Money Sense Tips

Coming up with the money to pay for college is no easy task. Saving up over the years starting when your child is young makes things easier. But when you have retirement savings and everyday expenses to think about, it may be difficult to find room in the budget to save as much as you’d like to.

Having help from friends and family can reduce the burden of saving for college. In the past, it was difficult for others to make contributions specifically for college expenses. They usually had to send cash or a check and hope that it would go toward college. But with the Freshman Fund, making such a contribution has become much simpler.

The Freshman Fund is a company that facilitates contributions into 529 college savings plans. Parents can create an account for a child and notify friends and family members. When they want to make a contribution, they can easily do so online. Funds are then put into a designated 529 account. If the parents have not yet opened such an account, funds are held in an interest-free account until they do so.

Those who wish to send a gift of college savings can do so even if the recipient doesn’t have a Freshman Fund account. Gift certificates may be sent to anyone with an email address. The recipient can redeem the certificate into any 529 plan. This is a wonderful way to encourage those you care about to start saving for college, and it ensures that the money will not be spent on something else.

College Money for Birthdays and Holidays


More and more parents are opting to discourage traditional gift giving for holidays and birthdays. It seems that most of the gifts end up collecting dust, wasting space and eventually cluttering up landfills. Encouraging friends and family to give money for college is much more practical, especially considering that their gifts will draw interest until your child pursues higher education.

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Freshman Fund users can send email notifications to others to let them know how they can make a contribution. They could also add links to the account to birthday party invitations. These are great ways to encourage contributions as an alternative to the usual kinds of gifts.

A 529 plan can help you save the money your kids will need for a college education. And now, it’s easier than it has ever been for people outside the immediate family to pitch in. When combined with family contributions, Freshman Fund contributions can really add up. By the time your child is old enough to go to college, he could feasibly have enough money to pay for tuition, fees and other allowable expenses with little or no outside help.