Holiday Gifting Made Easy for All with Future Scholar

The holiday season is upon us. Local stores are full of colorful decorations and piping in those familiar tunes - while online retailers are touting their very best deals for holiday gift-giving.

Have YOU started your gift list?

If there’s a child on your holiday gift list this year, you’ll want to make sure the present you choose is a meaningful one they won’t soon outgrow or tire of. And if you’re the parent, you’re likely hoping your child will receive a gift that does more than add to the pile of toys already cluttering your home.

That’s why, “college savings for kids” should go at the top of everyone’s list of holiday gifting ideas. It’s the perfect choice for both the giver and the recipient.

And you can count on South Carolina's Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan to make it easy for a lucky child to receive the gift of a brighter future – education savings. Read on to find out about giving - and receiving - contributions to a Future Scholar 529 account this holiday season.

H2: Give the gift of education.

It’s easy to contribute to the Future Scholar 529 account of a special child in your life. To give a gift,  simply ask their parents to send you an eGift invitation. The invitation will include a secure link that allows you to make a gift contribution directly from your bank account to the child’s Future Scholar 529 account. The link never expires, so you can use it to make contributions as often as you wish.

By making a gift contribution to a Future Scholar account, you are investing in the future of a very lucky child on your list.

Let them know you’re saving for the future.

Ready to ask your loved ones to help you save? Future Scholar makes it easy to encourage friends, aunts, uncles and grandparents to contribute to your child’s education. And it’s a great way to get a savings boost! Last year, almost $15 million in gift contributions was made to Future Scholar accounts through our eGift platform.

Account owners can simply login to their account and send an electronic invitation to loved ones asking for a gift contribution to their child’s Future Scholar account via eGift. It’s an effective way to let loved ones know how much the gift of education means to you and your family.  With eGift, gift givers receive an email invitation with a personalized link where they can make an electronic contribution directly into your child’s Future Scholar 529 account.

Be sure your family and friends know that a contribution to your child’s future education is a great gift option. Don’t be shy! They want to help you save! A college savings study by Fidelity Investments showed that 90% of grandparents would like to give a contribution to their grandchild’s education instead of a traditional gift.

H3: The giver could also get a gift.

When a loved one chooses to give the gift of education to a Future Scholar 529 account and is a South Carolina resident, the giver gets a gift, too! 100% of their contribution to a Future Scholar account is deductible on their South Carolina income tax return. No wonder it’s the perfect gift.

H2: The perfect way to save for education.

If you haven’t yet opened a Future Scholar account, getting started is easy. There’s no minimum required to begin saving, and you can enroll online.

You’ll be thrilled to know that Future Scholar earnings will grow tax free. That means when time comes for your child to use the funds for qualified education expenses, you won’t pay taxes on your withdrawal.

You might be surprised to learn how many ways you can use the money you save. The funds can be used at accredited universities, community colleges, technical colleges, trade schools, registered apprenticeship programs and graduate schools. Funds can also be used for K-12 tuition and expenses at public, private and religious schools and for professional certificate programs and licensing expenses. By saving with Future Scholar, you are truly investing in a lifetime of learning for your child!

H2: The Best Holiday Gift You Can Give

Future Scholar families and friends know that the gift of a future education is the best gift money can buy.

“Our grandson told us that not having loads of college debt was the best gift we could have ever given him,” one Future Scholar grandparent shared.

Someday, your special child may say the same thing.

To learn more about eGifting, contributing to an account or opening a Future Scholar account, visit www.FutureScholar.com.