This College Savings Month, organizations dedicated to helping parents plan for their child’s educational future are encouraging people to get started now and make the most of a college savings account.
According to the Education Data Initiative, less than a third of families take advantage of any kind of college savings account and more than half of parents are unaware of 529 college savings programs. Organizations are now working to provide parents with the tools to understand how they can help their child on their educational path.
Tia Anderson, program services representative for the NC Assist nonprofit student loan program and the North Carolina College Saving and Investment Program, known as NC 529, told parents to consider times when some more funds may be freed up, like when their child transitions out of preschool.
“There is a little bit more flexibility to their income. Maybe they have a child that’s now going to kindergarten. Daycare isn’t such a huge expense,” Anderson observed. “They may start to think about what are ways that we can use these funds to help them in their future. So investing and thinking about saving for future education is one of them.”
With recent changes to 529 programs in House Resolution 1, President Donald Trump’s major budget and policy bill, such accounts can be used on a larger variety of expenses, including credentials and career training programs, along with costs associated with K-12 education as well.
NC 529 is partnering with other organizations. The Rootle Roadster Tour, in partnership with PBS North Carolina, travels throughout the state to provide educational resources to families.
Lauren McDowell Pyle, director of children’s media and education engagement for PBS North Carolina, hopes to show parents they can overcome their concerns with the resources available to them.
“That partnership specifically shows that lifelong learning journey that we hope that families are thinking about and that it doesn’t have to be daunting but you can start thinking about it now,” Pyle explained.
The Roadster tour will be at the Macon County Fair in Franklin Sept. 23-26.
This article is republished from The Public News Service under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
