Hey guys,

So, my daughter is 7 months old now and in my eyes, I am a little behind in getting the ball rolling insofar as getting a 529 plan started for her. In Florida there is no personal income tax and the State offers two tax free plans for college. One is a prepaid college plan and the other is an investment plan. There are pros and cons to each.

Here's a link to the comparison of the two: http://www.florida529plans.com/Main/sidebyside.html

My wife wants my daughter to *ideally* go to an out of state school. Which one would you choose?

Also, there are other companies that offer 529 plans as well. Should I also get a supplemental plan from a private company e.g. AIG? Do I just stay with one of the state programs? Any advice would help.

TIA.

 

Then your only option is a 529. If you go prepaid you are locked into a Florida school.

Since there doesn't seem to be any state tax advantage you should look at some other 529 options. You want to see what investment options there are and what their fees are.

 

Also things to consider:
1) What if she doesn't want to go to college and...
2) What if she goes, then after a couple of years decides it isn't for her. You have to think about the tax consequences if that money is no longer used for education. As much as we would all like to dictate the future and paths of our children (for those of us who have them), you have to plan for the worst and realize not everything will go the way you'd like them to.

There's better options IMO that can be used either by themselves or as a complement to the 529 plan.