$50 Target Gift Card for 529 Plan

Posted by Madison on September 26, 2008

It’s Free Money Friday! I’m a roll with 529 plans lately, so I was pleased to see that the California 529 Plan at Fidelity is once again giving out gift cards. I’ve mentioned before that we’ve opened about a dozen accounts there for Target Gift Cards in the past. There is no annual account maintenance […]

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$25 Referral Bonus for 529 Plan

Posted by Madison on September 19, 2008

UPDATE: The $25 sign up bonus for the College Advantage 529 plan is back! Please see my latest article on the Ohio 529 College Advantage $25 Sign Up Bonus. My favorite 529 plan just got even better! The Ohio College Advantage 529 plan is giving out $25 sign up bonuses for friends and family. And […]

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Scholarships and Financial Aid: Plan Ahead

Posted by Madison on March 6, 2008

It’s the time of year that high school seniors have received their college acceptance letters, are waiting for their letters, or are doing the best to evaluate schools based on financial aid. Smart Money put an article together detailing 9 Ways to help you get more financial aid.





Money Matters for All Ages: The Complete Guide

Posted by Madison on January 26, 2008

Sixteen personal finance writers put together an outstanding guide of finance material that spans a lifetime in the Money Matters for All Ages series. The entire series is also available to download in a free e-book. Here’s the highlights:





Financial Strategies for Infants and Young Children

Posted by Madison on January 15, 2008

This is the first post in a series about Money Matters for All Ages. Sixteen personal finance writers address financial issues from babies to retirement and everything in between. See the end of the article for the entire series. Photography: Six clones (clowns?) v3 by Spigoo Our oldest son just turned 2 and our youngest […]

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Why Am I Unpopular at Christmas?

Posted by Madison on December 19, 2007

I’d like to think that as the family financial guru, I give the best gifts! I put a lot of thought into each one and come up with gifts that will keep on giving, sometimes for the lifetime of the recipient. So why do people dread my great gift giving ideas?





Our 529 plans: Accounts and Rationale

Posted by Madison on November 6, 2007

I recently covered how to open a 529 college savings plan. I revealed that we have multiple plans for our children. We currently have six accounts in five different states. Here’s a summary of which states we have an account at and why: