We take a closer look at one of the most popular college savings vehicles – the 529 plan. Guest Patricia Roberts, author of Route 529: A Parent’s Guide to Saving for College and Career Training with 529 Plans, shares her expertise. For 23. years, Patricia has helped tens of thousands of families plan and save for college…and avoid millions of dollars in student loan debt. She is also Chief Operating Officer at www.giftofcollege.com.

Years prior, as a brand-new parent struggling to repay over $100,000 in student loan debt that she and her husband they accumulated (as first-generation college goers from low-income families), Patricia was absolutely determined to make sure her son would have a less financially stressful academic experience when he grew up. Having learned about 529 plans through her work, she began saving a little at a time from each paycheck as soon as she returned from maternity leave and 22 years later in June 2021, she proudly celebrated her son Ben’s debt-free from college (Clark University in Worcester, MA).