city girls – Mrzmomof3

So in a couple years my 13 year old will be going to college then my two other girls won’t be so far behind. This defiantly has had me in a frenzy because we haven’t saved for them besides an occasional savings bond or two. This weekend thanks to Momtrends, I was able to learn more about the NYC529 Direct College savings Plan. This plan is awesome is so many ways .First all that is needed is $25 bucks to open an account. I don’t know about you but i spend $25 so quickly on any given day . So this already makes me excited on the possibilities on how I can save for my girls future.

So what exactly is a 529 College savings plan?

Well its a type investment account you can use for higher-education savings.(2-4 year college -gradschool-accedited vocational schools) 529 plans are usually sponsored by states.(see your states guidelines for rules and regulation)

What makes this savings plan great is that there is a huge tax savings. Like your earnings grow federally tax-deffered,qualified withdrawals are tax-free. If your a NYS resident your tax benefits are great such as your contribution can be written off on your taxes from $5K-$10K for contributions made to the plan.

So now your next question maybe … who can open an account?

Well anyone can ,parents, grandparents and even friends as long as they are U.S citizen or resident alien. So the family or friend will be the owner of the account and the child will be the beneficiary even when the child becomes an adult,the person who owns the account will always be the owner, So unlike trust savings account once the child turns 18 they have access to the account, in this case the account will always stay in the person who opened the account unless they choose to sign over the ownership to the now adult or to another person. Which are all simple to do just by filling out paperwork.

As an account owner you can pick out all the investments with a company here in NY named Van Guard https://investor.vanguard.com/home/?WT.srch=1&cmpgn=PS:RE . They basically serve as investment manager to the plan. They offer a range of investment plans, for example VanGuard has simple investment plans that are aged based program portfolios and makes things simple and easy especially for those of us who aren’t stock market savvy ,because I’m sure not and this will make things a lot easier for my husband and I to oversea the girls accounts.

Additionally as account owner, you can assign beneficiaries and determine how the funds are used. Sounds easy so far its because it is and it will help save you and your family. The cost of college is sky high wouldn’t it be a huge relief to know that when your child is ready for college that your family will be too. “Because every dollar saved is dollar you don’t have to borrow”

What is covered under this savings plan is anything that is considered a qualified higher-education expense like tuition books and supplies which we all know is very costly and adds up so fast. Also within plan there is no income restrictions which will work great when applying for aide. Most people like myself always thought the more I would save for my kids for college would hinder there chances of getting financial aide by the state. Unlike tradition custodial savings plan this 529 college savings plan are more beneficial to the student because when Finanical aide looks into your assets they only will see 5% of the 529 to use towards your edcuation rather than 20% of the saving account funds, you will contribute to the cost of education again because you are still the account holder unlike the child with a traditional savings account.

Additionally with the 529 savings plan once use a certain amount your child may need for there education you have options in what to do with the remaining funds ,such as use it for your own education which is great, I’m actually planning on going back to school one day. or changing beneficiary to another sibling. Also because this is real life ,things do happen if for any reason your family goes through a hardship you can borrow against the plan for non-school purchases and the penalty would only be 10%.

So we all celebrate all sorts of occasions in our children’s lives during there childhood such as a pre-k/kindergarten graduations, birthdays, recitals and we all know how toys and video games can quickly accumulate in our house unused. Well with this plan friends and family can contribute to your child’s account with UGift. This allows for a gift they can use later on in life and would be more beneficial than yet another stuffed animal. With UGift you are able to just give the person a code and not have to worry about giving out all your child’s personal information.

https://www.nysaves.org/home/college-savings-articles/content-secondary-co10/share-ugift-code.html

My husband and I hands down made a big decision for my daughters that will benefit there future this weekend. We will be opening NY529 College Savings Plans for them. And I would recommend you too also look into opening one for your child today too.

So this weekend wasn’t all just learning for mommy . My two youngest Hailey and Alyssa enjoyed famous and beautiful Intrepid Sea,Air and Space museum complex. I hadn’t been in many many years and whenever we drive by they always ask to go inside .To say they where excited is a understatement. The girls enjoyed a tour and got to enjoy all that was to see from old war planes to a submarine and even the beautiful space shuttle Enterprise. Thank you again Momtrends for a beautiful day of learning and culture!