529 College savings plan

[liberalman11]

Do any of yal have a 529 savings plan? I am planning on opening one but I am unsure if I should go through Fidelity or just go directly through a state like the list on this web page. Supposedly if you go directly through the state website you pay no fees, but Fidelity seems to have more organized portfolio. What do yal think?
http://clarkhoward.com/topics/529_guide.html

O8)

[Braden]

1. use Fidelity

my wife works there so I will put that right out there.

The better portfolio options are a huge plus. The key is web access. They have some killer tools for managing your assets from the web. The fee should be nominal and (dad voice) you get what you pay for.

I am quite biased in this matter so please get some other opinions.

[AP]

2. Private companies are looking for their profit.

The state programs are probably the object of sabotage by some Republican insider who wants to make sure your only option is to go through some private company which is trying to extract a profit.

If you live in a state controlled by democrats, you should probably go through the state, because you can be more assured that the people running the program have your best interests at heart.

[liberalman11]

3. I live in Alabama

And at this time they do not have a state sponsored College Plan (ofcourse if we had voted Yes on the lottery 4 years ago there would be money for it)

[mopinko]

4. don't you believe that

illinois had one of the early state lotteries, passed with the promise that the money would be used for education. well, guess what, they just subtracted the lottery proceeds from the general revenue funds that went to education. ah, the old shell game. :cry:

[Wickerman]

8. same with Texas

Anything they had that benefited state education got schlepped into the general fund and was in effect looted.

Georgia had a good plan that rewarded academic achievement with free tuition for A students - IF I am remembering correctly. It was financed with Lottery dollars. Any Georgia-ittes care to chime in on the results of that experiment?

[liberalman11]

9. I am originally from Georgia

What they have is the Lottery HOpe Scholarship which gives any student with a B average (3.0) free tuition to any Public university in Georgia. THey must maintain that average throughout their 4 (5 or 6 lately) years of college. IT only includes tuition not books, room/board, etc. IT is a great way to encourage kids to go to college.

[Yupster]

7. You can use any state's 529 Plan liberalman

Texas doesn't have one either, so I chose Wisconsin's.

Check with some local brokers.

[curlyred]

5. check out tax deduction benefits

of using your state's plan as well. For every dollar I put in my kid's 529 plan in Colorado, I get a deduction on my state income tax.....it may not be that way in your state, but it's worth checking out.

[bleedingheart]

6. I do...

I use the PA 529 program.

[jiacinto]

10. I have two accounts set up for my nephews

here is a web site:

www.tommorrrowsscholar.com

My one concern, though, is that that money could be used against the child when applying for financial aid.

Which brings another issues. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth saving at all because often financial aid formulas used by colleges punish those families who put some money away.