There is also no state or local taxes associated with them.
Most parents dream of sending their kids to college one day.
Point is, you need to dollar cost average as much as you can each month into an aggressive mutual fund or the Series EE bonds or a blend of the two. IPO - don't worry about it. By saving consistently a little bit as often as you can you will meet your goals. Who's to say what will happen in the future economy anyway and what that future economy will look like. The Option System can teach you exactly how to do this.