This holiday season, ask for the gift of college!
As the holiday season approaches, parents may find themselves fielding questions about what gifts their children would like to receive. And while many families have needs to fill, some are left with the realization that there isn’t much their children truly need.
What if some of those dollars usually spent for toys could be redirected toward future college expenses? With a little help from family and friends, those gift dollars could turn into funds for tuition and other college expenses. But it starts with getting your loved ones to redirect their gifting dollars toward a long-term purpose.
There is no minimum contribution to open a Florida 529 Savings Plan, and you can contribute as much and as often as you like.
How can you broach the subject with grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents and other possible gift givers? We’ve got three ideas to encourage the gift of college savings!
- Speak up: Start by telling them that you’ve begun saving money into a 529 college savings plan, and that you’re eager to see it grow! Simply letting them know about your plans sends the message that you’re committed to saving for your child’s future and that you’ve started an excellent mechanism to allow those savings to grow tax-free. Having the 529 already open makes it easy for you to make additional contributions, whether they come from regular monthly contributions, your own work bonuses or from your child’s next birthday party.
- Make the ask, and make it easy: Consider being bold about your college savings goals and asking family and friends to contribute. Florida Prepaid College Savings Plans make that easy for Florida 529 Savings Plan account holders by offering an “eGift” option. Account holders can log in and click on the “eGift” tab, and then follow prompts to have an eGift email invitation sent to the contacts they choose. Whether it’s Christmas or Hanukkah, a birthday, Bar Mitzvah, graduation or any other occasion, parents can use the feature to encourage friends and family to choose college funding as a gift that will keep growing and giving.
- Make it a team effort: Another popular gifting option is the 1-Year Florida University Plan, the only Florida Prepaid College Plan that allows different family members to each purchase one year of college and share in the cost of funding four years of higher education. A generous family member could choose to prepay for one year at a state university, covering tuition and specified fees for 30 credit hours. The monthly cost for a newborn starts at less than $50. That generous gift can be used in combination with other 1-Year University Plans to save for all four years of university tuition and fees.
Anyone can contribute to any Florida Prepaid College Savings Plan — Prepaid or Savings — at any time, using a gift certificate available on the Florida Prepaid website.
