Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
How to save money for college with gift cards
An exciting way to save money for college that you may have never thought about or heard about is through the giving of gift cards. People often don’t know the best way to save for college. But the company that has made this easy is the Giftofcollege.com.
Giftofcollege.com is partnered with Toys R Us and Babies R Us to offer a physical solution to gifting college tuition money. You can purchase a physical (or electronic, if you wish) gift card to give the receiver. Ranging from $25-$500, the card you purchase is used in one of two ways: To add to a child’s college savings plan (529 plan) OR to help someone pay off an existing student loan. Gift cards can be purchased by parents, relatives, friends, a company, or anyone else and be credited to the college fund of the account holder.
What is a 529 plan and how do I start one?
A 529 is a savings investment plan and 529 is the IRS tax code that allows a college saving plan to grow without tax penalties. As long as the money from the plan gets used for qualified college expenses, i.e. tuition, books, supplies, things you need for school, the growth is tax free.
One of the easiest ways to start a 529 plan is to go to your official state website and look for your state’s 529 plan. If your state 529 is performing well, that could be a good plan to begin with. They may also offer additional tax advantages as many states do. If you're not sure how well your state plan ranks against other 529 plans, you can check MorningStar and Savingforcollege.com to see plan ratings, earnings, and the fees being charged.
Advantages to using GiftOfCollege
- It increases contributions by making it very easy for someone to contribute to.
- The gift cards are readily accessible through Toys R Us and Babies R Us and GiftOfCollege.com.
- You have a tangible gift to give someone.
- You can create a free GiftOfCollege account that links to your 529 plan. This allows you to then share this link with family and friends via social media. So anyone can directly contribute to your college fund or help to pay off a Student Loan by using this link, (think birthdays, holidays, graduations, etc.).
- Any dollar saved will be worth more than a dollar in what you would have had to borrow or have already borrowed.
- A college savings fund is an encouragement and/or incentive to any student who is trying to decide whether or not to go to college.
The biggest hindrance to saving for college is simply getting started. Once you start, it’s so easy. Put your plan in action:
- Set up a free Giftofcollege account
- Set up your 529 plan
- Link up your 529 plan to your Giftofcollege account
