We found out recently that we are pregnant with our first baby! 13 weeks today! Anyway, I was just wondering if I could get some financial advise. Here's the situation. My parents are on a fixed income, but will be giving us about $50 a month for a grandchild fund to be used for college or whatever. It's not much, but we are very grateful for what we get and want to use this money to the best advantage of our child. My question is this, what should we do with this money? I don't want to just stick it in the bank and have it sit there. Where could I put it to grow the largest and be able to take it out in 16-18 years without getting severly penelized? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Financial Advise Please.
- Thread starter White92
- Start date
Let me be the first to say congratulations! 
Investing for your kids
Pros and cons of 529s
Since you have a long time horizon, I would put it into aggressive stock mutual funds in whichever investment vehicle you choose. Good luck!
BTW, I have a friend who specializes in financial planning for college. I'm sure he would be happy to give you some advise as well.
http://www.collegeplansolutions.com
Since you're not sure what the money will be used for, here are a couple of investing guides you might find useful reading:White92 said:
Investing for your kids
Pros and cons of 529s
Since you have a long time horizon, I would put it into aggressive stock mutual funds in whichever investment vehicle you choose. Good luck!
BTW, I have a friend who specializes in financial planning for college. I'm sure he would be happy to give you some advise as well.
http://www.collegeplansolutions.com
lots of things U can Do
Once the baby is born, open up a 529 plan, you can then invest the $ in mutual funds for growth (many plans out there). Also, make sure that you and your parents, in-laws etc sign up for the U-Promise program, that way all of your credit card charges can actually earn $$ for your baby. After all of these are credited to your account, and even with the market volatility, you will be pleasantly suprised with the growth over time. I'm currently paying $40,000 per year for my daughter's Emory education, by the time your child is of college years, it will probably be closer to $70,000 per year. Congratulations in advance, it's the best thing in the world (next to driving a NSX) becoming a parent, and planning for the future is the responsible thing to do. I'm glad that you're thinking ahead, if you need any info, please feel free to PM me, I don't usually deal with this type of account, but I might be able to provide some info to you.
Once the baby is born, open up a 529 plan, you can then invest the $ in mutual funds for growth (many plans out there). Also, make sure that you and your parents, in-laws etc sign up for the U-Promise program, that way all of your credit card charges can actually earn $$ for your baby. After all of these are credited to your account, and even with the market volatility, you will be pleasantly suprised with the growth over time. I'm currently paying $40,000 per year for my daughter's Emory education, by the time your child is of college years, it will probably be closer to $70,000 per year. Congratulations in advance, it's the best thing in the world (next to driving a NSX) becoming a parent, and planning for the future is the responsible thing to do. I'm glad that you're thinking ahead, if you need any info, please feel free to PM me, I don't usually deal with this type of account, but I might be able to provide some info to you.
docjohn said:
I don't think that's quite true of all the 529 plans. My financial adviser also advises against state sponsored 529 plans - they tend to not be as diverse at independent plans, and may lock you into college in that state.
We have a Fidelity 529 plan, which allows many investment options, and a lot of flexibility when we (or our kids) do choose to use that money for educational expenses.
