Best college saving plan

We're doing a 529 through fidelity. To my understanding you can transfer between states once every 12 months

@Brenda really?! Why did someone tell me I couldn’t transfer?! 😭😭😭😭 thank you!!!

@Cheri k—12 too?! I had no idea!! Wish I took it out sooner!! I need to do more research for sure

Fidelity

There are state-sponsored 529 plans for states that have state income tax so you get the tax benefit and there are national 529 that are flexible if you expect to move around a lot but won't have a tax benefit as the state-sponsored ones. I would check to see if that a national 529 plan works best for you.

I'm planning on doing an IRA in my sons name. Taking money out for school is one of the accepted early withdrawals, but if he doesn't want to go to college it can help him buy a house or just be saved for retirement.

@Kate ohhhhh I'm going to do some research on this 👀

@Kate I thought your child has to have a job to contribute to the IRA in order to open one in their name? Also, does an IRA count as income when deciding need for college financial aid? Those were the things that factored in my decision to stick with my state's sponsored 529 Plan for my kids, besides the tax benefits. To the OP, I would suggest consulting a financial advisor that specialized in college plans. There are also prepaid tuition plans that you can also consider. I believe you can use them at a pool of colleges depending on what plan you go with, but I would double check. Open the account you think would be best. Consider the pros and cons of each option carefully. As for what I am doing, 2/3 kids have state sponsored 529 Plans. My eldest has a state ABLE account as he is a special needs child. Funds in an ABLE account can also be used for college, not just future medical expenses as it is more popularly advertised for.

I have also planned to open brokerage accounts in mine and my husband's names but with each child as sole beneficiary. If they don't go to college, we can transfer the account to them if they want to do something else that college funds don't cover. The funds won't be weighted as much when considering college financial aid if they do decide to go to college as it is our money, not theirs. I have made the mistake of opening a brokerage account in my eldest's name but it was considered income when deciding eligibility for special needs state benefits for him, so I would tread that option carefully if you were also considering that OP.