In celebration of our 35th anniversary, Ohio 529, CollegeAdvantage, has asked longtime account owners from across the state, and across the generations, to share their families’ Success Story and how the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority helped them achieve their goals. We are fortunate to have these encouraging stories of how families prioritized their children’s higher education and are sharing them again. If you would like to share your Success Story, please contact Amy Lyle, Communication Coordinator, at alyle@collegeadvantage.com.
We opened an Ohio’s 529 Plan for our daughter, Noah.
Honestly, my husband and I were nervous about starting a 529. With Noah being a bright and motivated student, we were worried that we would have money tied up that she could not use if she ended up getting enough scholarship money to fund her education.
We were unaware of the newer benefits until my mentor encouraged me to talk with a financial planner. Once we were set to begin researching on how to set up our account, I was informed that we had won the Dayton Metro Library Summer Challenge! It felt like divine confirmation that we were on the right track!
I found the process of setting up the account super easy. The ReadySave529 app allows us to track the progress and provide family members with the means to contribute as well.
Noah’s great aunt and uncle contributed the most this year for her 9th birthday. We are encouraging our family to contribute to her 529 in lieu of toys.
We haven’t used our 529 plan yet, but we were excited to hear about the 529-to-Roth IRA rollover. It is an amazing addition that most people that I talk to about 529 plans don’t know. We want other families to know the newer benefits! We had no idea the flexibility that 529 plans have now. All we knew was how rigid they were when we went to school 20 years ago.
We would also like other families to know that the first step is scary, but you don’t have to think too hard about the 529 once everything is set up. You just add your money and watch it grow!
Our daughter aspires to be an astronaut like Dr. Mae Jemison. who is on her bedroom wall. Her backup plan is to be a Safety engineer like her mother.
Shannon and Patrick Hairston
Dayton
