When people ask how I am doing these days, I often respond “exhausted.” My job keeps me very busy and I enjoy it, but it’s not why I’m tired.
Our twins are almost 3, and although I love them very much, I suspect they might be stealing energy from me. I don’t know how else to explain how at the end of the day, they seem to have so much, while I have so little left in the tank.
They may look like a tough biker gang, but they can, occasionally, be sweet with each other.
The boys can be amazing to watch, but difficult to contain. As a result, the days seem long. At the same time, with their 3rd birthday approaching, the years have gone by quickly. It seems like a cliché to say, but I don’t know where the time went.
There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do all the things we want and need to do for the boys. Fortunately, saving for college doesn’t take much time or energy, and thankfully, we started at the beginning.
We opened Bright Start college savings accounts for both of them not long after they were born, and so far they have averaged 13% returns per year. Not only do we get a break on our state taxes for those contributions, all of that growth will be free from federal and state taxes when we take it out, as long as it is used for an approved, higher education expense.
If the boys receive scholarships to college, we can take a penalty-free withdrawal in an amount equal to the scholarship. If they have leftover money, they can use it for graduate school. If they don’t want to go to grad school, the money can stay in their account, grow, and their children can use it.
The point is, Bright Start accounts are very flexible and tremendous economic tools for saving. They can be used for a university, a community college, a trade school, a vocational program, or even an apprenticeship.
If the boys — or your children — don’t pursue any of these options, they can even roll over up to $35,000 into a Roth IRA.
For parents of young children, that day may seem like an eternity away, but I can tell you that their first three years have passed in the blink of an eye. I suspect the next 15 will pass by quickly as well. It is best to enjoy the days now, even when they seem long, and I think we enjoy them more when we reduce our anxiety.
If you worry about their future, you can take one step today to put them on a better path. We would like to help, and it won’t take long. Start saving, and then you can get back to making sure they don’t fall out of that tree that they will soon be climbing.