College tuition is on the rise, living costs are high and the future is uncertain.
Combine that with the pressure to secure your child’s financial future, and it may sound intimidating. However, a few expert-approved moves can help pave the path for their success.
“It’s important for parents to save what they can, when they can,” Tony Durkan, a vice president and head of 529 relationship management at Fidelity Investments, told Fox News Digital.
Durkan said 529 savings accounts are a “flexible, tax-advantaged” way to save specifically for education, including room and board expenses, tuition, apprenticeship costs, student loan repayments and more.
They can even be used for tuition at K-12 schools, but for most families, college costs are the biggest mountain to climb.
COLLEGE SAVINGS SHOULD START IN KINDERGARTEN AND KIDS SHOULD BE INVOLVED: FINANCIAL EXPERT
The average price tag to attend an in-state, four-year college, including tuition, fees, room and board, in the 2023-24 academic year was $24,030, according to data from Statista. The total cost for a two-year, in-district college was $13,960.
The rule of thumb is – the sooner parents start investing in their child’s education fund, the better, according to Durkan.
“[That way] contributions have more time to potentially grow,” he explained.
There are other ways to maximize a 529 account’s growth potential, he pointed out, including making everyday spending work for you.
“Consider a rewards credit card to help earn money toward college savings – one either directly connected to a 529 plan, or one earning cash back that can be earmarked for college savings,” Durkan said. He also suggested “getting friends and family involved.”
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There’s also good news for parents concerned that 529 accounts could hinder their child’s chances of receiving more financial aid.
“In reality, parent-owned 529 plan assets are considered a parental asset and are factored into federal financial aid formulas at a maximum rate of 5.6%,” Durkan said. “This means that up to 5.6% of the 529 assets are included in the Student Aid Index (SAI) that’s calculated during the federal financial aid process. As a point of comparison, student-owned assets are assessed at rates as high as 20%.”
Even so, education is only a fraction of the financial pie.
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Kelly Lannan, senior vice president of emerging customers at Fidelity Investments, told Fox News Digital there are perks to custodial accounts and helping your child build good credit, all with the goal of establishing good habits that kids and teens can carry into their future.
Custodial accounts, or accounts that adults manage on behalf of a minor, help parents invest or save for their children until the account is turned over to the beneficiary at a certain age.
Another tool, which enables teens to take matters into their own hands, is the Fidelity Youth brokerage account, Lannan noted.
“[It’s] the industry’s first and only teen-owned brokerage account and allows teens to save, spend and invest in one single account. The teen is actually the owner of the account, so they’re able to make investing decisions on their own, with parental oversight,” she said.
“Fidelity Youth includes plenty of learning modules and resources to help teens and parents learn about investing and money skills, to help teens build valuable life-long financial skills,” Lannan added.
Since credit history can help — or hinder — your child’s image as a potential borrower when adulthood comes, parents should also consider setting their child up for success down the road in this area.
Lannan said adding your child onto your credit card as an authorized user is beneficial in helping them build their credit score, but urged parents to make sure they educate their children about credit card usage from the start.
“You want to teach your child to never charge more than what they can pay and pay their bills on time every single month,” she said. “You should also teach them about credit card fraud and identity theft and monitor their monthly credit card statements to ensure there aren’t any fraudulent charges.”
Lannan also said a Roth IRA geared toward children is a useful method to build retirement savings.
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