Last week, I was invited to a dinner gathering with a group of people from Scholarshare to learn more about their college savings plan called California’s 529 College Savings Plan. I was intrigued because I have no idea how “college savings plans” really work and truthfully I have never heard about these types of plans before. Now that I have a little toddler future to think of, I was so happy to be invited and learn more about Scholarshare.

Let’s talk first about what is the California 529 College Savings Plan by Scholarshare.

• The new ScholarShare plan significantly reduces fees, expands the investment lineup, and offers online and mobile tools to make California’s 529 plan more accessible and easier to manage.
• Anyone can apply and start saving for your children’s college that even relatives like uncles and grandparents can contribute to the savings plan.
• The college savings plan can be used anywhere in the country where FAFSA is accepted.
• 529 earnings aren’t taxable. If you need to withdraw the money early, you’ll simply pay tax on any interest and 10% early withdrawal penalty on the interest earned.
• Only $25 to open an account. Its one of the lowest costs 529 plans in the country.
• Parent’s will own the account and your children will not have access to the money. So don’t worry, your teenager can’t access the money.
• Mobile-friendly services, including a mobile site with full account management capabilities and a mobile app called College Savings Planner, that allows customers to keep track of their college savings goals and plan to help meet them.
• The annual asset based management fees now range from 0.18 percent to 0.62 percent.

I hope with this info, it will help you decided if this plan is best for you and your family. I for one, think this is the best plan and I will be opening an account soon for my little Aries. She is the future and I would like her to have what I didn’t have when I was her age.

My College Story: When I was in high school, I had no idea this kinds of plans ever existed and neither my non-english speaking parents. My parents were more concerned on putting food on our table and that we graduated from high school. I graduated high school i 2006 at the top 20 of my class and with honors. Sadly, my parents weren’t able to afford my college expenses but I was able to get Federal Financial Aid. I also received two small scholarships and a grant from the state to attend a local university. Even then, I still had to work part-time while in High School at a local Dairy Queen to save money to purchase my own car, save for college expenses, clothing and help with my parents mortgage. During college, I worked full time and went to school full time to be able to afford all my expenses and helped my parents with some of the bills. Sadly, I wasn’t able to finish college and I’m hoping to one day go back and finish two more years and get my bachelor’s.

What is my thought on Saving for College at Aries age? Our lovely Aries is turning 3 on April and I”m super excited to start saving for her college expenses. She may want to go to Fashion School, Design School or whatever she wants in the future so we are hoping to have some money saved for her to attend the college of her choice. If she decides not to go to college (but we are pretty sure she will), then we can use the Scholarshare Savings Plan for our next child. We are opening a Scholarshare account this weekend and since Aries birthday is coming up, I will be asking our family members and friends if they wish to donate for her college fund instead of a gift with the Scholarsahre “gift” option.

If you are resident of California (even if you are not), I highly recommend Scholarshare for the future of your children.

Do you have a college saving plan for your children?

Do you know that more than three-quarters (78%) of California parents say that getting a higher education is more important today than it was 10 years ago. Parents of color are especially likely to highlight the importance of college, with 87% of Latino and African-American parents, and 84% of Asian parents indicating that higher education has become more important over the past decade. Latino parents (particularly Spanish-dominant Latinos) are even more apt to say their children will attend community college (76%) or trade school (77%). However, Latino and Asian parents are more likely than Caucasian or African-American parents to say that their kids might pursue any of the post-secondary schools mentioned in the survey.

Source: All stats from Hart Research Associates

Visit Scholarshare for more information of the 529 Savings Plan and start saving for you child’s college!
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Disclosure: “This is a sponsored post from One2One Network and Scholarshare. All opinions stated are my own.”

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