Easy Ways to Save More: Your End-Of-Year College Savings Checklist
You’ve come to know December as the bustling month of parties, presents and more, but did you know December can also be an opportune time to increase your Future Scholar savings? To help pack it all in, we’ve identified some quick year-end moves that will help you get closer to the important financial goals you’ve set for your family.
Boost your tax deduction
Consider an extra contribution to a Future Scholar account and cut your tax bill. Contributions can be deducted from your state income taxes, so you can boost your savings and your tax deduction at the same time.
Update your automated contributions
Many families report that the automatic contribution option is one of the most helpful features of Future Scholar. If you already have an automatic transfer to your Future Scholar account in place, consider upping your transfer amount for 2023. You’re not yet taking advantage of this convenient way to save? It only takes a few minutes to start!
Write out your 2023 goals
Business leaders and top athletes say that writing down goals helps them achieve more. The same can be true for you and your college savings plan. Your list of goals doesn’t have to be long to be effective. Identify three or four, such as creating an updated college budget, investigating financial aid options with your teen, or setting a dollar amount you plan to save each month.
Involve children in their college savings plan
Even young children can learn about saving money and setting goals. Saving for college is the perfect vehicle for increasing a child’s financial smarts. Talk to your child about your family’s savings plan on an easy-to-understand level. Show your child how contributing money received as gifts or earned through chores can help college savings grow. Older children can contribute some of the money they earn from part-time work and become invested in their own future.
Make gifting part of your strategy
The holidays are a great time to involve family and friends in helping a child save for college. After all, everyone is in a gift-giving mood! But college savings also makes a wonderful gift all year-round. When you suggest a contribution to a Future Scholar account as a gift idea, you make it easy for the giver to choose a meaningful and important gift. From last-minute Christmas gifts to birthdays and other special occasions, recommending the gift of college savings with eGift makes everything simple for you, too.
Open a Future Scholar account
The most important step toward saving for college is the first one! If you’ve been meaning to open a Future Scholar account for a child or grandchild, now is the time to get started. Accounts can be opened with any amount of contribution in just a few minutes.
Busy parents in hectic December, take heart—South Carolina’s 529 college savings plan is designed to make saving easy for you. With just a couple of minutes and a few clicks, you can accomplish a lot before you close the books on 2022.
