Comments on: Very Happy With Illinois 529 Savings Plan

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:39:23 +0000

You mentioned a few times that this plan was good for IL residents…is there a disadvantage for nonresidents, other than not getting the tax break? My state offers only a repaid tuition plan.

By: Stock Trading Programs

Stock Trading Programs — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:26:25 +0000

Saving 235,000$ is quite a sum and that is quite hard to believe for someone that does not have a big pay check and you are talking about Harvard? It seems that you are a rich person… I would love to go there, but that’s just a dream.

By: Jane Doe

Jane Doe — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:15:26 +0000

Very usefull article. I’m thinking for a while to join a 529 Saving Plan and i would like to have more details about these programs. Illinois Bright Start Savings 529 seems good an if it is truth that the minimum initial investment is $25 it will be perfect for me.

By: Home Ownership, Cheap Clothes, Having More Kids: My Carnival Picks » Money and Personal Finance Blog In Silicon Valley

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:02:39 +0000

[...] Very Happy With Illinois 529 Savings Plan @ Financial Dominance [...]

By: The Friday Gathering for 8/24/2007 | Gather Little By Little

The Friday Gathering for 8/24/2007 | Gather Little By Little — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 12:31:12 +0000

[...] FinancialDominance has a great article on the Illinois 529 Plan [...]

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 23:58:56 +0000

I looked into 529s a month ago and as a gift for my nephew wanted to make a small contribution each year to the account. My state offers no bonuses, so it made sense to look elsewhere. IL’s plan was great, but since they had an annual maintenance fee (I think it was small, but my gift was small), I went with Ohio. I pay a 0.32 fee for the Aggressive option which is 80% Vanguard Total Market Index and 20% one of their foreign funds. It’s better than giving up 10% of my yearly gift.

For my own child, I may go with IL, but I’ll have to look into what it’s international investment is. I think over the next 20 years putting some of your eggs in countries other than the US may not be a bad idea. I don’t want a plunging dollar destroy my plan.

By: My New Choice

My New Choice — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:46:23 +0000

Brian, nice post about the changes to the IL plan. I’d written about the change to the plan administrator about a month ago.

As a participant in the plan, I am very happy with the changes and am very pleased to see Vanguard involved. I’ve been a big fan of Vanguard for some time now and love the low fees of their index funds.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:43:01 +0000

Glad I could be of some help.

I saw on a survey somewhere that, before the changes, Illinois was ranked 47 out of 48 state 529 plans. It is amazing that they were able to go from that to one of the leading plans.

By: paidtwice

paidtwice — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:00:33 +0000

I love this post! I am still pondering which 529 plan to join. IL is on my short list though (and was before the post even).

thanks!!