The scary part about saving for college is that it's not getting cheaper. The confusing part is that there are so many options. But that's also the good news. Educational Individual Retirement Accounts allow account holders to make yearly contributions.
Prepaid plans allow contributors to lock in prices at Virginia public colleges.
The latest option is a state-run savings plan. Forty-eight states have come up with savings plans in the past two to three years. Both the prepaid and savings plans are 529s, referring to an Internal Revenue code. The reason that's important is the tax advantage. Contributions are tax deferred until the money is withdrawn.