Schooled in Savings: Paying for College

    Date:

    Saving for college is something that could never start too early. As the costs of secondary education seem to be exponentially increasing, the topic of saving for the experience is quite popular. In this episode, we cover several ways to prepare for the costs. Kelly Lannan, SVP of Emerging Products at Fidelity Investments joins Cassidy Clement, Senior Manager of SEO and Content to discuss.

    Summary – Cents of Security Podcasts Ep. 34

    The following is a summary of a live audio recording and may contain errors in spelling or grammar. Although IBKR has edited for clarity no material changes have been made.

    Cassidy Clement 

    Welcome back to the Cents of Security podcast. I’m Cassidy Clement, Senior Manager of SEO and Content at Interactive Brokers. Today, I’m your host for our podcast and our guest is Kelly Lannan. She is the Senior Vice President of Emerging Products at Fidelity Investments, where she drives Fidelity’s efforts to meet the unique and diverse needs of the next generation of customers.  

    This comes through addressing topics related to financial literacy and helping people understand the financial considerations they may face. Some examples are paying off student loan debt, putting together a budget, evaluating job offers and starting to contribute to financial investments. Welcome to the program, Kelly. 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Thank you so much for having me, Cassidy. I’m so excited to chat with you! 

    Cassidy Clement 

    Yeah! It was great for you to come on. We’re going to talk about saving for college. So saving for college is something that you can never start too early. As the costs of secondary education seem to be growing exponentially, the topic of saving for that experience is very popular. There are several ways to prepare for the costs, and we’re going to cover some of that in the episode today. But before we go there, tell us about your background in the industry. 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Yeah, good question. So Cassidy, I have to be honest with you and your listeners. I never necessarily, especially younger me, saw myself working in financial services. I am someone who thought you had to like things like math and numbers and candidly, I’m not so good at either of those. Maybe I shouldn’t admit that out loud on podcasts like this.  

    I also never saw any of the moms go to work in this industry. I only saw the dads go to work in financial services. So I really growing up did not believe this was ever an industry for me. I think a lot of this actually changed when I graduated school, when I graduated college.  

    So I went to college. I ended up actually choosing when I went to school based upon where I was recruited to play ice hockey. I was an ice hockey player, so I went to school up in New York, liberal arts. I was a history and political science double major. Wonderful, right? But turns out with those majors it’s like, what are you going to be when you grow up? And so I graduated from school and I kind of took a look around and said, oh my God. I don’t think they taught me a single thing in four years of college. I was playing hockey and taking music classes. And that was also a point where my parents were wonderful and supported me in so many ways. But they were like well, if you’re going to live on your own, you don’t want to live with us, you want to live in the city and you’re still figuring out your job and you want to rent an apartment, you’ve got to figure it out, kid.  

    So, on my own really for the first time after school. I always worked growing up, I always had summer jobs and whatnot, but this said, oh, goodness gracious. So how am I going to rent an apartment? How am I going to pay my bills? And then, of course, because you’re young and you still want to have fun, how are you still going to find enough money to go out on a Friday night with your friends? So that was really the first moment that I realized. Wow. I need to do a better job managing my money because it’s more than managing me at this point. So that’s when I really started to take a vested interest.  

    I worked in the restaurant industry. I was there for four years and then I decided I want to go back to Business School. And when I got to Business School, I had so many other classmates who worked in financial services and some of them didn’t like math and they didn’t like numbers, but they had all these different roles, right Cassidy? Some were strategies, some did marketing, some did all these different things. And I said, wow, I can actually work in an industry that can help prepare me more with my money. And so something clicked.  

