The Ultimate Guide to 529 Plans: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Have kids? Planning on them pursuing a college degree one day? Then this week’s Money Guy Show is a can’t-miss episode as we serpentine around the important topic of education planning.

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In this show, we address many of the important questions parents have about how they should save toward their children’s future education costs. Which tools are available? Which ones are the best for your situation? Don’t go anywhere, because we cover that and a whole lot more in this week’s installment of The Money Guy Show.

Tune in to find out:

• Some interesting facts about college that you probably didn’t know (like 75 percent of high school seniors are accepted to their first-choice colleges, but less than 57 percent can afford to attend!)
• All your options when it comes to saving for college: savings bonds vs Coverdell Education Savings Accounts vs Roth IRAs vs Life Insurance vs 529 plans
• The different types of 529 plans (prepay tuition vs savings account)
• What makes a 529 plan such an amazing financial tool for saving for education
• What you probably didn’t realize you could use unused 529 savings towards
• How to carefully understand the coordination of 529 Plan assets with tax credits and scholarships
• What is AOTC, and why you need to know about it (and talk to your tax adviser about it)
• The nitty gritty details of education tax credits – calculations, limits, eligible expenses, and rules
• 2017’s MorningStar’s Annual 529 Ratings: what they are, what they mean, and how you can use this information
• What you should know about 529 fees, and the difference between Direct-Sold 529 Plans and Advisor-Sold 529 Plans

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Interesting facts about college: https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/10-surprising-facts-about-college> https://www.teenlife.com/blogs/10-surprising-facts-about-college
• Morningstar’s Annual 529 Ratings: http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=830917
• Fees for 529 Plans: http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=810327
• Improving Trend for 529 Plans: http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=831727

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