The College Savings Podcast with Fexingo: 529 Plans, Education Funding, and Student Costs

Lucas and Luna explore how the definition of 'qualified higher education expenses' for 529 plans has shifted over the past decade, with a close look at the 2024 rule change allowing funds to be used for apprenticeship costs and student loan repayments. They discuss the $10,000 lifetime limit for loans, the impact on families with trade school students, and how the expansion creates new planning op...

In Episode 6 of The College Savings Podcast, Lucas and Luna unpack a specific, underused maneuver: opening a custodial 529 plan with a teenager as the account owner. They walk through why the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) and Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA) accounts can be converted into 529s, how that affects financial aid calculations, and the behavioral upside of giving a 16-year-ol...

Episode 5 of The College Savings Podcast with Fexingo dives into state tax credits and deductions for 529 plans—a feature that can boost savings by thousands. Lucas and Luna break down how over 30 states offer these incentives, with specific examples like Indiana's 20% credit (up to $1,000 back) and New York's deduction of up to $10,000 per beneficiary. They explore eligibility rules, the differen...

Episode 4 of The College Savings Podcast tackles a specific blind spot: how grandparents' 529 plans can backfire on financial aid. Lucas and Luna walk through the 'grandparent 529 trap' — where a distribution from a grandparent-owned 529 is counted as untaxed student income on the FAFSA, reducing aid eligibility by up to 50 cents per dollar. They explore a workaround: the SECURE Act's provision al...

Lucas and Luna challenge the conventional wisdom that a 529 plan is the default choice for college savings. Drawing on a specific case from the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances, they show that low- and moderate-income families often lose more in penalties and fees than they gain in tax advantages. The episode drills into a single number: families earning under $50,000 per year wh...

Lucas and Luna explore a single, concrete change reshaping college savings: the SECURE 2.0 Act's provision allowing 529 plan funds to roll over into Roth IRAs. They break down the $35,000 lifetime limit, the 15-year holding rule, and why families who opened accounts in 2023 might rethink their strategy. Through the lens of a hypothetical Ohio family, they examine how this turns a 529 from a use-it...

Episode 1 of The College Savings Podcast with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dig into the single most costly mistake families make with 529 plans: overfunding. They unpack data from the College Savings Foundation showing the average 529 account holds just $27,000 — far short of covering four years at a public university, which now averages $110,000 with room and board. But the real issue isn't underfundi...