Free $25 for Signing up for a 529 College Savings Plan |
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Two years ago, I decided I wanted to give my newly-born nephew a little extra cash for schooling when he gets older. My research lead me to the 529 plan, a tax-advantaged investment to help with future higher education (typically college). Unfortunately California isn't a state where I get a tax break for putting money in. I had to look at the plans in the rest of the country and find the one with the lowest fees and expenses, but with good investment options. The process led me to write an article on choosing a 529 plan. I settled on the Ohio's CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan as it had a perfect mix of everything that I was looking for. It's still a great choice... and Business Week recently agreed.
If it's one thing I love, it's a great product offering a great deal. Until May 31st when you open up a CollegeAdvantage account they'll give you a free $25 (I will too, which I'll greatly appreciate). It's very rare that someone will pay you money to make a sound financial move for yourself with no downside. The process took me only a few minutes (I had my driver's license and checkbook handy). Here's how it works:
- Go to Ohio's CollegeAdvantage and open an account
- When asked for a referral code use 2481398 to receive the bonus
- Deposit $25 or more to qualify for the bonus
- You should receive your bonus in in 7-10 business days
Though we have no children now, it's never too early to start saving. I simply made myself the beneficiary. I can change it to my child or nephew or niece in the future. Or I can use it later on in life for myself.
Of course once you sign up, you can go tell friends and family to join with your own referral code. For instance, I have to see if this will work, but I might refer my wife. If it's not against the rules, she'll get $25 and I'll get $25. If you can refer 5 or 10 friends, you'll start off with a good $100 or $200. That could be a good $350 to $750 in 18 years (assuming a 7% return). Ten or fifteen minutes on a computer today may be worth 10 to 20 working hours for you in 18 years. That sounds like a good trade to me, how about you?
This post deals with:529 plan, College, collegeadvantage
... and focuses on:College, Investing
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Next: Glad I Have an Emergency Fund
Iowa lets us write off 529 contributions on state taxes, which is nice.
Cool about the free $25. It’s always nice to get free money for something you wanted to do anyway.