College Investment 529 plans

I have recently become more interested in 529 plans as an investment option to save money for college. Investors can select any plan they want, but the Arkansas GIFT plan offers matching grants for Arkansas residents which could add up to $500 per year for families with an adjusted gross income of less than $60,000.

Morningstar has recently set up a comparison of all 529 plans and the Arkansas plan gets a pretty favorable rating because of the matching grant. The deadline for this year's grant is April 30th.

College textbooks can easily cost $500 per semester these days, so even students who get scholarships will benefit from their parent's participation in a plan like this.