Plan makes starting college account easy

I really do try to practice what I preach — or, more accurately, what financial advisers preach — in this column.

Sometimes it just takes me longer than it should.

Such is the case with college savings plans.

I have written several columns extolling the virtues of such plans and answering readers' questions about them.

However, I am ashamed to say that starting savings plans for my own children languished on my "to-do" list for months — until a couple of weeks ago.

I finally decided that I needed to stop fretting that starting accounts would take too long or would be too complicated. It was time to visit the Web site of the Utah Educational Savings Plan — www.uesp.org.

As I have explained before, the UESP is a 529 plan, named for the section of tax code that allows it. Most states offer 529 plans to help people save money for college for their children, grandchildren or friends.

The UESP does not require any minimum deposits or balances, and any adult can be an account owner. If you're a Utah taxpayer, contributing to a UESP account makes you eligible for a state tax credit. Also, the funds grow tax-free, as long as they are used for qualified higher-education expenses.

I've always liked the sound of that. But inertia is a powerful force, and it usually tethers me to the sofa when I'm at home.

However, when I heard a few months ago that the UESP had made it possible to start accounts online, I decided to get up off the couch, mosey over to my computer and see if setting up 529s was as easy as the press release made it sound.

You know what? It was.

It took me about 25 minutes to navigate through the site and set up the first account for my 10-year-old daughter. After that, setting up accounts for my 7-year-old and 6-year-old daughters and 2-year-old son was easy, since much of the basic information was automatically entered for me.

I didn't put much money in the accounts, because, like many of you, I don't have a lot to spare right now. But my parents are thrilled, because they want to send contributions. My children thought it was cool, too, when we received certificates in the mail with their names on them.

And even though the market turmoil of recent weeks means it is not the most comfortable time to be investing, I'm still glad I did it. I no longer feel like a hypocrite writing about 529 plans, and I feel like I'm doing something positive for my children.

After all, the market has plenty of time to bounce back before they go to college.

(It will bounce back, right? Right?)