Become a Patron! I've written extensively in the past about 529 College Savings Plans, an extremely tax-advantaged method of saving for higher education expenses. Contributions are made after federal and state taxes (although many states offer in-state tax deductions for contributions), compound internally tax-free, and are withdrawn tax-free for "qualified higher education … [Read more...] about The SECURE backdoor into 529 assets
higher education
Three bad and one good way to think about public higher education and tuition
Become a Patron! Elizabeth Warren made a splash this week with her plan to both ensure public higher education is tuition-free and forgive up to $50,000 per student of the existing stock of federal student debt. I already offered my hottest takes on Twitter, but I think a lot of the disagreements surrounding public tuition and student debt revolve around fundamentally … [Read more...] about Three bad and one good way to think about public higher education and tuition
The Indy Finance guide to why, where, and how to seek higher education
Become a Patron! I've written many times before about higher education, mainly from the perspective of financing it. Thanks to Aunt Becky, for the last few weeks the national spotlight has focused on much more fundamental questions: what is post-secondary education for? Who should pursue it, and why? What should they study, and where? Fortunately, the definitive answers … [Read more...] about The Indy Finance guide to why, where, and how to seek higher education
The least-understood benefit of the 529 scam
I have written a lot about 529 college savings plans, the grotesque transfer of millions of dollars of additional wealth to the richest people in the country, which were expanded and made even more valuable in the Smash-and-Grab Tax Act of 2017 when qualified "higher education" expenses were expanded to include up to $10,000 per year in tuition at private elementary and … [Read more...] about The least-understood benefit of the 529 scam
Why I like tax-free internal compounding, and why you might (and might not)
Last month I wrote about a range of available non-retirement investment accounts and broke down some advantages and disadvantages of each. When it came to 529 college savings accounts, reader flyernick had some objections to my math: "On one hand, you’re arguing that at withdrawal, you get to exempt $12000 in gains because of the std. deduction. Then you compare that, 'In a … [Read more...] about Why I like tax-free internal compounding, and why you might (and might not)