our529plan

What it takes to fund college.

Tuition, housing, food, and books. Pick a grade and a target.

What you need to save

Pick one. Any of these three funds the target.

Monthly until freshman year
—
Until they start. Raises 3% a year.
Monthly through the end of college
—
Until they finish college. Raises 3% a year.
One check today
—
One deposit. Never again.

Projection

Year Grade Projected 529

Monthly deposit schedule

Year Until freshman Through college

Assumptions

This models a low-fee 529 in a target-date fund. You pick the year they start college. The fund starts in stocks and automatically gets more conservative as that year arrives. You do not pick funds or rebalance.

A common place to open that account is my529.org -- Utah's plan. Anyone in the United States can use it. You do not have to live in Utah. Fees on the target-date funds are about 0.11% a year. Utah's state tax credit is only for Utah taxpayers. If your state gives a tax break only for its own 529, check that first.

College costs rise 4% a year. Monthly deposits rise 3% a year. The 529 is modeled like a target-date fund: about 95% stocks when college is 17 years away, gliding down to about 20% stocks by freshman year, then staying conservative while they are enrolled. That is why a toddler's early dollars earn more than an 11th-grader's. Planning rates, not a promise. The projection follows the through-college monthly. Get a gift or inheritance? Put the new balance in and the monthly numbers move.

Not financial, tax, or investment advice. This is a planning calculator. The numbers are estimates built on assumptions about college costs, inflation, and investment returns. Markets go down. College prices change. Your tax situation is your own. Nothing here is an offer to sell securities, a recommendation to use any particular 529 plan, or a guarantee that any monthly amount will be enough. my529 is a program of the State of Utah. This site is not affiliated with my529, the State of Utah, the College Board, or any college. Check the official program description at my529.org before you open an account. If you want advice, hire an advisor who works for you. Run your own math before you set an ACH.