Savings accounts

[kite]

TweetFor those of you that have kids, what type of savings acct. have you opened for them?

[FUZO]

TweetJUST A REGULAR ONE NOTHING SPECIAL

[T-Man007]

TweetWe have two. My mother works at a credit union and she puts money in here and there. When it get's to $250, she buys a CD. She will just keep doing that.

As for me, I set up some kind of Universal Life thing and I contribute to it every month. Since my son was 2 1/2 when I started, I could put $25 a month in and in 60 or 65 years he should have over $600k. I opted to put $35 a month, which was the max for this program because of his age (I may not be explaining that right - lol) and he if takes over at just $35 a month then it will be even higher.

I wanted to do a Roth IRA but they wont let me until he's old enough to work. So, as soon as he is, I'm going to have him put some in every month and tell him I will match or double it every month. There is a statistic that says if you can get just $10k in an account by the age of 15, then it should be a million when they retire and that's if you don't ever put one more dollar in. So, the goal is to get him as close to that as I can and when he starts to work, I will help him put as much as we can afford into a Roth. That way it's all tax free when he retires. So, if we are smart, he should have nothing to worry about.

I also have an investment property and plan to buy several more. Those too will be his (or theirs, if we have more) when I'm gone. So, if they are all paid off he will have his job plus the rents coming in from the rentals plus investments already growing.

My parents didn't teach me one thing about investing or money management. So, I refuse to do the same to my son. I will set up as much as I can and teach him what to do and if he's smart, he will be just fine and hopefully pass the new trend on.

[VveTTe917]

TweetI have a regular one for my daughter.

[mick-G]

TweetI would go with something simple like US Savings Bonds. Either EE or I bonds. EE you pay half the value of the bond, the I are face value. Even though they are only earning 3.6 on the EE right now and 4.6 on the I, they are state exempt and you don't pay fed taxes untill they are cashed in. There is a penality if cashed in b4 5 yrs. They both earn interest semi-anually for 30yrs, and interest is accumulated on a monthly basis. On a 10K EE you could have 80K in 30yrs easy. So if you can afford it, 10 EE-10K bonds paid at 50K for all 10, in 30 yrs will be worth 800K or more. They can also be cashed tax exempt for college. Otherwise you will have to pay income tax on the interest after cashing the following yr.

[OldWiseGuy]

TweetSome things you may want to know. Large Savings bonds are a pain to cash in. Universal Life/Whole Life is the worse investment you can make and only make the agent(s) rich.

[snickers1]

Tweeti have normal savings accounts for both my boys, but also i have a 529 set of up for both of them. with the 529 you make more with it and it is used for collage cause lets face i can't imagine any of us feeling ok about just turning over a lump of cash to a 18 year old.

[kite]

TweetThanks for the ideas guys. Right now I have standard savings for all 4 but was thining of changing that so that they can earn more interest for college or even post college.

[angryoldman]

TweetRight now, a 529 is the way to go. HOWEVER, the large downfall is that the money MUST be used for College education. So if you save for 18 years, and your child decides not to go to college, you lose the money. You of course can pass the money to a relative, ONLY TO BE USED FOR COLLEGE.

We have our kids money diversified. I'm a banker. We love that word. Some money is in a savings account, some in bonds, some are in CD's, and a good majority are in mid growth mutual funds. No, our kids don't have a $1,000,000. It sounds like a lot, but you can gradually grow month to month. The mutual fund company takes a little out of my account every moth and adds it to their mutual funds. I buy a bond ever month too. My wife is responsible for putting the money in their savings accounts.
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

[snickers1]

Tweet

Right now, a 529 is the way to go. HOWEVER, the large downfall is that the money MUST be used for College education. So if you save for 18 years, and your child decides not to go to college, you lose the money. You of course can pass the money to a relative, ONLY TO BE USED FOR COLLEGE.

or pay the taxes on it not loose the money

[6p6]

TweetI'm lucky I have a savings account!

[angryoldman]

Tweet

or pay the taxes on it not loose the money

Correct. Taxes, PLUS a 10% penalty. It's the same as taking money from a 401K. I just don't like the 529 because there's many drawbacks. High fees, poorly managed, like we mentioned, there's taxes and fees if your child decides NOT to go to college. You're just better off opening up a mutual fund yourself, and call it a 529.

[snickers1]

Tweet

Correct. Taxes, PLUS a 10% penalty. It's the same as taking money from a 401K. I just don't like the 529 because there's many drawbacks. High fees, poorly managed, like we mentioned, there's taxes and fees if your child decides NOT to go to college. You're just better off opening up a mutual fund yourself, and call it a 529.

they both have large savings accounts and i also have high p[erformance money market and was thinking of opening one of those for each of them

[mick-G]

Tweet

Some things you may want to know. Large Savings bonds are a pain to cash in. Universal Life/Whole Life is the worse investment you can make and only make the agent(s) rich.

Bro, why are you saying that?? It just isn't true. All you have to do is go to a bank sign the back with your address and your ss# and that is it. What is so hard about that, lol! You are right tho about Universal Life it is s h i t and so is the 529, cause you only have the option for tax exemption for college. Main thing is to have a good CPA he/she can save you a hell alot of tax if they know the loop holes. Right now i can make up to 30K in interest without paying a dime to Uncle Sam. Regular savings accounts are no good imo. I have right now about 3M in treasury notes and all tax deffered. Iam making about 80K per yr. If i need extra $ i just cash one.

[snickers1]

Tweet

Bro, why are you saying that?? It just isn't true. All you have to do is go to a bank sign the back with your address and your ss# and that is it. What is so hard about that, lol! You are right tho about Universal Life it is s h i t and so is the 529, cause you only have the option for tax exemption for college. Main thing is to have a good CPA he/she can save you a hell alot of tax if they know the loop holes. Right now i can make up to 30K in interest without paying a dime to Uncle Sam. Regular savings accounts are no good imo. I have right now about 3M in treasury notes and all tax deffered. Iam making about 80K per yr. If i need extra $ i just cash one.

maybe i am doing my math wrong but if you have 3m in t-notes and making 80k a year your only 2.5% or so in interst... i understand it is hidden from uncle sam but that ain't that great to me ... shoot i have a curian capitol account that i see 12.75% return every year yes i pay a little bit in taxes but sounds like a better deal to me ...maybe i am missing something ....with 3m i would have a anuity with income turned on so i could get a check every mouth depending how old i was