This week, we’re talking about the most googled personal finance topics by state. I’ve picked out a few personal finance topics from the rankings that are relevant for your retirement.

Today’s most googled topic by state is Maryland, which ranked highest of all 50 states in searching for 529 plans.

Today, I want to focus on 529 from the grandparent’s perspective today, since many of you listening are within 10 years of retirement and may already have grandkids.

In my not always humble opinion, a 529 plan is the best way to save for college. The money inside of a 529 plan grows tax-free, and as long as it’s used for qualified education expenses - like tuition, and not a spring break booze cruise to Mexico (which is arguably a qualified education expense in the mind of a 19 year old), taxes won’t be owed when the money is pulled out and used for college.

Priority number one after my kids were born and I got their social security numbers was setting up and contributing to their 529 plan. We all know that college is ridiculously expensive these days, so the earlier you start, the better.

One of the great things about 529s is that anyone can contribute to the account, not just the account owner. So the parent could be the account owner, but you as a grandparent can put money in there any time as well, and help pay for your grandkids college, in a very smart and tax-efficient way.

When my nephew was born 12 years ago, my dad told my sister that he would match contributions that she put in to the 529 plan. My dad also set a monthly savings target to shoot for, because he knew that if they could save more in the early years and let it grow, they would have to save less $s overall for college. He’s done that for all 4 of his grandkids and those matching dollars will go a long way toward growing the 529 plan quickly.

If you can’t commit to regular, matching 529 contributions, at very least, consider making contributions for birthdays and Christmas.

Imagine sitting in the stands on college graduation day, beaming with pride because you were able to do your part to help your grandchild receive that diploma, hopefully without the crushing debt of student loans.

That’s it for today, Thanks for listening!

Tomorrow I’m going to explain what the acronym FIRE means in the realm of retirement.

My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip.

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance, 529 plan, 529 plan rules, 529 plans grandparents