A college degree has never been more important. In fact, students who obtain one earn an additional $1 million in income over their lifetime, on average, according to a 2001 College Board Study. But paying for that degree gets tougher every year. Tuition costs have grown at twice the rate of inflation over the past 15 years (Stiglitz & Tyson, 2000). Many parents take second jobs, work overtime, or mortgage their retirement to cover college costs. Meanwhile, according to the College Board, many students graduate with more than twice the debt they did five years ago.

Despite these facts, there is a solution: plan early, save regularly and invest wisely. Don’t let sky-high estimates of what a top private college may cost in 2020 keep you from taking action today. Even modest savings can make a difference.

Early Planner or Late Starter

Whether your child is in diapers or is already borrowing the family car, you’ll want to prepare a college funding strategy. A NYLIFE Securities LLC. Registered Representative can help your family prepare for the future, including planning for college expenses. Permanent life insurance products, such as whole life and universal life, can help ensure that funds will be available to pay for your child’s education in the unfortunate event of the death of you or your spouse. In addition to death benefit protection, these policies can also provide cash value accumulation, which, if the full death benefit is no longer needed, can be accessed via policy loans. New York Life and its subsidiaries offer a variety of insurance products that can help you ensure your family’s financial protection.

Designed for Education Funding

Two very useful financial tools to save for college are Section 529 savings plans and Upromise. Section 529 savings plans are tax-advantaged investment programs sponsored by a state and managed by a designated financial instruction to help families save for college. Maximum contribution limits are high. 529 plans are offered through Registered Representatives of NYLIFE Securities (Member FINRA/SIPC). Please keep in mind that there are fees and charges associated with a 529 plan and the underlying investment options are subject to market risk and will fluctuate in value.

Potential investors of 529 plans may get more favorable tax benefits from 529 plans sponsored by their state. Consult you tax advisor for how 529 tax treatment would apply to your particular situation.

The tax legislation exempting earnings on qualified withdrawals from federal income tax expires on 12/31/2010, unless extended by Congress.

Upromise is a free service that gives you money back for college when you purchase products or services from America’s leading companies, like New York Life. Enrolling takes just a few minutes at www.upromise.com. Buy gas at Exxon Mobil, use AT&T or AOL, shop at Borders or Staples – even purchase a GM car or Countrywide mortgage – and you can save for college. You can even save when you buy thousands of items (like Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Tide, or Tylenol) at the grocery store. There are no coupons to collect or receipts to keep – and anyone, including grandparents, family, and friends can join to help out. More than 3 million families have already enrolled.

New York Life understands the importance and responsibility of saving for your child’s college education, and our financial professionals are trained to wok with your family to assess your needs and plan accordingly.

For more information about 529 plans and other products and services that can help you save for college, please contact Lonnie Goldman, MBA, CLTC, LUTCF, Registered Representative, NYLIFE Securities LLC, at (631) 391-5823.

• Does February Feel Cheated? I would, if I were February.  Why, when there are plenty of other months that have 31 days, should February be so shortchanged to only get 28.  And, on the rare occassion (usually once every four years, and sometimes not even then) it gets a "bonus" day. Just look at......
• A Financial Bunker For Scary Times From Forbes.com (2/10/2009): Suppose there was a financial instrument with a track record stretching back 1,400 years; that was so solid it could survive the Great Depression intact; that earned untaxed interest at a competitive rate; that could be borrowed against at will regardless of credit conditions; and that could......
• Life Insurance is Not an Investment from ezinsurance.com.au: There is no doubt that investing for the future is important, but insurance shoppers need to know the difference between investing and buying insurance. This article explores the reasons why life insurance may not be the best investment. While the subjects of life insurance and investments often become......
• Life Insurance Protection for the Stay-at-Home Spouse Some families choose to have one parent work outside the home while the other stays home to take care of children. Other families are forced into such a situation by limited childcare availability or other circumstances. In either case, most people would agree that the wage earner in any family......
• Two Important Uses of Life Insurance in Estate Planning From ezinsurance.com.au: Life insurance plays a vital role in estate planning. This article uses examples to discuss common functions of life insurance in two different estate planning contexts. #1 Insurance proceeds support survivors if a support provider dies prematurely. Example: Hal and Wendy are a young married couple with two......

• The Dave Ramsey Baby Steps It seems a bit like a rite of passage for every personal finance writer to share their opinion of Dave Ramsey. That alone speaks volumes about Ramsey's reach in the personal finance sector, but not all of the reviews have been glowing. I personally consider his book, The Total Money......
• The Benefits of Leveraging Debt to Create Multiple Income Streams Let’s face it, debt has managed to earn itself a pretty bad name in most circles, but in many cases, this stigma is undeserved. Debt, when used properly, can help you secure your financial future. While no one is arguing that improperly used debt is a bad thing, good debt......
• Saving Money on Health Insurance, Doctors Visits, and Prescription Medicine Why do I need health insurance? The National Coalition on Health Care has reported 46 million Americans do not have any kind of health insurance. Being a part of that statistic is dangerous for your health and your wallet. A single visit in the emergency room can be more than $1,200. When......
• Best Places To Put That Tax Refund You Are Getting. Of course, the ideal thing to do is to not get one at all but that's a different story...it seems most people I know are getting a refund this year of at least a few thousand dollars. Not us, we owe money due to a withholding error at my last......
• Best And Worst College 529 Plans From Morningstar Morningstar has released their picks for the top five and worst five 529 college-savings plans. To make their choices, Morningstar "focused on diversification, fees, flexibility, and the underlying funds." Here are the top five: - Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program - Maryland College Investment Plan - Virginia Education Savings......

Tags: 529, college, Insurance, Savings, upromise

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 12:23 am and is filed under Economy, Family, Finance, Insurance, Taxes, children. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.