    So I really pursued jobs in the financial services sector coming out of Business School. That was ten years ago because I’ve been with Fidelity now ten years. I joined Fidelity as part of the Leadership Development program where I was able to work in four different business units across the organization. And we’re a very big organization. So it was wonderful to get exposure to people in different parts of the business and learn. It was great. But when I stepped in the door here and God knows what I was saying during my interview, I said wow. Fidelity’s cool and Fidelity can help younger people. I had no idea. So that’s why I joke about what was I saying during my interview. And I was really like, wow, we really should be doing something about this. Why aren’t we standing on top of our desk, screaming from the rooftops? We can help you younger person, right? If only younger me had known, I wouldn’t have struggled so much and felt so not prepared and didn’t have any confidence. And so I just became so passionate about this space.  

    Once I graduated from the Leadership Development program, there were renewed initiatives at Fidelity around engaging our next generation of customers so I started in that group and my role has really expanded since then. I went from focusing on more financial education and since built products, apps. I still go back to universities. We have university offering, where we’re helping young adults, really helping people on-board when they come to Fidelity for the first time. Helping people with their student debt which you said a little bit in my bio. But yeah, I really love what I do. I have a great team and I think a lot of it still stands for me being very passionate on a subject that really I was struggling with for the majority of my young adult life.  

    Cassidy Clement 

    Yeah, I mean the interesting part you mentioned is people don’t necessarily realize essentially that finance doesn’t always need to involve only people who went to school for finance.  

    Kelly Lannan 

    Yes! 

    Cassidy Clement 

    And people go through life and you maybe ask your advisors or your banker, whatever. What did you go to school for? You might be surprised! Because somebody may have gone for an art degree or what have you, and then they eventually find themselves being able to retain the information and really understand it. And they got into the business.  

    So in order for people, regardless of what they go to school for, to start planning for that. Per our topic today, what are some ways that you could save for college or for secondary education? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Yeah. So great question. I have two kids. I’m not sure if you have kids. Mine are pretty fresh. I joke that they’re still on warranty, right? One and two year olds. And I have to say that one of the most exciting things that I experienced when having kids, I mean, this is such like the financial dork in me now. One of my good friends runs the 529 business at Fidelity.  

    I had literally got their Social Security cards in the mail and I immediately pinged my friend and I was, like, Rita, I’m going to open up a 529! And so that leads us to one of the ways that folks out there can start to save for the education for your children.  

    So a 529 account, 529 savings plan. It’s a way that parents can start saving for their children’s education. You can open up a 529 savings plan the day your child is born. You actually don’t even need that Social Security card, candidly. But the day your child is born, you can actually open up this account and start saving for their future. It also doesn’t have to be the parent opening the account. Relatives can also open an account for the younger individuals in their life. So that’s a perk.  

    And the other thing, too, is that you can also contribute to a child’s 529 account even if you are not the primary account holder. So for example, my God daughter, Addy, that’s what I get her for her birthdays now versus a stuffed animal. Because her mom told me if you get my kid one more stuffed animal, you’re done, Kelly. Your godmothership is going to go away. So again, that is just another example. But getting down to kind of more specifics.  529 is a flexible tax-advantage savings account. It’s designed specifically for educational savings, including your college expenses, but also it can be used as tuition for K-12 schools.  

    So for example, someone like myself, I live in the city, we might have to consider a private school for our kids versus public. And I could be using the account and the money for that. Also it can cover certain apprenticeship costs, as well as student loan repayments. In fact, with SECURE 2.0 legislation, any unused money in your 529, you can even roll over to a Roth IRA. So there’s a lot of advantages to this account. I mentioned that term “tax advantage”. And so listeners might be like what are you talking about, Kelly? But the great thing is that any earnings are tax free, which is really nice. You put money in without paying taxes. So that’s also a perk. And withdrawals for qualified education expenses, they’re also free from Federal income tax. Now, if you ever took that money out for non-qualified withdrawals, you can still do that, but it would be taxed at Federal and State income taxes, plus a 10% Federal penalty. So just something to keep in note. But I’m hoping that those people who are opening this account for their kids, it really is being used to cover their educational costs. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    And there’s also, like you said, a few different ways that people can start to view saving for education, whether it’s certain accounts or brokerage accounts, etcetera, but 529s tend to be one of the more popular. They’re one of the greatest hits, if you will. You hear that a lot circling if you ever go to a financial aid meeting or any budget type of meeting for any, like you said, any type of education where there’s payment involved. That gets spoken of a lot.  

