College 529 Plan

I set up a 529 College savings plan for Sasha. For those of you who don’t know what a 529 is, it allows us to save money for her college expenses (books, tuition, travel, etc.) without being taxed on the interest gained. Each state has their own plan, but you can use any state’s plan. Finding the best plan was intimidating, but I finally settled on Michigan’s 529 MESP plan because it had almost no fees, great returns, and is web accessible.

The best part about the plan is that it’s flexible. Let’s say Sasha gets a scholarship and doesn’t need the money. I can switch the beneficiary to another family member or even myself. I can also switch to another state’s plan if I don’t like how Michigan is handling it. Most use a name brand financial group to handle the investing (MESP uses TIAA-CREF).

Anyone can donate to the 529 plan you set up. For Sasha, all you have to do is write a check made out to Michigan Education Savings Program and include her account number in the memo. Her account number is 1927894

Mail it to this address:

Michigan Education Savings Program
P. O. Box 30361
Lansing, MI 48909-7861