Saving for college

bridget0117

Have any of you ladies started a savings for LOs college fund? 

DH and I want to start now and add a certain amount each month until she goes to college but we aren't really sure where to start. 

How have you ladies done this?

How much should we put in each month?  

bobcee

We have one started for Delilah and will start one for Zack.  We do our state's 529 plan which is called the GET program.  How much you put in is going to be up to you, what you can afford, how much you want to have In there when LO is ready to go to college, etc..No one can tell you that, but anything is better than nothing

carcrashheart

we still haven't done this. we're behind and NEED to get this set up. we need to research our options. DH wants it to go towards college funds and that's that. i want it to be usable towards any post HS education (tech school, college, etc) so that LO can do what he wants. either way, we need to hop on this.

bridget0117

bobcee:

We have one started for Delilah and will start one for Zack.  We do our state's 529 plan which is called the GET program.  How much you put in is going to be up to you, what you can afford, how much you want to have In there when LO is ready to go to college, etc..No one can tell you that, but anything is better than nothing

Thank you

I'm going to see if my state offers a program like the one you have. I just don't know what they offer or how that works. Lol!

I asked how much we should put in the savings because I had seen a while back ago a money advisor say you should add so much because college costs so much. I just don't remember how much and I know college prices vary so I just wanted to know how much other people will save for the college fund.

I also wanted to tell you that I LOVE the name Delilah!! Very cute!!  

MRads

We did this. We had to wait to get Bs SSN, but we had spoken to a financial planner and had everything picked out prior to his arrival. I recommend meeting with a planner, learning about all your options and selecting what works best. There are number of routes you can go, including educational accounts you can use for educational expenses prior to college if you want to look into private schools. 

caseyandlizzie

We will also be setting up a 529 once LO arrives. We're going to do it through Vanguard and will be contributing to it every pay period. My work offers a pre-tax 529 plan where the money is just taken out of my paycheck, but the benefits and accessability were not as good as what Vangaurd can offer. There are lots of options out there, so do some research and find what'll work best for you and your goals.

bridget0117

Mrads and Lizzie- Thank you, I knew I had options I just didn't know where to start. I kinda have an idea now. I will do some research and see what works best for us. Thanks again, this is the kind of advice I was looking for  

bridget0117

carcrashheart:

we still haven't done this. we're behind and NEED to get this set up. we need to research our options. DH wants it to go towards college funds and that's that. i want it to be usable towards any post HS education (tech school, college, etc) so that LO can do what he wants. either way, we need to hop on this.

My DH is just like your DH, he wants it to go only for college fund but I'm not really sure what I want yet.

MRads

You can also set up custodial accounts for him to use for anything, including a lump sum to start a business or a down payment on a house. That's why I recommend talking to somebody so you and your H have a clear picture of all available options and you two are on the same page in terms of what you want. We also let grandparents know that we were going to be setting up this account and both sets expressed interest in contributing, so we gave them the information too.

bridget0117

Mrads- that's really awesome! I didn't know all of this. Where did you find your financial planner? 

MRads

H's business partner is a financial planner. But ask your friends and family for recommendations for one.

wiggyslilsis

We set up a savings account for Ava Nichol on her first birthday. We meant to do it before then but it just took that long! We had money from her birthday that people wanted to put in her savings. We add money automatically every month. We also have a piggy bank and she puts all our change in her piggy bank. Whenever it gets full we bring it in and they don't charge you to count change for kid's accounts. Also the credit union has a cool program that she will like when she is older where she can earn prizes for depositing money. 

We also gave the info out to grandparents and great grandparents that had shown interest in building an account for her. I call it her future fund because I want it to be for how she chooses to use it. I had a similar account and I used it to buy a car and put a down payment on a house. One set of grandparents is unhappy about our system because they wanted to set up an account with their names and her name and we weren't comfortable with that. They basically said they don't want to put the money where we can touch it because they can't trust us and they want her to be able to go to them when she needs something. We already don't have the best relationship with these grandparents so that added to the discomfort.

AshleyMatt1215

 Most likely, we'll be opening a savings account for her with our names on it. We'll make monthly contributions and put birthday money in it (until they understand money, then half will go in). It's not going to necessarily be for college, it's more of a fund to get them started in whatever they choose to do in life. If LO turns 18 and wants a car it's there, if they want to add to it for a house...etc.

bridget0117

madeline10L:

AshleyMatt1215:

 Most likely, we'll be opening a savings account for her with our names on it. We'll make monthly contributions and put birthday money in it (until they understand money, then half will go in). It's not going to necessarily be for college, it's more of a fund to get them started in whatever they choose to do in life. If LO turns 18 and wants a car it's there, if they want to add to it for a house...etc.

HER????!!!???

What Madie said!

Her??? 

Lol! I didn't catch that until you mentioned it Madie!