Comments on: Did Your 529 Blow Up on You? http://www.joetaxpayer.com/did-your-529-blow-up-on-you/ Financial Commentary For The Average Joe Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:23:50 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Grant http://www.joetaxpayer.com/did-your-529-blow-up-on-you/comment-page-1/#comment-4987 Grant Thu, 14 May 2009 01:25:04 +0000 http://www.joetaxpayer.com/?p=1310#comment-4987 I'm glad you are shedding some more light on this subject, because it's truly a travesty. As I mentioned in my post on the same subject back in March, another major difference between the college savings plans and a similarly structured retirement plan is that with a retirement plan you've got some flexibility on when you start withdrawals. With a college savings plan, you will need to tap into those resources on a specific date, and don't have the luxury of riding out a slump for a year. After all, what are you going to do, tell your kid to get a job instead of go to college because the markets' down? That's why I can't afford a 529 savings plan for my kid. -Grant http://www.thecornerofficeblog.com/2009/03/22/why-i-cant-afford-a-529-college-savings-plan/ I’m glad you are shedding some more light on this subject, because it’s truly a travesty. As I mentioned in my post on the same subject back in March, another major difference between the college savings plans and a similarly structured retirement plan is that with a retirement plan you’ve got some flexibility on when you start withdrawals.

With a college savings plan, you will need to tap into those resources on a specific date, and don’t have the luxury of riding out a slump for a year.

After all, what are you going to do, tell your kid to get a job instead of go to college because the markets’ down?

That’s why I can’t afford a 529 savings plan for my kid.

-Grant

http://www.thecornerofficeblog.com/2009/03/22/why-i-cant-afford-a-529-college-savings-plan/

]]> By: Augustine http://www.joetaxpayer.com/did-your-529-blow-up-on-you/comment-page-1/#comment-4890 Augustine Mon, 11 May 2009 15:46:09 +0000 http://www.joetaxpayer.com/?p=1310#comment-4890 I have a 529 from NM and got bitten by the market slump, though not as badly as the market (-17%), probably because my savings were in the senior high-school years. Yet, the fund is suing the administrator, Oppenheimer, because of it. Apparently, even though the allocation wasn't heavy in stocks, it seems that the corporate bonds allocation floundered much more than other similar funds. I have a 529 from NM and got bitten by the market slump, though not as badly as the market (-17%), probably because my savings were in the senior high-school years. Yet, the fund is suing the administrator, Oppenheimer, because of it. Apparently, even though the allocation wasn’t heavy in stocks, it seems that the corporate bonds allocation floundered much more than other similar funds.

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