Starting Early Helps

Put away money and give it the potential to grow. That was Jane’s strategy when she and her husband Tom first opened Learning Quest 529 accounts for their three daughters Mariah, Talia, and Lydia.

Jane and Tom found out about the college investment program on the radio in the early 2000s. It was during tax season and the ability to invest tax-deferred dollars in accounts devoted to higher education appealed to both of them.

“The Learning Quest 529 program was a great opportunity for us to invest in our children’s future,” Jane said. “We started the accounts when the girls were itty bitty. We let the funds sit and grow over time.”

The availability of tax or other state benefits (such as financial aid, scholarship funds and protection from creditors) may be conditioned on meeting certain requirements, such as residency, purpose for or timing of distributions, or other factors.

Fast forward several years later and all three of their daughters have utilized their Learning Quest accounts to help finance their college education. The flexibility of a 529 plan allowed for each of the girls to choose the specific education path they needed to take in order to achieve their goals.

Their eldest child Mariah is a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University where she received a bachelor’s degree in both chemistry and English. She now works at a laboratory as a chemist.

Talia recently received an associate degree in web development from Johnson County Community College. She ended up not needing all of the funds in her Learning Quest account, and the remaining funds were easily transferred to her younger sister’s Learning Quest account. Lydia is now using her Learning Quest 529 plan to help finance her college education at John Brown University.