Giving the Gift of College Savings, Online

SavvySugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:30:32 -0700

Buying gifts for kids is fun and easy - who doesn't love sorting through all of the cool toys and adorable books geared toward lil ones? If there's a child in your life who will be getting gifts from you often, like a niece or nephew, you may consider giving a gift that takes into account the child's future.

State-sponsored 529 plans are a great way to save for college because they are tax-deferred accounts, and only the interest earned in the account is taxed once the funds are withdrawn and put toward educational expenses. Traditionally, gifting contributions to an account that doesn't belong to your own child have been paperwork ridden and a hassle.

Freshman Fund has developed a system that allows contributions to be made online - no paperwork required - and lets account owners (usually parents) invite others to contribute to a 529 plan. After you've completed your information online, you simply mail in a check to complete your gift.

What do you think of giving college fund contributions as gifts?

Source

The Essentials for Your Financial ToolKit

SavvySugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:28:30 -0700

So many of us are in the habit of filling up our schedule to the brim, leaving little time to focus on our finances. Kiplinger's May 2008 issue acknowledges that we don't have all the free time we'd like for attending to our money issues. Rather than go all or nothing with improving your finances, they've provided an easy to sort through "Essential Financial Toolkit" that allows you to quickly choose the topics that interest you most. It's organized into four categories, Personal Finances, Investing, Credit and Retirement, and each task within these categories can be accomplished in five steps or less. Here are some highlights from each section, and you can see all of their essentials with their corresponding steps on their website.

Personal Finance Toolkit: Their 12 essentials in this kit include steps for tasks like complaining and getting results, starting a 529 plan, and boosting your paycheck.
Credit Toolkit: This section includes steps for six essentials like lowering your credit card rate, deciphering your credit card statement, and fixing an error on your credit card statement.
Retirement Toolkit: Learn what steps you need to take for transferring your IRA, rolling over your 401(k), and setting up a Roth IRA.
Investing Toolkit: Their 12 essentials in this kit include information on diversifying investments, how to open a brokerage account, and tracking investments online.