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The last few months have been hectic and I haven’t had as much time to blog as I’ve wanted. I filed my 2021 taxes in April, but writing a blog post about it took a back seat to finishing my book on 529s. While it’s a few months late, I felt like it was still important to share what I learned. As with every tax year, I learned a lot, including from some mistakes I made.

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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.

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.

Photo by Ryan Schroeder on Unsplash

Virginia529's latest promotion is a free unit contribution (roughly $140) to a new or existing Tuition Track Portfolio when you add five units (roughly $700) by June 30, 2022.