Our financial advisor recommended $600/month for our baby, and said that it would cover in-state tuition (Virginia) based on current projections. She advised against putting too much in because we will take a hit if we over-fund and end up using it for non-education expenses.

We hope to have enough saved up for in-state public tuition when the time comes, if our child decided to go out-of-state or private they can come up with the difference (scholarships, loans, work study, etc.).

We contribute $300 a month per kid (two kids) and have done so for almost 12 years. We have about $170,000 collectively now.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, $500/kid? So you will have put in 96k for your two year old when he hits 18 and 108k for your baby when she turns 18. If it's an account that earns interest, sounds good to me. Be sure to put it in an account with interest so the money grows.

Just curious... Have you looked at offered APY anytime in, say, the last 5 years?

My 529 account yearned 6% last year. If you're not aware such options exist, look around.

What bank is paying 6% interest?

If you're invested in the market and earning 6%, that's one thing (although OMG you underperformed the market).

But we were talking about INTEREST. Last time I checked, APYs were in the 1-2 range, if that.

Unless you want to deposit your money in a Brazilian bank.