I would set up a 529 for the kid wherever the expense ratios are lowest - Utah, or if the contributions from VA will be significant, VA.

Don't put any money in yourself - if you are not contributing to an IRA for yourself then there is no way you can afford to save anything for college.

With a 529 you would not be able to access the money yourself without a penalty, which may be a good thing. See here for more details:

http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/intro529.htm

http://www.collegesavings.org/index.aspx

OP again. I know this has been discussed on this board before, but usually the discussion involves maxing out contributions and putting five figures aside from the start. That's not going to happen here. This is more of a $100-1200/year situation.

Would a savings/investment plan that isn't specifically for college savings be a good option?

Fiance's mom wants to open a college savings account for my DS. I have no idea where to begin, which would be the best option, etc. Ideally this would be something multiple people could contribute to.

DS is 5, I haven't started anything for him yet bc I've been broke. XH's parents said flat out that they don't believe in saving for college (XH doesn't contribute anything, savings or otherwise) and my parents have been helping with expenses in the here and now rather than college savings, although now that I've been back on my feet for a while, they've been asking about college savings.

IRA? I have a Roth IRA for myself for retirement, but contribute almost nothing to it at the moment.

529? If 529 is the best option, what state? We're in DC, grandparents who would possibly contribute are in ME, FL, VA and AZ.

We're not talking a ton of money here either, no one is in a position to max out contributions. Every little bit helps though and this has been on my list since before DS was born.