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Virginia 529 has a new giveaway to boost your college savings: contribute $250 to a Tuition Track portfolio by June 30th, 2023, and Virginia 529 will kick in another $100!

Unlike the recent giveaway in May, the June offer has a state residency requirement. To open a Tuition Track account, either the account owner or the beneficiary must be a resident of Virginia.

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Frequently Virginia529 runs promotions in May, part of their 5/29 celebrations. This year you can score $50 by simply opening a new account, contributing $50, and then setting up auto-contributions. The deadline is next week, May 31st, 2023.

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My second oldest started her freshman year this fall. In January, when I realized I was going to be a little short on her 529, I made some last minute contributions to start catching up.

Then the market dropped. And kept dropping throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Stocks and bonds have both taken a beating this year. As of today (10/22/2022), the S&P 500 is down 22%, year to date. Bonds are also down, with Vanguard’s Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF (BND) down nearly 15%.

To date, my daughter’s 529 has lost 14% of its value. However, I'm not sweating it.

If you’re using a 529 to pay for college this fall, Here are some strategies that you can use to lessen the impact of a bear market.

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My second child starts her freshman year at college in a few weeks. As part of preparing her for college, we ordered her laptop this week. I’m picking up much of the tuition tab and a significant portion of their housing, but I expect my kids to purchase their own laptop. By owning the purchase, they have maximum skin in the game, both in buying one that’s appropriate for their needs and later, as they take care to avoid damage.

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Imagine a student with a full tuition scholarship and enough grants and private scholarships to cover 100% of room and board expenses. You might think that a 529 can't help this student or their parents.

You'd be wrong.