Whether you're saving for college, vocational school, or a trade school, you can use The Vanguard 529 Plan, sponsored by the state of Nevada, to start saving for your education goals.
Thanks to a recent legislative update and the new “529 grandparent loophole,” grandparents who own a 529 account can make significant contributions to their grandchild's education savings without necessarily affecting the grandchild's eligibility for federal student aid.
Thanks to a recent legislative update and the new “529 grandparent loophole,” grandparents who own a 529 account can make significant contributions to their grandchild's education savings without necessarily affecting the grandchild's eligibility for federal student aid.
If an investor opened a tax-deferred 529 account with an initial investment of $2,500 and contributed $100 every month for 18 years, the account could be worth over $6,300 more than with similar contributions into a taxable account.
Closing the Savings Gap For instance, if you opened a 529 account for a newborn this year and contributed $250 a month, Vanguard's college savings calculator estimates you'd have more than $113,000 when your child heads off to college in 18 years. That's more than double your $54,000 investment.
Expense ratios for The Vanguard 529 Plan portfolios: Target Enrollment portfolios: 0.14%. Individual portfolios: 0.12%–0.42%.
By superfunding your 529 plan with a lump-sum contribution of $50,000, in 18 years when your child is ready to enter college, your account balance will have increased to $120,331. By dividing $50,000 into monthly contributions of $231 instead, your account balance will have only increased to $81,509.
Ideally, you should save at least $250 per month if you anticipate your child attending an in-state college (four years, public), $450 per month for an out-of-state public four-year college, and $550 per month for a private non-profit four-year college, from birth to college enrollment.