jackmiller[at]triad.rr.com wrote:
- quote -

Sound interestig, can you explore little more in detail, I am about to
Open state Manage 529 for my two kids, (7 and 2), I will be very
interested in open something in my own name and have flexibility.

Thanks

Abid

I avoided special accounts all together and it worked out extremely
well. We invested directly in our own names. Back in 1990 we shifted
from stocks to real estate. Because the money was not locked-up, we
were able to make down-payments and to borrow the balance needed. When
our girls were ready for school, rather than selling the properties, we
borrowed funds for college at very low rates of interest. We now have
enough real estate under contract to pay off the loans and to have
money left over. The gains are long-term capital gains so the taxes
are not bad.

I understand the basic differences between the ESA and the 529 plans.
I'm wondering, though, if anyone can suggest what would best suit my
situation.

We have three small kids (< 5), don't have a lump sum to throw into a
529, and are looking to start putting money away for college. One
friend recommended starting ESA's for them, but I had another friend
say that the fees are less for some 529 plans (he recommended the Iowa
plan) compared to the fees for an ESA.

Any advice from those who have gone through this or have worked with
both plans? We will likely only have about 4K/year to invest in total,
so we would be under the maximum for the ESA annual contribution based
on our household income.

TIA,

Ryan