Just closed the 529 plan

[disneysteve]

This is more of a blog topic, and I did just post a blog entry, but I thought I'd share here also. I just put in for the final withdrawal and account closure for the 529 plan. Fall tuition is due in about 3 weeks and there was only about $2,200 left in the account.

Total withdrawals from the 529 plan since 2014 have been $72,336.96. The end of college costs is within site.

[Thrif-t]

Wow good for you!! How nice is that, congratulations!!

I plan to leave our's open when the kids are done and still contribute here and there for the future grandkids.

[disneysteve]

Wow good for you!! How nice is that, congratulations!!

I plan to leave our's open when the kids are done and still contribute here and there for the future grandkids.

Thanks.

I didn't really see any reason to leave it open. She's our only child and if grandkids come along some day, I can always open a new account if we want to help them out in that way.

[snafu]

Closing DD's 529 sounds like another of life's markers. It's acknowledging DD will shortly pay 4th year tuition, becoming a university Senior, soon to graduate. Wow! wasn't it fast?

[tripods68]

Congratulation Steve----4 years came too fast.

[disneysteve]

Well she isn't done quite yet, but she will start senior year in September and graduate on May 11th, 2018, so it'll be here before we know it.

Which reminds me, I need to book a hotel room for graduation weekend before they fill up.

[Drake3287]

Nice place to be! Congratulations to both of you.

[MooseBucks]

Congrats! I imagine that day will bittersweet for me.

[Milly]

Congratulations! I'm not starting a 529 until the mortgage is paid off. It may or may not mathematically be a good idea, but I feel more comfortable this way. I know Dave Ramsey would disagree with me.

I didn't know you had a blog too! Is it a personal blog or would you mind sharing a link with us?

[disneysteve]

I'm not starting a 529 until the mortgage is paid off. It may or may not mathematically be a good idea, but I feel more comfortable this way.

We could have done that, but the investment return on the 529 was much greater than the interest we would have saved on the mortgage so it wouldn't have made sense mathematically. We wouldn't have ended up with as much money for college that way.

I didn't know you had a blog too! Is it a personal blog or would you mind sharing a link with us?

My blog is here at SavingAdvice. I don't blog often but post occasionally.

[FLA]

Congratulations! What is her major? I am just starting the college process, any advice?

[Captain Save]

DId you have one open since she was born?

What was your strategy ? Were you aggressive the whole way or did you change it up as it got closer to her college days>

How was your strategy in college.. were you conservative or stayed mainly in stocks?

What would you have done differently if you had to do it again?

[disneysteve]

DId you have one open since she was born?

No. We opened it in May 2002, so she was about 6-1/2. We weren't in a position to do it much before that.

What was your strategy ? Were you aggressive the whole way or did you change it up as it got closer to her college days?

I went 100% into their Aggressive Age-Based portfolio which is like a Target Date retirement fund. It got more conservative as she got older. Then when she hit high school, I made it more conservative by directing all new money into the income portfolio but keeping what was in the aggressive one.

How was your strategy in college.. were you conservative or stayed mainly in stocks?

See above.

What would you have done differently if you had to do it again?

Obviously, the sooner you start the better, and the more you put in the better. Other than that, I think we did fine.

Having it on auto-invest every month is great as it keeps you going, but it also tends to create some inertia on the amount. I'm sure I could have bumped up the amount over the years and had I been manually writing a check each month, I probably would have. Even an extra $10 or $25/month can add up over the course of years, so if you are funding a plan with an automatic monthly investment, take the time to revisit that amount periodically and tweak it if you can.

Overall, we were able to cover 100% of years 1 and 2, a good chunk of year 3, and had a bit left for year 4. This put her (and us) way ahead of most of her peers who have been racking up student loans from day 1. I'm not disappointed by that at all.

[scfr]

Congratulations DS! What a nice milestone to reach.

If anyone who sees this wants to know more about 529 plans, Financial Samurai recently did a very thorough write up:

http://www.financialsamurai.com/529-college-savings-plan/

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Congratulations! I remember planning your daughter Baht mitzvah. It's been a long time.