If you’re in search of a West Houston 529 College Fund, Potter Financial can help. We offer to open and manage your educational savings account. In fact, we can take it one step further than that. We also offer financial planning services. A financial plan can help you identify areas where you need to save and where you can afford to save. We can help you optimize your savings strategy for your child’s education expenses throughout their entire childhood. This includes identifying the best savings options in regards to account, investments, objectives, and risks. As you can see, Potter Financial has you completely covered. Keep reading below to learn more about the 529 College Fund and how Potter Financial can help you. Furthermore, contact us at your earliest convenience to learn more about the many services we offer.
West Houston 529 College Fund
What is a 529 College Fund?
A 529 College Fund, also known as a 529 College Savings Plan or 529 Saving Plan, is exactly that; these accounts are designed to help you save for your child’s college expenses. These funds are mostly used to save for that long-term goal of paying for higher education. However, that’s not all these accounts are good for. You can actually use the funds from a 529 account for any qualifying expenses related to the beneficiary’s education. That includes college but also counts towards grade school, middle, and high school. In fact, if you still have money in the account after your child graduates from undergrad, you can use it to help for your child’s Masters or Ph.D.! The 529 isn’t age-based, either. You could even open a 529 Savings Plan for yourself. The only caveat is that the money should be spent specifically for educational purposes. Otherwise, you will incur a tax penalty.
Now that you know what a 529 College Savings Plan is, do you know how to best use it? Unless you’re a financial professional, the answer to that is probably no. Investment knowledge can take years to accumulate, as information changes daily. Even once you learn and study all you can, there’s no guarantee of future results. If you want to do everything yourself, you can. There are plenty of firms that offer the ability to open an account online and invest all by yourself. However, Potter Financial gives you the option to rely on someone else’s experience.
Our financial advisors can help you a great deal when it comes to investing. That means that you stand to see even great returns than if you did it alone. Our account management allows you to take a backseat when it comes to saving and earning more money.
How Should You Invest?
Save for a quality education
We use a financial assessment and plan to provide you with personalized advice regarding your investment strategy. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to investing. Even “buy low, sell high” has some caveats. Schedule your free consultation with Potter Financial, and we’ll tell you what we think is the best strategy for you. We base our decision on a variety of factors. For example, your income can determine how much you can save. Your risk tolerance can point us towards the best type of security to invest in. Your passions and interests can clue us into particular stocks and funds for you. All the while, we employ our good judgment and 6+ years of experience to formulate the best plan for you.
In many cases, we find mutual stocks to be the ideal security. Mutual funds are actually a portfolio in and of themselves. Mutual funds are managed by a fund manager, who makes sure that the entire portfolio performs as well as possible. Instead of trying to design an entire portfolio from the ground up, investing in a few mutual funds can offer you instant diversification and pretty consistent returns.
If you want to invest in another type of security, Potter Financial also gives you access thousands upon thousands of other marketable assets. From individual stocks to ETFs, you can make your 529 portfolios as unique as you like.
What About Financial Aid?
Opening and investing in a 529 College Savings Plan won’t mean that your child won’t need financial aid at all. In fact, it’s important to specify when using the term financial aid. Financial aid can mean any type of outside financial assistance, from scholarships to student loans. As you can see, you may very much appreciate some of these types of aid. If your child receives a scholarship, that’s free money. That’s even less than you have to pay out of pocket. But when it comes to aiding that will result in debt, the more money you have saved, the better.
Invest in your family’s future
Investing in a 529 Savings Plan early can help you minimize the amount of student loan debt your child has to incur. You can possibly slash their student loan bill in half or down to a manageable size. What would’ve taken decades to pay off without savings could now be paid in a few years. As you can see, the Savings Plan may not necessarily eliminate the need for financial aid. But, with a good strategy in place and a little bit of luck, the amount of aid your child needs will hopefully be much lower.
Call Us To Open Your West Houston 529 College Fund!
Before you get started, it’s important to remember that the 529 College Fund is, in fact, yours. While the money is to be spent on your child’s education expenses, the money is in an account that belongs to you. This can benefit both you and your child. For one, if anything changes, you’re still in control. Secondly, this prevents the need for your child to list the account on his or her FAFSA. This can increase your child’s chances of getting federal grants and scholarships. Call Potter Financial today to start setting up your West Houston 529 College Fund. You can reach us by calling (713) 972-1316. Moreover, you can learn more about our college funds and other services by clicking here. You can also contact us online to schedule your free initial consultation. We look forward to helping you save more!
Houston TX Fun Facts
- Houston has no zoning ordinances.
- For two years, Houston was the state capital.
- You won’t find any state income tax here.
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