For some reason, I thought I had written about 529 plans to death. After all, figuring out a way to pay for a child’s college education is a top priority for many people, and something I worked on a lot when I was a financial planner. More than that, I’m also a dad with a couple of rug rats that I’ll want to send off to get a great education, and then on to a wonderful life in the real world unencumbered by the all too common, crushing student loan debt. So, naturally, I think a lot about how education planning and college savings fit into a person’s personal financial plan. And, usually when something money related stays on my mind, I write about it a lot.
Then, a family member shot me a message asking a question about paying for college for her growing sons. I figured I’d send her a dozen links to all my best college saving advice and 529 plan information. Only, it turns out, I haven’t covered near as much over the years as I thought I had.
So, starting Wednesday, I’ll be cranking out the Complete Definitive Guide to 529 Plans and College Savings in a series of blog posts here on the site. Eventually, I bundle them all into an eBook that you can buy to have a reference all in one place, but for now follow along here to get it all free, as it comes out.
I’ll cover not only what a 529 plan is, and how a 529 savings plan works, but also things like how much money you need to save each month to pay for college, and how to find money to save for college. I’ll also dip into how financial aid works, and how repaying student loans works including the various student loan forgiveness options that you might qualify for.
First up, the basics of 529 plans.
Then, check out how to open a 529 college savings plan.
You’ll need to see about the 529 contribution limits for 2014.
Up next, the ways to save money for college.