Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Ryan Schroeder on Unsplash

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.

Photo by Ryan Schroeder on Unsplash

529s aren’t only for families with young children that have years of compounding ahead of them. A last-minute 529 contribution can save families thousands of dollars, even if they haven’t been able to save anything for college by the time their freshman heads off to college.