PRISM: Prioritizing Your Goals

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

This would be a good time to make "nice" with the grandparents. In 2001 we were blessed with a first grandchild, we agreed to match our daughter's and husband's contributions to the state 529 program. Hint: thanks to AAII, Boomers got da bucks and all kinds of revenue streams -- retirement, SSI, and IRA withdrawals. All we asked was results. Together, we got both through college -- one summa, one magna. Does AAII have a one-page plan for finding husbands?

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------

I've never been a fan of 529 plans. They do not fit with my simple investment goal of maximizing long-term accumulation of wealth. All of the 529 plans I've seen have too many restrictions that hamper long-term growth. By maintaining my focus on long-term growth, the amounts I've spent on my children's education have fallen within my regular annual expense budgets. EVERYTHING comes out of my annual expense budgets---vacations, gifts, medical, transportation, education, donations---EVERYTHING. By separating spending goals from investment goals, I'm free from worry about "sequence risk." 

Last month, I paid my youngest child's bill for her final semester of college, finishing the year with total spending below 72% of my absolute maximum (which is 4% of the previous year's total ending non-retirement liquid equity). That leaves a lot more budgetary room for FUN this year!

------------------------------
Rob Adams
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2025 10:53
From: Jenna Brashear
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------

I've never been a fan of 529 plans. They do not fit with my simple investment goal of maximizing long-term accumulation of wealth. All of the 529 plans I've seen have too many restrictions that hamper long-term growth. By maintaining my focus on long-term growth, the amounts I've spent on my children's education have fallen within my regular annual expense budgets. EVERYTHING comes out of my annual expense budgets---vacations, gifts, medical, transportation, education, donations---EVERYTHING. By separating spending goals from investment goals, I'm free from worry about "sequence risk." 

Last month, I paid my youngest child's bill for her final semester of college, finishing the year with total spending below 72% of my absolute maximum (which is 4% of the previous year's total ending non-retirement liquid equity). That leaves a lot more budgetary room for FUN this year!

------------------------------
Rob Adams

Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2025 10:53
From: Jenna Brashear
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------

I've never been a fan of 529 plans. They do not fit with my simple investment goal of maximizing long-term accumulation of wealth. All of the 529 plans I've seen have too many restrictions that hamper long-term growth. By maintaining my focus on long-term growth, the amounts I've spent on my children's education have fallen within my regular annual expense budgets. EVERYTHING comes out of my annual expense budgets---vacations, gifts, medical, transportation, education, donations---EVERYTHING. By separating spending goals from investment goals, I'm free from worry about "sequence risk." 

Last month, I paid my youngest child's bill for her final semester of college, finishing the year with total spending below 72% of my absolute maximum (which is 4% of the previous year's total ending non-retirement liquid equity). That leaves a lot more budgetary room for FUN this year!

------------------------------
Rob Adams

Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2025 10:53
From: Jenna Brashear
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------

without kids so haven't paid close attention to 529 plans. I wonder what restrictions Rob is referring to?  Limited choice of investments?

------------------------------
Hugh POLING
amateur radio station KC7HP

Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2025 17:37
From: ROBERT ADAMS
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

I've never been a fan of 529 plans. They do not fit with my simple investment goal of maximizing long-term accumulation of wealth. All of the 529 plans I've seen have too many restrictions that hamper long-term growth. By maintaining my focus on long-term growth, the amounts I've spent on my children's education have fallen within my regular annual expense budgets. EVERYTHING comes out of my annual expense budgets---vacations, gifts, medical, transportation, education, donations---EVERYTHING. By separating spending goals from investment goals, I'm free from worry about "sequence risk." 

Last month, I paid my youngest child's bill for her final semester of college, finishing the year with total spending below 72% of my absolute maximum (which is 4% of the previous year's total ending non-retirement liquid equity). That leaves a lot more budgetary room for FUN this year!

------------------------------
Rob Adams

Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2025 10:53
From: Jenna Brashear
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------

Hugh, yes, when I was considering a 529, limited investment choices was a big factor, along with the fact that the fees related to most of them were way too high. Also, there were too many unanswered questions. What if I wanted to change states? What if none of my children decided to go to college? What if they all went into the military (like my oldest son) and had the GI Bill to pay for their college? What would constitute "qualified education expenses" in the future, when and if my children decided to go to college?

I'm generally opposed to participating in plans with a lot of hoops to jump through and future unknowns to have to consider. I'm a fan of Roth accounts (401k and IRA) and Health Savings Accounts, because they are good deals. But 529s, not so much.

It's my understanding that 529s have improved a lot in the past decade or so, but unless they offered the same breadth of investment options as a Roth IRA, and unless I had a good crystal ball that would tell me what my children were going to want to do with their lives a decade or more in the future, I would still pass them by. 

I wanted to go into the Army after high school, but I faced enormous parental pressure to go to college instead--and I yielded to it. If I had my life to do over again, I would choose the other option, with college after a few years in uniform. Thus, based on my experience, I never wanted to push my children toward or away from college. I wanted them to decide for themselves what they wanted to do and how to get there, and I would simply help them in any way I could. I've done that (and am continuing to do it), and each of my children has grown up to be far more mature than I was at their ages. 

------------------------------
Rob Adams

Original Message:
Sent: 01-31-2025 10:58
From: Hugh POLING
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

without kids so haven't paid close attention to 529 plans. I wonder what restrictions Rob is referring to?  Limited choice of investments?

------------------------------
Hugh POLING
amateur radio station KC7HP

Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2025 17:37
From: ROBERT ADAMS
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

I've never been a fan of 529 plans. They do not fit with my simple investment goal of maximizing long-term accumulation of wealth. All of the 529 plans I've seen have too many restrictions that hamper long-term growth. By maintaining my focus on long-term growth, the amounts I've spent on my children's education have fallen within my regular annual expense budgets. EVERYTHING comes out of my annual expense budgets---vacations, gifts, medical, transportation, education, donations---EVERYTHING. By separating spending goals from investment goals, I'm free from worry about "sequence risk." 

Last month, I paid my youngest child's bill for her final semester of college, finishing the year with total spending below 72% of my absolute maximum (which is 4% of the previous year's total ending non-retirement liquid equity). That leaves a lot more budgetary room for FUN this year!

------------------------------
Rob Adams

Original Message:
Sent: 01-22-2025 10:53
From: Jenna Brashear
Subject: College Costs Got You Sweating? Let's Talk About Your Investment Strategy!

It's no secret: college is getting pricier every year. Tuition hikes are outpacing inflation, leaving many of us scrambling to rethink our education savings game plans.

So, how has this ever-increasing cost influenced your investment strategy? Have you cranked up your savings rate, tweaked your asset allocation, or maybe switched to a different account (like a 529 plan) to keep up with the price tag?

And let's not forget inflation and market volatility-two more pesky factors that make this whole process feel like a financial rollercoaster. Do you go all-in with high-growth investments early on, or do you play it safe as college looms to avoid getting hit with that dreaded sequence risk?

Whether you're a parent saving for a newborn's Ivy League future, a grandparent playing the long game for your grandkids, or someone who's been through the financial wringer already, we want to hear your stories! Share your strategies, wins, and tips below, and let's figure this out together.

Haven't read the latest issue of the AAII Journal? Check out A One-Page Wealth-Building Plan for College Savings by Charles Rotblut (January 2025). Creating a clear plan for funding college can help clarify your choices and keep you on track to meet your goals. Definitely worth a read!

------------------------------
Jenna Brashear
AAII Community Manager
Chicago, IL
------------------------------