    So, you had mentioned some of the tax implications. So usually as far as I know, the way that this would work is then the withdrawals are also tax-free, in addition to putting money into the 529 and then. As you mentioned, it’s not necessarily just I need to pay for tuition. It could be your books or your supplies, things like that. So even if you’re going into, I don’t know, maybe secondary education that’s a trade school or anything like that, it can be utilized in several different ways. The general idea of what somebody’s going to be saving, that money is going to be based off of the circumstance itself, obviously. Depending on your situation. 

    Kelly Lannan 

    The cost of college has risen so much. Student debt, average student debt, regardless of age, not just a young person thing, it’s an all-people thing, that’s about $30,000. The stress  that not just children feel, but parents feel when it comes to putting their kids through college, that is something that you talk to parents, that’s actually something that they want for their children. They want to be able to pay and allow their kids to go to college without their kids taking on debt.  

    We’ve even seen and heard stories of parents helping their kids pay off their debt at the expense of saving for their retirement, which we never want to see either. So this is really important- to explore these account options. And to your point, the 529. That is sometimes what we refer to most because the money in the plan is really meant to be used for qualified educational expenses. But also to your point, there are other options, right?  

    So there are custodial accounts there. Some of the most common are the UTMA and the UGMA. Sorry, I always overstress them sometimes just to make sure I’m saying them correctly. So they’re taxable investment accounts that are set up to also benefit a minor. They’re still controlled by the custodian, by the parent. Unlike a 529 where that money is really earmarked for the college expenses. You can use that money for anything, really. It just has to be for the benefit of the child. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be used for college expenses. So that’s why that could be an option. It can be used for college expenses, of course, but it doesn’t have the same rules and implications as a 529. So that is something that can be used.  

    The Roth IRA for kids or a Roth IRA for minors, which is important to note. That’s a tax advantage retirement account. It can be opened for a child with earned income, so that’s the important factor of this. The child has to have earned income. It’s not age based at all. So for example, I’ve given this example a few times. A friend’s nine-month-old was literally used in like a commercial for the parents’ company. Earned income from that, right? The parent opened them a Roth IRA for minors, so that’s an example. But this is another account that can also be used to save money away for college expenses. It doesn’t have to be used, but that’s also another way that can be used for different expenses.Ideally it’s for, of course, your child’s retirement, right? If it’s a Roth IRA. But that’s another account that that we can explore. And then what I also mentioned with the 529 with the passing of the SECURE 2.0 legislation, you can actually roll money over from your 529 into a child’s Roth IRA if they don’t actually end up using it for college. And then finally and then I can stop talking, another thing that I want to mention and maybe it’s a little bit selfishly because obviously this is where I work. But at Fidelity, we’ve actually created the Fidelity Youth Account. It is in account for someone who is 13 through 17. It’s an account that is actually owned by the minor. So unlike a custodial account which is owned by the parent and not owned by the child, the youth account is actually owned by the teen, the 13-17 year old. And it’s actually the teen who is able to make decisions on their money on their own.  

    For example, they are choosing if they want to trade within that account, they are choosing how they’re spending their money if they have a debit card. So that is one of the biggest differences between a youth account and why it is so rare since it is a one-of-its-kind account. And a lot of custodian accounts, the teen is really in the driver’s seat. Now the parents have full oversight into their teen’s activity, of course. We’re not just letting them go off the rails. We’re actually keeping the rails securely on. But this is another option for teens to start saving for their college education.  

    Overall, Cassidy, and I think this is actually a really great stat. Percentage growth for all savings investing accounts for minors, so this includes custodial accounts, 529s, the Roth for minors youth account, grew by 93% from 2018 to 2023.  

