It’s Never Too Late to Start Saving for College

I consider myself very lucky to have a job I love that I've been doing for decades — I celebrated 30 years on air on Christmas Eve! My dad helped me get started in radio: He, too, was a DJ and had me come in to run the soundboard when others were out for the holiday. The rest, as they say, is history.

Neither my husband nor I went to college, and we honestly haven't set aside money for our children's college education. But we know that our children likely will follow different career paths than we did. We helped our 26-year-old son fill out FAFSA's as he's enrolled in a few different college programs and our 15-year-old daughter is just starting to think about what she'll do after high school.

I wanted to tell you about a savings tool I just learned about: Achieve Montana offers tax benefits for saving for higher education, whether it be an accredited trade school, community college or four-year university.

Any money deposited in the fund grows without incurring federal and Montana state taxes, which means it grows faster. Withdrawals for approved higher education purposes (tuition and fees, books, required equipment and some room and board costs at accredited institutions, including trade school, law school and medical school) also escape taxation, according to the Achieve Montana website.

I'd definitely suggest talking with your tax professional about how investing in Achieve Montana could affect your tax return now, as there are extra tax benefits for Montana residents.

It's not always fun to think about education savings when you're worried about paying for daycare, music lessons, or sports, but think about how many families use their tax refunds for a family vacation or a new couch. In fact, take this quiz to see how your tax refund plans compare with other Americans,' according to a GO Banking Rates survey:

Why not invest that money instead in your children's future? Five, 10 and 15 years from now, you'll probably enjoy that investment more than a couch.

Achieve Montana accounts can be opened for as little as $25 (or $15 with direct deposit, where available) and there are some easy tools for grandparents, family and friends who might want to contribute to the college savings fund, too. You can get a Ugift code for each beneficiary's Achieve Montana account and others can make gift contributions at any time at Ugift529.com.

The experts do say it's never too early to start saving, as more time = more opportunity for the investment to grow, but it's probably never too late, too, as you might as well take care of those tax benefits if they make sense for your family.

Ready to get started? Click here for more information and to open an account.