for you but it's not necessary and I'm not sure if they have access to all the plans if they are an intermediary - I think they only sell the ones they sell (not sure about this). Once you decide what plan you want, go to that plans web site and download the paperwork. It will probably take you less than an hour to fill it out and send them a check and you are all set. I set up my children's directly with Utah's plan and it was quick and easy - like opening a bank account. You can set up automatic deposits. I googled and found a "529 payment calculator" on another site to determine how much I needed to put in every year for my kids have a typical state school paid for (they can take a loan out for the difference for a private school!) and try to just make an annual deposit of that amount each year but I don't have it set automatically that way I can up it or lower it depending on what our other family priorities are that year.

I would really check with a financial planner regarding the 529 plan. Ours was not very hip on these as there are other vehicles to contribute to that won't lower your chances of getting grants or loans when the time comes. We don't have money to invest at this time, but our financial planner has whipped our 401k's into shape.
Jen D.-Frisco

I would love to help you out. I am an Edward Jones Financial Advisor and my office is in Grapevine. I set up 529 plans for people very often. Please give me a call if you would like to discuss. My name is J. Clifton, and my office phone number is ###-###-####. I hope to hear from you soon!

We set one up with our kids through Iowa 529 (via Vanguard)because texas doesn't have a 529 plan and linked it with Upromise. We linked all of our grocery cards, credit cards and debit cards to the account as well. We also have a Upromise credit card that gives you a certain percentage a mth of your total into your 529 plan. When you shop online via Upromise, you get a percentage of your purchase dumped into the 529 accounts as well. We split the proceeds 50/50 between our two kids. Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have. We are pleased with it. Right now we put 25$/mth in each of our kids accounts, which is directly taken out of our bank account.

Hi K.,

We opened a plan for my oldest son with Scholar's Edge(New Mexico) through a broker. Then we opened a plan for our second son with Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) by ourselves. UESP has performed a lot better and has less fees. You can open the account yourself, you just have to fill out a form, and you can donate as much or as little as you want. Good Luck. V.

K., I work for a Financial Planner who is really good at counseling people on the best ways for them to set up options for their kids. There are several good ways to do it, you just need to pick the best way for your family. I will be happy to set up a teleconference with you so you can meet him over the phone and decide if you want his help. He is a wonderful person. Call me at ###-###-#### if you want me to arrange something. J.

I use Upromise.com - that way I selected a plan that can be used anywhere she decides to go to college. To start off you usually need to set up an ACH of about $50 a month? I can't remember. We were contributing but at some point had to stop & they never made us make a payment after that.

Also I get pennies on the dollar for other stuff I buy whether groceries, eating out or buying a car.

Also try www.upromise.com. It is VERY easy to get an account set up and many retail stores will contribute a small % of your purchases to the college fund & they also have the same credit card offer as Fidelity in the earlier response...check site for more details.

One web site that can help a lot is www.collegesavings.com. I googled "529 Plan" and got a lot of helpful info. I reviewed an article by Morningstar on the various plans available, and I chose the plan managed by Utah (www.uesp.org). It does not matter what state manages the plan; you can use the funds at any school when your child is ready for college. I chose UESP because it was rated fairly high by Morningstar based on its choices and flexibility. The Utah plan offers investments that are similar to what you could invest in through a stock brokerage. I selected Plan 2 that automatically adjusts investments to ensure that more cash is available when your child is nearing 18. I am a tax attorney and have a degree in finance, so if you have some questions after looking at collegesavings.com, I will try to answer them for you. Also take a look at Fidelity's web site; I recall they had a fairly good explanation of 529 Plans. Also check out the UPromise web site; you can get money allocated to your child's 529 Plan by buying certain products or by using a UPromise credit card. I have not done this yet; I don't necessarily use the products on that site that much and I like the credit card that I have, but fyi.

My husband is a numbers man and when my now 13 yr old was born he had hers set up and ready for 529. Over the years, we have allowed our investment guy from Edward Jones to handle more of it so that we are not as "emotionally attached" to the ups and downs of the market.

At this point, she is fully funded and we are in the transition where we are moving it around some to make sure she will stay fully funded.

The idea of the 529 is so great because if by chance your child does not use it (scholarships, etc), his/her children will be able to and so on. We feel better knowing that what we have set up will also be assisting our grandchildren (if she has any). It is transferable within the family (at least ours is, as long as it is used for education)

Another perk to the 529 is that when my daughter wants to use the money for something else, I know my broker will make sure she makes the right choices by explaining how much tax she will pay by taking out the money for something other than education!!

If you don't have a broker you use and if you are not that familiar with the process, try your banker or the websites provided as someone else said to learn more about it.

You are not going wrong providing for your child. Kudo's to you, K., for thinking ahead and taking this responsibility. for your son. So many parents are not willing to give their kids the jumpstart needed which can make or break your child a long way down the road.

Good luck.