    So huge growth in these type of accounts. And so, I think that one, if you’re listening and you’ve opened one of those, congratulations, you’re well on your way. And for those who are listening, because they want to start doing something for their child now, it is not too late. You have a lot of options and the growth in these accounts is just really showing that parents want to do right by their kids. And they really are investing in the financial future of their of their kids. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    So are there any specific differences within the tax implications on some of those products that you mentioned? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    I think some of the biggest interest is with the 529 account. Again, and I believe I said this, so I’ll just further stress the point that that money has to be used for education purposes in order for withdrawals to be free from federal income tax. If it’s used for non-qualified  withdrawals for something not related to a child’s education, and to your point it could be buying the books for example, or school supplies, then it is subject to Federal and State income tax, plus a 10% Federal penalty.  

    With custodial accounts, you can take the money out and it doesn’t necessarily have to be used for a child’s education. It is subject to taxes when you are taking that money out because you’re investing, but you don’t actually have to pay a penalty on that if you are using it for a non-qualified account. It is not taxable, like it’s no tax benefits because it is a taxable account similar to something like the youth account or another brokerage account, for example. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    So getting right into the actual nitty gritty of making some money last year? Are there any tips that you could share for making the most when saving for college? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Yeah. I mean, I think one of the things that I kind of already hit upon already is that if you haven’t started already, start saving for college now. Never too late to get started. I know I did give an example of a nine-month-old already getting started, but you could start today no matter the age of your kid. Because there’s really good options to look at across the board. So as much as you can, start educating yourself on these things.  

    Educate yourself about things like budgeting, saving and investing. Look for opportunities to practice some of your education by actually opening an account and putting your money towards a college education. So that would be like tip #1. Start now, never too late education plus taking action by opening an account can go a really long way. I think the other thing is, this is both for a parent and their kid. Now, I fully realize because I’m thinking back to 16-year old Kelly and how much of a terror I was, that the kid doesn’t always listen to the parent.  

    But I think it actually is important to take a step back and really understand what you actually want to do after graduation when you’re starting college. We are seeing people taking a step back and possibly taking the gap year, or possibly going into apprenticeship before going to higher ed.  

    We also see, and this won’t stop, a lot of people still going to college. But I think taking a step back and really understanding what you want to do, what you want to be and being thoughtful about it is always not a bad thing as well, because that can both influence the plans and it can influence where you end up going to school. But also, it might influence what you do once you are in school. I was joking about my history/ poli-sci double major, but had I taken a step back and thought beyond what was right in front of me, I might have picked a different major. I might have picked a different path to study based upon what I could do afterwards.  

    Cassidy Clement 

    So I mean, relatively speaking, like you said, you want to start as early as possible, but some pieces that most people don’t initially think of are make the financial aid appointments with your advisors, make the point to look up the scholarships and go to your guidance offices. Those are really important pieces. Because as you mentioned, it’s not expected for anyone at 17 or 18 years old to be able to peer through the future and say “I’m going to be in this industry for this many years and this is what I need to survive, so I need to figure out how to get college to this amount”. No. But, what’s also more of a reality is looking at what you’ve chosen to study and seeing if the expected salary is going to match what your potential student loan payments might be. And if that’s the case, that one is larger than the other, then you may want to start to look for those other scholarships. Start saving early, maybe talk to your financial aid advisor or start to see different ways that you can maybe get tuition reimbursement if you’re already employed or if you’re able to live at home and commute to a smaller school, et cetera. But I mean, there were several different products you mentioned. The items that I’m mentioning here are a little more proactive among the students themselves. But with those actual financial savings products, what should investors ask themselves before selecting one of those options? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Before I answer that question, I do want to hit upon what you were saying about the students themselves. I’m not sure if anyone out there listening is either in college, getting ready, or maybe just graduated, right? But there are a lot of things that you can do. I think what you said about not being afraid to ask for help is a huge one. No one wants to feel like they’re the dumbest person in the room or no one wants to feel like, wow, I should know this. Everyone else knows this. That’s not true. Chances are, if you have one of these questions, everyone around you has the same question, and you’re only going to hurt yourself if you don’t ask.  

