My son is in first grade, and he’s already lived in three states. He was born in New Jersey, but we moved to New York shortly after his first birthday. New York didn’t work out, so soon after, we moved to Massachusetts. Here, we plan to stay.
How we acquired so many accounts
In my family, nothing is more important that a good education. Our son was born near the beautiful (but expensive!) Princeton campus, so we opened up a 529 Qualified Tuition Plan before he learned to sit up. Ah, such enthusiastic new parents! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any time to research the issue, and I assumed that you were supposed to invest in the 529 program sponsored by your state of residence, so we invested in New Jersey’s NJBEST College Saving Plan.
By the time we moved to New York, I knew that I could continue investing the New Jersey 529, but New York gave a state tax deduction if you invested in the New York plan, so while we enjoyed the hospitality of the Hudson Valley region, we bought into New York’s 529 College Savings Program Direct Plan.
When we moved to Massachusetts, I couldn’t bear the thought of opening yet another account. Massachusetts doesn’t give a tax deduction for 529 contributions (boo! hiss!) — surprising, considering that our state ranks #8 in the number of colleges per capita — so I plunked a couple of years worth of contributions into the New Jersey fund.
My partner and I keep separate accounts. Because the Federal Government doesn’t recognize our marriage, I find it’s just simpler to track our finances separately. Thus we currently have two NJ and two NY accounts. That seems like a lot of overhead for just one small boy.
Could we simplify?
I would prefer to have fewer accounts and better investments. It’s time I looked for a really good 529 program. Read the rest of this entry »
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