Family Finance DeskIssue #8 · Jul 8
The 529 plan is not the answer you think it is.
It's a good tool. It's not the whole plan. Here's the honest version of what it does — and what it quietly costs.
The 529 is the right vehicle for most families saving for college. It is also aggressively oversold. Overfunding one is a real risk, and the 'just roll it to a Roth' rule has quiet limits that catch families off guard.
The honest sequence: fund the retirement match first, fund the Roth second, then fund the 529 to a target — not to whatever a calculator suggests. Kids can borrow for college. You cannot borrow for retirement.