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.
My husband, Fred, is the one who initiated a 529 account when our grandson was born. He had read about it and felt it would be a good way to help fund college when the time came.
We were both working at the time, so we established direct withdrawal from our checking accounts to the 529 fund every payday. It was certainly an easy way to save and each time we got a pay increase, we would increase the 529 withdrawal a little also.
When our granddaughter came along a few years later, we started a 529 account for her also.
We also encouraged our son and daughter-in-law to consider setting up 529 accounts for their children, which they did.
When my husband passed away in 2017, I was fortunate to have the ability to use proceeds from his life insurance and sale of our home to add substantially to both grandchildren’s accounts.
Both grandchildren are in college now. Both received generous academic scholarships; however, the scholarships did not cover all the costs of tuition, room and board. It has truly been a blessing to have the 529 funds to supplement the scholarships.
A college education is a treasure and a gift that can make a huge difference in the life of a student, and I am so very grateful that we had the ability to provide funds through Ohio 529 to make this possible for our grandchildren.
A small contribution to a 529 fund over the course of several years can certainly become a huge advantage to a student!
Sincerely and with much support for the Ohio 529 CollegeAdvantage Fund.
Anne Schindler
Centerville
Disclaimer: Anne Schindler was the grand prize winner of the 2023 UCAA Men's Basketball Home Game Tickets sweepstakes.
