Soon after getting married in 2006, my Wife and I got pregnant with our second kid. After receiving the news, I called my brother crying, because it was at that moment that I realized I was unprepared financially.
A moment of excitement and elation brought me so much fear. Financially I knew we were not in a great position after our wedding, moving to a new house, and combining finances for the first time. However I knew God had a plan and I needed to trust that plan.
My back was against the wall again and I was determined to find a way for us to be successful while taking care of our children.
So I began planning.
First question I asked is what type of life did we want our kids to live? Second question I asked was how do we get there? Honestly I didn’t know how to answer these questions, so I did like I always do, I got to work.
I started by reading everything I could on financial security for families. During my research I discovered 529 Plans and at first I thought it was perfect.
529 plans are a mechanism to save and grow money tax free in an effort to pay for future educational expenses such as tuition, room, and board for the beneficiary (in this case my kids). I thought it sounded amazing but after asking around, I realized no one had anything bad to say about it and that’s when my gut told me it wasn’t for me because I was missing some critical details.
First off, 529 plans are State driven plans. Thus depending on the state, the overall benefits are going to vary quite a bit. Additionally I realize that not all people are meant to go to college. Some of our most successful businesses in this country were created by people who never finished college.
Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. all did not finish college. So if they achieved that level of success without college, why is college constantly pushed as the narrative for the African-American community? I never could figure out that answer because preaches the same rhetoric and there’s very little variety of thought.
I determined that my kids will have the freedom to choose. Ultimately they are going to be what God has in store for them. I am not going to restrict their dreams, only teach them how to get to where they want to be. There are a ton of possibilities out there to create the success that you want, you just have to know they exist.
So I went back to the drawing board. I became steadfast in my resolve and became firm in my belief that my kids success would not depend on their ability to go to college. To ensure this, I would craft and facilitate a mechanism which would allow them to be successful without or with a college degree.
However I had no clue how to get there, until…
One day I got a email from USAA , which was advertising free financial advice for active duty military members.
I had no clue they even offered this service. Mind you at the time, I still was skeptical of financial advisors, but I decided to make the call anyway.
The conversation which ensued, was extremely eye-opening. The advisor I spoke with, asked me what my goals were and inquired into why I was looking into 529 Plans. I told him I wanted to invest for my kids future, while allowing them to get a headstart, and not restrict them to only using the money for college.
If my kids wanted to buy a business at the age of 18, they would have the money to do so…
If they wanted to save the money and use it for the down payment of their first house, they would have the money to do so…
The advisor heard me out and said “ sounds like what you need is a UTMA or uniform transfer to minors account.”
The next few minutes on the phone, the advisor took the opportunity to explain to me what a UTMA was. I politely thanked him then went back researching.
Further research led me to learn that there were a number of brokerages which all had options for UTMA/UGMA accounts.
- Vanguard
- Fidelity
- TD Ameritrade
- USAA
This was the flexibility I was looking for. So I opened accounts for all of my kids (now three) and I continue to dollar cost average into them monthly.
As always if you have questions or concerns regarding creating an emergency fund, investing, real estate, insurance, or planning for the future, don’t be afraid to speak with qualified financial advisor. Smart Asset has a great tool to find an advisor in your area or feel free to email me (contact@surgifi.com) to help you on your path to financial independence.
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