    The other thing is that yes, well, I believe in high school we all had dedicated advisors, that was not necessarily the same in college, like take on your own destiny. Don’t expect anyone to reach out to you to help you with these things, right? I think that’s really important.  Also, while you’re in school, it might sound a little bit silly but start thinking about making a rough budget. Start thinking about making a plan with your money. Because I think one of the biggest things when it comes to finance is consistency and patterns. And getting yourself used to just thinking this way about your money. And a budget doesn’t have to be intimidating, right? It’s just a plan for what you’re going to do with your money.  

    Think about it. Regardless of age, think about how many times you make a plan throughout the course of the day, right? Plan what you’re going to  wear, plan what you’re going to eat for lunch. You’re already thinking ahead and planning what you’re going to do over the weekend. The least you can do is take a step back and create a plan for your money and all it really is is understanding what’s going in, meaning, what are you actually making from any sort of job you have and then what’s going out. What you’re spending your money on. Existential expenses. And things maybe you still want to spend your money on because they’re fun, but you could live without. So again, I think that’s really important. I think people are so intimidated by that word tha inertia kicks in and you just don’t do anything.  

    It was always fascinating to me. It still is fascinating whenever I go into a school and educate someone in school, the top topics that a student wants to learn about, it’s never student debt. Because it’s like out of sight, out of mind, they’re not even thinking about it because they’re still in school and it’s like, well, this is going to happen after school. They would rather learn things about how do I start investing? What’s a credit card? It’s never necessarily about debt. You have one or two people. Everyone else does not even think about that cause it’s so out of sight. And you basically have to take a single course before you graduate with your student debt. Like you get very little education, but you can actually start paying off your debt while you’re in school. You don’t have to take on the full loan that’s offered to you. These are things that, again, aren’t necessarily talked about, aren’t necessarily shared. So to your point about seeking out advisors, going to the financial aid office, these are things that people can help you with and start to make a recommendation. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    End of the day, college costs money. What’s going to matter is who’s going to take the effort and take their ambition no matter if it’s 5 minutes or 10 hours to figure out a budget. Write the essay for the scholarships or go in and make the financial advisor appointment. 

    Going back to the financial savings products, are there certain things that investors should ask when selecting the savings product themselves? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Just understanding that there are accounts, there are options I think is step one. And I think the other thing in really choosing what to select for your child, there’s a few questions. One, in the case of the Youth Account, Youth app, well that isn’t necessarily made or designed to help a child save for college. What that is designed for is to start to educate a child early when it comes to their money. To start to actually have them learn by doing. That’s just another way, on top of education, to just make sure you’re helping in a small way you can. Help your child save for their future, specifically for their retirement. And again, that’s a good account to have because let’s say you have two kids and one doesn’t end up going to school, but you had a Roth IRA, right? You can roll that money over into the Roth IRA. So you’re still doing something to help them prepare for their finances.  

    And just another quick note, because I mentioned the fact that I have two kids. I just had an example right there. You are able to change the beneficiaries of your 529 account. So that’s also important thing to note. So, let’s say you have two kids, one goes to school, one doesn’t, or one, at very early age is not going to do it. You can actually change the beneficiary of that account to another child. That’s also why, for example, you can open up a 529 the minute a child is born. You don’t need their social necessarily right away, because that can come later. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    So talking about that, the student mind, I guess you could say or the beneficiary mind depending on what product you choose, what should college-bound students kind of keep in mind when it comes to these finances? And I mean kind of like, what do you wish you knew at that time if you were to blend that together? Because initially, you’re usually, I think you mentioned it, most people do, you have your summer jobs. You have a very, very structured plan with school. If your summers, your semesters or your trimesters, whatever for school. And that’s kind of your thing for 12 years. And then you go to college and it completely changes. So, what are some things to keep in mind with the finances for the student themselves or the soon-to-be secondary Ed student? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    One, take advantage of that student ID. There are so many discounts one can take by having a student ID. I have to be honest, and I don’t think I’m breaking any rules, so I think I can say. I still have my student ID from grad school that doesn’t have a date or anything on it. I’ve used that from time to time. You can still use that, and that was ten years ago, you can still use that and get discounts. So take advantage, especially around your university.  

