By now you’ve purchased new school supplies, new clothes, and your child is back in
school. As you settle into a more structured routine, now is the perfect time to think
about your child’s future education. Before you know it, they won’t be taking the bus
to school. They’ll be driving their car off to college! Sigh.
September = College Savings Month
Since school starts every year in August here in South Carolina, September is a great
time to start, check in, or update your plan for your child’s educational future. It also
happens to be College Savings Month. South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis
shared with me a little about what that means for us parents. “This College Savings
Month we want to urge South Carolina families to make September 2021 the month
they begin saving for their child’s future education. We want them to know that
Future Scholar, South Carolina’s award-winning 529 college savings plan, will
provide them with flexible investment options, substantial tax benefits, and a chance
for their child to begin adult life without the burden of overwhelming college loan
debt.”
The sooner you get started, the less stressful it will be as they get closer to
graduation. Did you also know that you can start receiving benefits for yourself and
your child immediately? Here is what to do to get on track!
Start Saving With Future Scholar, SC’s 529 College Savings Plan
Future Scholar is rated one of the nation’s best college savings resources.
Future Scholar is a 529 college savings plan designed to provide tax benefits now and in the future for families who are saving for college. Future Scholar works like a 401(k): The money going in is tax-deductible and the interest it earns is tax-free, as long as you use the funds for approved expenses.
Future Scholar covers a broad range of expenses related to education, including tuition, room and board, books, and even supplies and computers. Just this year we were able to pay for part of our child’s tuition for private school, allowing us to increase our contribution to the 529 to the amount we’d be paying for her monthly tuition. This gives our family a lot of flexibility to cover what we need now, plus the costs of going to technical college, universities, or graduate schools when the time comes.
Get the Whole Family Involved
Kids only need so many toys. Future Scholar is a wonderful opportunity to have family and friends invest in your child’s future. Whether they have an upcoming birthday, it’s the holiday season or you want to celebrate them getting a great report card, this is the perfect gift! Stuff is always nice but walking away from a college or technical school with less debt is a gift that will set any graduate up for a bright financial future.
- Parents can send eGift invitations to family and friends, providing them a link that makes gift deposits easy to make.
- When gift-givers make a deposit to a Future Scholar account, they can deduct that amount from their South Carolina income taxes—so they get a gift, too.
- Gifts don’t have to be for large amounts: An eGift starts at $25. Gifts by check can be for any amount.
Future Scholar makes gift-giving simple and beneficial for everyone!
What Other Parents Are Saying
Check out South Carolina State Treasurer Curtis Loftis with parents just like you sharing how easy it was for them to get started with Future Scholar.
The Time is Now
In about 30 minutes, anyone can start to help set up their child’s financial success. Take the time TODAY to sign up. You can start saving here.
