Earlier this year my wife and I had our first child which made us rethink our financial planning. One of the new expenses we need to plan for is college education. Even though our daughter still has about 18 years before she will be going to college, putting a plan in place now is a good idea, because if today’s tuition rates are any indication, college will be an expensive endeavor!
We researched college education plans and decided to open a 529 College Savings Plan through CollegeAdvantage, Ohio’s 529 plan, because a 529 plan best met our needs. Check out the 529 vs. the Coverdell for more info on the two most popular college savings options.
Why Choose the Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan?
The Ohio CollegeAdvantage College Savings plan is open to residents of all states, is rated as “Top 5″ in the nation by Morningstar, and features low cost investment options (including several options from Vanguard). Additional features:
- No enrollment or maintenance fees
- Open with as little as $25
- Tax breaks on contributions for OH residents
- Tax free withdrawals for qualified educational expenses
- $25 sign up bonus – use referral code: 2534946
- $25 Automatic contribution bonus
- $50 “Refer a Friend” bonus
The 529 also offers the flexibility of changing your account beneficiary to another family member at any time, which is nice because that means we can open 529 plans in my name, my wife’s name, and our daughter’s name, and then transfer the benefits to our daughter (or future child) without penalty when she goes to school.
Opening new accounts will earn us $200 for our daughter’s education
I opened an account in my name this before our daughter was even born, but I decided to wait until after our daughter was born before opening an account in my wife’s name. With the current bonus options in place, now is a great time to open an Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 plan.
How we will earn $200:
- I refer my daughter and I receive a $50 referral, she receives a $25 bonus. ($75)
- Refer my wife from my daughter’s account. Daughter receives $50, wife receives $25. ($75)
- Set up an automatic contribution to both accounts; $25 each ($50)
- Total = $200
How to receive the $25 Ohio CollegeAdvantage referral offer
You need to use a referral code to get the $25 College Advantage sign up bonus. Here are the details:
- 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.
How to receive the $25 systematic savings offer
To take advantage of the Systematic Savings Incentive Offer, you will need to start a new recurring monthly electronic funds transfer (EFT) or payroll deduction between September 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010 with a minimum contribution of $25 per month and it must remain active for at least 90 days. The $25 bonus will be applied to your CollegeAdvantage direct account 90 days after you start the new recurring EFT or payroll deduction. Here are the program rules and details.
Refer more people for more bonuses
Earn more bonus money. My family can get $200 from this program, but you could easily earn several hundred more if you have a large family or extensive network. You can refer friends and family for additional bonuses – they get a $25 sign up bonus and you get a $50 referral bonus. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
If you are looking for additional ways to save for college, then I recommend looking into Upromise – Earn Free Money for College.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks like a great program. I am planning on opening one for my son, and maybe even one for me. I’d like to go back and get my Ph.D. when my son gets a little older…
You can still open one for yourself and if you don’t use it, you can use the funds for your children without any transfer fees. It’s a win-win situation if you open one for your son, then refer yourself.
That is really a deal! $200 bonus for getting started possible. Who wouldn’t do that?
Oooo… I think you’ve got me. Will try to set this up later this month… I mean $200 is nothing in compared to the eventual cost of an education, but it is still $200!
Any charges for canceling the automatic deposits (or is it after a certain amount of time)?
No charges for starting or stopping contributions – it’s all free.