GT_Aggie2015 said:

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MAS444 said:

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I just did age based aggressive. 8% return since we started 5 years ago.

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+1
Only two years in next month and still positive overall at last check.

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Decided to check because of the recent post and we are sitting at 8.47% return almost 2 years in next month. I realize that we still have a long time to go but I will take 8% all day every day. For us the goal isn't to pay for our children's education 100% but rather subsidize. Ideally, they supplement with scholarships and some loans. Our second child is on the way next month and we will definitely be setting up another Utah for her.

94chem said:

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barnyard1996 said:

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OwlAg13 said:

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Cool, thanks everyone

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You've done a great thing here. Keep feeding it, I promise you wont regret it.

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Also, feed it early. With these interest rates, if I had enough equity and the kids were young enough, I'd do a cash out refi and put the money in a 529. The 529 functions like a Roth IRA, but the time horizon is compressed. You only get to make money tax free for 20 years or so, whereas a Roth is a 40 year time frame. With 6 kids there's only so much I can do, but I'm scrapping along.

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This sounds pretty good but I don't think I can bring myself to pull the trigger. My oldest is just starting first grade, so there's plenty of time. But my mortgage will be paid off in 8 years. The appeal of having that paid off is probably too strong.

John Francis Donaghy said:

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Another vote for Utah. Texas plans are super high fee, with no tax benefit, not a good option.

Utah was very easy to set up with lots of good fund options, including very low fee Vanguard funds. Pick one, stick the money in, set up a monthly auto-pay to keep adding to it, and let her roll.

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How would Texas 529 plan have no tax benefit? I thought they all has tax free withdrawal on gains used towards school?

Bassmaster said:

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He means no tax deduction for the contributions.

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And if you go thru Utah you get a tax deduction for the contribution?

That's only on the state level if you live there I thought.

Correct. No state income tax for Texas so no reason to use the Texas 529 plan.

So what's the benefit of doing another state's 529? So key who manages it?

yep. Fund Family and Fees

Bizarro Jerry said:

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AgsMnn said:

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Last question for me. What about life insurance? Our rep mentioned using it fo college if we wanted to and taking out lump sums when needed.

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Absolutely not. Trying to sell you a policy.

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Whole life investment policies are some of the best you can "invest in"















For the insurance agent.

DCC80 said:

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Fidelity Investments has a MasterCard and an AmEx that provide 2% rebates on all charges, said rebates being directable into a Fidelity Investments account, including a 529. Not long after my son was born, we got both cards and, thereafter, charged EVERYTHING to them. I was been fortunate enough to work in a couple of small businesses during that time and was able to run tens of thousands of dollars through those cards. Bottom line: Between our contributions of about $18,000, the rebates, and market growth, by the time he entered college in 2015, we had accumulated $80,000, more than enough to pay for three-and-a-half years at A&M.

It's not going to work for everyone -- you need to have a lot of charges to run through the cards, and you have to have a favorable market, but it worked for us.

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Yep, I run everything through my Fid account. The rebate is deposited directly into my SEP IRA from which I invest the money into ETFs. Been doing that for years and around $7000 in rebates.