I already have a 529 with Edward jones set up for my daughter. For “fun” I set up another one in my etrade and my goal was to try and out perform the other account. I’ve invested in few different accounts over the years but I’d like to find a better etf or mutual fund to put into. Do y’all have any recommendations for long term steady growth?

Do you know of anything more specific? I’ve had trouble narrowing down options on the screener. I know Edward jones is investing in cmlax

I know fuck all about investing.

My girlfriend just put a bunch of money into I bonds for her kids. Right now they pay like 9% and tax free for education expenses.

The PRICK that came up with the "529" plan should be shot. MASSIVE PITA to use when it's time. It was such a mess that we just ended up paying all the bills as our son went through school and AFTER he graduated he withdrew the cash as INCOME and paid the taxes on the money. It was a real shit show. I'm STILL pissed off at Fidelity and how they made it impossible to use the money when it was needed. They wanted copies of EVERY expense and would only cut us a check AFTER the receipts had been verified and more and more and more. I got way pissed at them and chewed the "managers" little ass out. I also pulled   a LARGE amount of money out of their shitty firm.

OP,,,If I had it to do over I'd have put the same amount of money we put in the 529 into EPD ( MLP pipeline stock) into an account TITLED in my sons name and put the stock in the DRIP mode from day one. Easy, no issue, liquid and safe with NO ASSHOLE EMPLOYEE to deal with.

That is my concern when it comes time to use it, I’m afraid it’s going to be a hassle

I usually get online and have the money mailed from the 529 to kids Bursars office..Does yours not work that way?

I never saved anything for college. I have 3 in college now. They live at home so no room and board expenses. That saved a ton. They all got scholarships that pay about 70%, then I get a federal tax credit on some of the remaining bill. I pay the rest each semester. They will all graduate without any student loans or debt.

vanguard didnt give me any trouble at all with our 529 plan. they didnt ask for any documentation. it's my problem not theirs.

how long ago did this happen to you?

16 years ago my son started college. He's 34 now with an MBA. I didn't care what it cost I just HATE anything the .gov "helps" with.

If they are ambitious enough to get the value out of it then they are ambitious enough to pay for it

the 529 I set up for my son has been awesome.

I send tuition and fee money directly to the OSU Bursars office. If he needs money for legit living expenses, I can either reimburse myself or send it directly to him. I can reimburse us for the amount of money it would cost to live on campus with the meal plan, if we need to. we save that part for a rainy day fund. I've never been asked any questions at all. I go online and dictate where it needs to go.

all money I put into it, is deductible on my state taxes. this 529 fund made quite a bit of money over its life for me.

in the state of OK, you can now use 529 funds to pay for private schooling K-12 as well.

We did the fidelity 529 because wife’s parents wanted to put money in a 529 and we use fidelity.  They put $5500 in it 15 years ago and it is currently up 92%.  Was up just over 100% at the start of this year.  

To put that in perspective, the nasdaq went from about 2k to 12k in the same time(6x gains on nasdaq vs 2x gains of the fidelity 529).  

Haven’t used the money yet, but the returns are poor - any index fund would have significantly outperformed it.  There is no option on what to invest in beyond choosing the year - the account is invested in whatever fidelity selects.  It’s overly conservative to the point that the tax advantage is more than negated by the lower than market returns.  I imagine the lackluster performance is due to fees and being overly conservative.  I guess it’s good for clueless investors, but I would not recommend it.  

I was lucky with the Oklahoma 529. in the early days, the fund was a poor performer and people started bitching to OKC. they changed several things and gave us some options. I changed the index's and made quite a bit. making the change made all the difference.

i didnt mess with 529s when my 2 kids were in college, i just saved up a few semesters worth of expenses and cash-flowed the rest of it as the bills came in

529 reminded me of HSA money with the gov telling how and when you can use it, but as said i never started a 529 so not sure

Not sure how old your daughter is so not sure how much time you have left to save before she hits college....but you can take advantage of an account with an index mirroring strategy....no fees and never ever take a loss in a down market. You only ever gain...this is the type of account the wealthy 5% of America leverages to build their wealth. Use it like your own personal "family bank"

PM me for the details.