(February 11, 2021) - Celebrating holidays with little ones creates precious memories. Valentine’s Day is popular for little ones, especially giving and receiving beloved school valentines. Due to Covid-19, many of us altered our celebrations and traditions last year. With remote learning still largely in place, Valentine’s Day celebrations will also look different.
As parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and dear friends; we are faced with another opportunity to try something new. Although there may not be school Valentines, we will carry on with our traditional celebrations. We will cut sandwiches into hearts, wear heart sweaters, create heart art, put love notes in “lunch boxes” and eat heart shaped pizza for dinner. Many of us will even give our little ones gifts.
When my children were young, giving books was always high on my gift list. I quickly realized learning to save was important and giving money rose to the top. We encouraged family and friends to consider adding a cash element to their gifts. A new rule for gift money emerged: you can spend half and save half. Every holiday, I reminded them they were saving for their futures. My daughter enjoyed the fruits of her efforts recently when she proudly spent some of her savings on college books and a new laptop.
College is expensive. Saving as early as you can helps tremendously. WA529 offers a diverse range of savings options. You can choose between the Guaranteed Education Tuition Program (GET) and the DreamAhead College Investment Plan. College savings is a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Earnings and withdrawals with GET and DreamAhead accounts are tax-free when used for qualified higher education expenses. Your student can use them to attend eligible colleges, universities and technical schools worldwide.
This Valentine’s Day, give the gift of education! To learn more about giving with WA529, visit our gifting page.
By Jennifer Dyck, WA529