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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We barely make the 100K income level.  We were told by several friends in the financial field that it is better to save money in a ROTH IRA than a 529 plan.  It grows tax free, you can take the base out anytime, it doesn't count against financial aid and if your kid doesn't go to college or gets scholarships etc., then you have the money for retirement.  Even those who make over the limit for a ROTH IRA can contribute to a regular IRA and convert it.  Between two people, that's at least $11K a year going into the account (more if your over age 50).  I think its just a little more flexible than the 529 plans.[/quote]

I am not a financial planner, but I think the down side of this is, since there is a limit on what you can set aside for retirement, you are funding your child's education at the expense of funding your retirement, which I think is to be avoided.

We make in the $100k-200k range and I doubt we will ever make much more.  OP, I understand your point, and it sucks to have a lot of money in loans, but the reality is that need-based financial aid is for those who have an actual need.  Very little exists in this arena anymore (i.e. Pell grant funding has been decimated), and Harvard may be able to offer aid to relatively wealthy families because it has a huge endowment.  I was very fortunate to come from a middle class family (with an income FAR less than what your parents made) in which money was set aside for my education.  I hope to do the same for my kids, and we are doing it via a 529.  I don't know if we will have saved enough by the time they go to college to give them a full ride to any school they select, but we should be able to at least help substantially with a solid choice such as a state school, and this is more than many truly middle-class families can afford.

Also--a perk of the 529s are that they can be used pretty flexibly.  If one kid chooses not to attend college, the money can go to a sibling and sometime even to another relative.  And they can be used for community college, trade schools, etc.[/quote]

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