A couple months ago my wife an I found out we were expecting our first child, so I opened a 529 College Savings Plan in the state of Ohio. The CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan is one of the top rated 529 College Savings Plans in the US. There are no application or annual fees, and there are a wide variety of fund options with low expense rations (including several Vanguard funds). The best part? The CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan is open to residents of all states in the US.
Why Choose the CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan?
If you plan on saving for college, then consider a tax advantaged college savings account. In addition to the 529 Plan, there is the Coverdell Educational Savings Account (ESA), which is another tax advantaged college savings plan. The 529 plan is more flexible than the ESA, and was a better fit for my needs. You can compare 529 plans and Coverdell ESAs for more information about which type of plan is better for you.
Top rated 529 plan. Morningstar rated the CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan as one of the best in the nation due to its excellent mix of quality, low cost funds, and the lack of extra administrative fees found in many other plans. You can read Morningstar’s review for more information.
Future tax breaks. Contributions to 529 plans are made with after tax dollars and can be withdrawn tax free for qualified educational expenses. This is similar to the benefits of investing in a Roth IRA.
Potential current tax breaks. OH residents may be eligible to deduct up to $2,000 in contributions per beneficiary, per calendar year, with unlimited carry forward in future years. This plan is still a good option for non-Ohio residents, even without a tax break.
Transferability. You can invest in a 529 College Savings Plan for yourself, and if you decide you won’t use it, then you can transfer the benefits to another family member. That flexibility is a big reason why I signed up for a 529 plan before our child was born. I may not use it myself, but I ca transfer the funds to her when she is ready for school.
$25 to get you started. Need a little incentive? The Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan is offering new account holders a $25 sign up bonus to open an account.
$25 sign up bonus – Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan
How to get the $25 College Advantage sign up bonus.
- Open a new College Advantage 529 Savings Plan with a minimum of $25.
- Enter the following referral code: 2534946
- Receive your $25 bonus within 7-10 business days.
- Offer expires December 18, 2009.
Earn more bonus money. You can refer friends and family for additional bonuses. They get a sign up bonus and you get a referral bonus. Win-win!
Earn $25 More for automatic contributions
The Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 College Savings Plan is also offering a “Systematic Savings Incentive Offer” of $25 for starting a new recurring investment. To receive his $25 bonus you will have to start a new monthly contribution of at least $25 between September 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010. The monthly contribution must be open for at least 90 days to be eligible. This offer is not available to persons already making automatic contributions. Here are the program rules and details.
If you are looking for additional ways to save for college, then I recommend looking into Upromise – Earn Free Money for College.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Ryan,
Even if you did not live in ohio, 529 plans are good for kid’s college. Also check out ESA plans, which you can use for k-12 time, but it may last longer and has only 2k per kid limit. How is your daughter and wife doing?
Zengirl
Zengirl, I think 529 plans are great for anyone looking to invest or save for college. The ESA plans are also very good and you can invest in any fund, so there is more flexibility in that regard. But I like the ease of transferability with the 529 Plans.