    I found that there’s a lot of, at least in mine and I know others too. There’s a lot of places even off campus, that if you’re a student, you can take advantage of. If you like to ski, you can go to ski mountain and you can get a discount there. If you want to buy books like the list goes on. So take advantage of being a student and use that student ID to save yourself money, especially the things that are important to you, but also things you’re passionate about. I mean, again, I get it. The food can be gross, but if you have access to a meal plan, if that’s just part of the tuition that you’re paying, take advantage of it. You don’t need to go to eat every day if you’re a student. It’s fine.  

    Again, just take the time and it can be part of your budget to on the special occasions, maybe set a little bit more by going off campus. Don’t buy the expensive furniture. For the love of God, like don’t do that. Don’t buy that expensive furniture if you’re living off campus or even in your dorm room, it will get ruined. Absolutely. Like Cassidy, I think you feel me. It will get ruined. So do not spend money against expensive furniture. Do not do that at all. Take advantage of work study jobs on campus. Like if you’re just going to be sitting at the library anyways and studying, try to get a job at the library so they can pay you to sit there and study while checking people in time and time again. Work study jobs on campus don’t necessarily always have to be, a lot of folks have them because it’s actually part of the financial aid they get or the scholarships they get. It doesn’t just have to be that. Anyone can look for work on campus. I babysat for my professor’s kids to make a little extra money here and there. And I used that for spending money. And it didn’t hurt that the professor got to know me a little bit better.  

    But look for opportunities to make some money on the side and use that for your spending money. Pay off debt immediately. I already touched upon this. You can actually start to pay your debt off while you’re in school. You don’t have to take the full loan. If you have that work job, maybe that’s something you do before the interest rate even kicks in. So there’s countless things for those who are in college looking to do that you can start to think about now. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    So how about those students who, let’s say, just graduated. Are there some financial tips upon that entry into the “real world”, the postgrad world? Are there some tips for that? Because initially you get the diploma and then you get the bill. And then then you go, uh, oh. So do you have any tips in that department? 

    Kelly Lannan 

    Yeah. So I have two big ones. One, live within your means, period. Live within your means. Do not spend more. Do not rent that expensive apartment. Don’t go out to the fancy dinners. Live within your means, especially when you first graduate from school. I think that’s really important. I also guarantee you that the people you surround yourself with, if not all of them, some of them are probably in the same exact situation as you are. So find a buddy. Find a buddy to stay in with you, make food while your friends go out, and then you can meet them at the bar after. So very important to live within your means, especially when you’re first graduating school, especially when you’re first really trying to figure out how you can best manage your money.  

    And as you’re moving up in your career, as you’re negotiating your income, as you’re figuring things out, then you’ll have the opportunity to live maybe a little bit more extravagantly, however, that means to you. But it’s really important, at least at first, to live within your means. I know FOMO can kick in, but that, I guarantee you, will benefit you in the long run. So that’s number one and number two. Take advantage of those workplace benefits, right? And even before you can take advantage of your workplace benefits, I would just say when y’all are looking for that job out of school, first of all doesn’t necessarily have to be your dream job, right? Put yourself in the position to get your dream job one day. But don’t ever be disappointed if you’re not going to get your dream job on day one. And also when you’re looking at job opportunities, definitely look beyond the salary, right? Look beyond the salary because, well, a high salary is great and it might feel super exciting and you’re like oh my goodness, I’m making so much money. The benefits that a job can offer you can far outweigh any salary number that you have.  

