How to Create a Savings Register for Your Child
When I got married 10 years ago, honeymoon registers became more and more popular, much to the delight of some and the dismay of others. The question was whether the check-in, which invites guests to pay for a romantic dinner or zipline tour, was shiny or gaudy.
Registries are inherently a way to direct loved ones to a specific gift that you want or need. Measuring cups made of stainless steel, not plastic. Elephant beds, not rocket ships. You can register for wedding gifts, baby gifts and honeymoon; you can even register to have your loved ones contribute to your down payment fund .
Now you can register your child’s school savings.
At first I was a little indignant; I am in charge of preparing to pay for my son’s college tuition. But since the days of US savings bonds are largely over (yes, you can still give them away , and now they’re mostly electronic, but still … a holdover), the ledger does make a lot of sense. Relatives who want to make a financial gift for a special occasion now have a more direct way to donate that money specifically for college.
Start with your own establishment
Some investment firms allow you to create personalized college pages that link directly to your child’s 529 account. T. Rowe Price’s GoTuition Portal , for example, allows clients to create custom profile pages that you can share via email or social media. Family and friends can donate directly through the online donation page or the old way and mail a donation form . The site also provides an (approximate) estimate of how much a contribution can grow over several years:
Other agencies, such as Fidelity , offer similar dashboards that parents can personalize, send to family, and use to track gifts over time.
Use the gift register website
If your institution does not offer a personalized donation page (or if it is not user-friendly), there are several college savings gift registry sites. Gift of College allows users to link their account to an existing 529 savings plan or current student loan. This site also offers the unique opportunity to exchange old gift cards you don’t need from over 200 renowned merchants. In return, you receive a Gift of College electronic gift card that can be redeemed into your linked accounts.
Likewise, Gift of Education also allows users to create a free gift registry that links to your 529 or other savings plan. On both sites, users can search for the child’s name to find an existing registry, or you can share a link to the page via email or social media. In all of these options, the giver will not be able to see confidential information such as account numbers or balances.
It might not be as exciting as a candlelit dinner for two on the beach, but it’s better than holding on to a stack of paper savings bonds for a couple of decades.