This is a sponsored post on behalf of ScholarShare.
ScholarShare National 529 Day
Having two children in college, we are keenly aware of how very expensive it is. We are fortunate, in that a close relative paid for my son’s first college experience (he decided after two years that this particular college just wasn’t for him). He came back home and went to the local community college for a couple of years, and he currently attends a state university. My husband and I are paying this time around and ouch – it is painful! My son will only be at the state university for two years (thank goodness), so there’s that, but when we look back on how much we could have saved by using a 529 plan, it makes us cringe just a bit.
ScholarShare offers 19 investment portfolios, giving account holders more options, depending on their savings goals and risk tolerance.
Since its inception in 1999, the number of ScholarShare accounts has grown to more than 260,000 with over $6.3 billion in total plan assets.
In 2014, ScholarShare helped California families meet their higher education needs, with nearly $300 million withdrawn by families to pay for qualified higher education expenses.
ScholarShare offers a diverse set of investment options, and provides tax-deferred growth and withdrawals free from state and federal taxes when the funds are used for qualified higher education expenses, such as tuition and fees, books or even certain room and board costs.
Any U.S. citizen, or resident alien with a valid Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number, can open a new account, for as little as $25.
Through ScholarShare’s “Give a Gift” option, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends can open a new account as a gift or make a gift contribution to an existing one.
ScholarShare has no annual account management fee, no income limit and offers a high maximum account balance.
This is very impressive! Why pay taxes on the money you spend on your child’s college expenses when you don’t have to? That is a huge waste of money.
One other feature I really like is that family and friends can donate to exciting ScholarShare accounts (or create a new one). This is the perfect gift idea, that can start benefitting kids from an early age. Many grandparents & relatives like buying savings bonds for birthdays, Christmas, etc. (which is a fantastic idea), but to donate directly to their future? Priceless!
There is no annual account management fee with ScholarShare, and no income limit!
ScholarShare’s 529 Day Matching Promotion
There is something pretty neat (and helpful!) happening on May 29th (this Friday) – the ScholarShare 529 “You Start It, We Match It Program”. When you open a ScholarShare 529 College Savings Account on this date (Friday, May 29, 2015 from 12:01am to 11:59pm PT). ScholarShare will match $50 of your initial deposit! That is very generous, and an easy way to start building college savings right away.
This is where the fun comes in! The matching deposit of $50 will be made to the eligible ScholarShare 529 account on or before 11:59pm PT on December 15, 2015. If you have more than one child, it might be worth starting a ScholarShare 529 account for each, as there is a limit of one matching deposit per new ScholarShare account that is opened for a new beneficiary.
If you have children, I really hope you will give this some serious thought. I sometimes cannot believe how fast time flies, and when my kids were little, it seemed like they would never grow up. Although college may seem like a really long time away, it is not. It is never too early to start planning for their college education. When you are ready, make sure you visit (and hopefully sign up on) Scholar Share. Don’t forget that May 29th is the day to do this if you want to take advantage of the ScholarShare National 529 Day!
Elena
Sounds good. I need to open a 529 account for my son
Cheryl
Sounds like a great opportunity for residents of California.
Elizabeth Sunderland
luckily in Tennessee all grads get 2 yr of college free. THEY JUST STARTED THIS HERE PLUS MY DAUGHTER WILL HAVE A CERTIFICATE LEVEL DEGREE IN ROBOTICS MAKING $25/HR WHEN SHE GRADUATES FROM HIGH SCHOOL IN 2016 FROM A LOCAL COLLEGE.
vickie Couturier
great ideal,,i put one thru college and it was not cheap,,didnt have enought saved
Marti Tabora
Sounds like a really great opportunity, especially the “You Start It, We Match It Program”. Thanks.
Dana Rodriguez
That is a great program for California.I hope a lot of people take advantage of this!
Holly S.
I am so late! We have a little saved for each child in a savings account, but this would grow so much faster!
Holly Thomas
This sounds like a great opportunity!
Cynthia C
This is such a smart idea. Huge student loans can ruin young lives.
CR Williams
This is a great way to make sure my daughter will be taken care of when she gets older. Thanks for sharing.
donna u
What a great plan for your children! Most of us cannot afford college~
nicole dziedzic
We started a college fund early for our kids, they are really young now, but it is the best time to start a account. My parents never had one for any of there kids, which was not good at all for my siblings and I, which i learned once i had kids to never do that, bad idea. Love that this scholar share is matching your deposit with $50, very helpful to kick things off with.
mrsshukra
I wish we had done this!
nickie
This sounds like a great opportunity!
Jennifer Heintz
The $50 contribution is very generous for a minimum of $25.00 per month savings towards the plan. But, I do not live in California 🙁
Sara Weekley
I have two daughters and find this very interesting. i will be looking into this great info. thanks
Maria C
Did not know anything about this until now. Thanks for sharing. Will be very helpful esp. for my teenage girl
courtney b
great idea!
I WISH I had money to save up for college for my kids 🙁
Maybe one day!!!!!!!! xo love your blog!
Natalie Brown
This is a great State plan to help with college expenses. Florida has something quit similar.
Angela Saver
It’s great to know they help out a little & match the $50! I need to get one set up for my daughter!
denise low
Sounds great. Thank you for the information.
Laura S
Great opportunity for those in CA – college is just so expensive so every bit of help is welcome
Robin W
I sure wish I had done something like this for my son. He is in his last year and it has certainly be a financial strain on us. Worth it by all means, but a strain.
Hesper Fry
Thank you for sharing. A great plan for those living in the state of California!
kim vh
This is a wonderful idea!!
Susan Smith
This sounds like a great opportunity. I love that friends and relatives can donate to the fund too.
Sarah L
Wish I’d had something like this 40 years ago. Very handy.
Jerry Marquardt
This looks like a very great program for savings of college funds for the future of children. I thank you for supporting such a program and informing the public of how to go about getting involved.
Amanda Sakovitz
I love how they match the initial deposit. What a great way to save for school!
Sherry Conrad
Interesting- will have to check this out to see if it is something my daughter wants to do for my grandsons.
Birdiebee
This sounds like a great opportunity to get your educational needs met.
barb l
An absolutely great idea!