    For example, do you have access to something called a 401K workplace retirement plan, or a 403B if you’re in the non-for-profit sector? If you’re a teacher or you work in a hospital These are ways that an employer says hey, Kelly and Cassidy, we care about you. We want you to retire one day. We’re going to have this account for you that you can contribute to every time you get paid, and you can retire one day.  

    Some employers, they even have something called a match, right? Where they say again,  Hey, Kelly and  Cassidy, we really like you. And so not only are we going to make this account that you can contribute to, but we’re also going to contribute to your account. And we’re going to give you. We’re going to match some of the money that you’re putting in. These are just some examples of benefits. Also, health insurance. Make sure you have good health insurance. I get it in some states you can stay on your parents’ health insurance until you’re 26. But again, make sure you’re looking for opportunities and jobs where the health insurance is strong. Some employers out there actually help you with things like your student debt. They actually have benefits that help you pay down your student debt in the long term. Wih SECURE 2.0, there are also some employers out there who say, hey, if you’re contributing to your student debt, we’ll make sure we’re contributing to your retirement because we see, and I already mentioned this, that some people prioritize paying off their debt versus saving for the future, continuing to retirement so SECURE 2.0 has really opened up the landscape of what people can do.  

    So these are really important things to ask. Again, I remember at Fidelity I was told, hey, it’s got such great benefits. And I said, yeah, I’m so excited. And it wasn’t until I got in the door that I really took a step back and understood them. I made a little bit of a mistake. I should have actually taken some time before I even said yes to the job and understood them more, right? I was just so excited to work here, but always make sure you take the time and understand the benefits beyond a salary that your future job is offering you. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    And those are all great points, especially in regards to the additional benefits. I mean on this topic, specifically looking at some student loan reduction, if your employer matches or helps you pay it off, tuition reimbursement. If you’re somebody coming in with a family or something like that, maybe some help with childcare, things of that nature.  

    But these are all really great points that you brought up of no matter where you are in the secondary Ed space, whether you’re somebody who took a break for a while and now you’re going back in or you’re just starting or you’re listening for one of your beneficiaries and you’re not sure where to start. This was really great. Thank you for joining us, Kelly. 

    Kelly Lannan 

    No, of course. Thank you so much for having me. And I think the most important thing is it’s never too late, right? It’s never too late to set your kid up for financial success. It’s never too late if it’s you we’re talking about, for you to start to lean into your finances. You just have to get in the game, right? You have to get in the game, educate yourself, build up some confidence and do it. 

    Cassidy Clement 

    Yeah, you’ve got to get in the game. And there’s a lot of free education out there, some of which you’re probably listening to right now, IE us.  

    As always, listeners can learn more about array of financial topics for free at ibkrcampus.com. Follow us on your favorite podcast network and feel free to leave us a rating or review. Thank you for listening everybody. 

    Disclosure: Interactive Brokers

    The analysis in this material is provided for information only and is not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security. To the extent that this material discusses general market activity, industry or sector trends or other broad-based economic or political conditions, it should not be construed as research or investment advice. To the extent that it includes references to specific securities, commodities, currencies, or other instruments, those references do not constitute a recommendation by IBKR to buy, sell or hold such investments. This material does not and is not intended to take into account the particular financial conditions, investment objectives or requirements of individual customers. Before acting on this material, you should consider whether it is suitable for your particular circumstances and, as necessary, seek professional advice.

    The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Interactive Brokers, its affiliates, or its employees.

    Disclosure: IBKR Tax Disclosure

    Interactive Brokers does not provide tax advice, does not make representations regarding the particular tax consequences of any investments, and cannot assist clients with tax filings. Investors should consult with their tax professional about the tax implications of any investment.

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