Saving for Retirement vs College Funding

Summary

Episode Summary: Saving for Retirement vs College Funding

Podcast: Jill on Money with Jill Schlesinger
Host: Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
Episode: Saving for Retirement vs College Funding
Release Date: June 23, 2025

In this insightful episode, Jill on Money delves into the challenging financial decisions faced by many families: balancing retirement savings with funding college education for their children. Through a detailed conversation with listener Chris from outside Philadelphia, host Jill Schlesinger and co-host Mark explore practical strategies to navigate these financial priorities effectively.

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Caller Introduction and Financial Background [03:31 – 04:29]

The episode begins with Mark welcoming Chris, who shares his family's financial journey. At 49, Chris and his 47-year-old wife have successfully eliminated their revolving debt, including credit cards and personal loans. Their remaining obligations are a mortgage of $194,000 on a home valued between $400,000 to $600,000 and his wife's student loan of $4,600 with minimal interest.

Notable Quote:
Mark [04:20]: "That's it?"
Chris [04:21]: "That's it."

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Debt Repayment Journey [04:30 – 06:04]

Chris recounts the period when he faced significant financial strain. After losing his high-paying job, he took a lower-paying position, which, coupled with having two children and the ensuing childcare costs, led to accumulating approximately $60,000 to $70,000 in debt.

Notable Quote:
Chris [05:39]: "They are the best kids on the planet. And being so good and brilliant and bright, they do get opportunities... these are wonderful problems to have."

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Current Financial Snapshot [06:05 – 08:31]

With debts under control, Chris and his wife now earn a combined $184,000 annually. Their children, aged 17 and 13, present upcoming financial considerations, particularly concerning college funding. They've started 529 plans, contributing $17,000 for their son and $1,000 for their daughter. Additionally, Chris had to dip into his 401(k) to manage past debts, leaving his wife with $155,000 and himself with $64,000 in retirement accounts.

Notable Quote:
Mark [07:22]: "At those schools. I mean, it may not be the case if this kid goes to Penn State because that may not be the case. Right. But those schools. Yes, for sure."

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Planning for College Funding and Retirement [08:32 – 15:56]

As Chris's son, a top student with near-perfect SAT and ACT scores, prepares for college, the discussion shifts to optimizing college savings without compromising retirement goals. Mark highlights that prestigious institutions often provide substantial financial aid, potentially covering significant costs. They discuss the current state of their 529 plans and explore strategies for maximizing tax benefits and efficient fund management.

Notable Quote:
Mark [12:11]: "So putting in 10% and... my wife right now I believe is putting in 6% and she is matched."

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Inheritance and Future Investments [09:08 – 20:27]

Chris anticipates an inheritance of approximately $250,000 to $300,000 following the recent passing of his parents. This windfall presents an opportunity to bolster savings for both retirement and educational expenses. Mark advises allocating these funds wisely, emphasizing the importance of maintaining an emergency reserve and optimizing 529 contributions to leverage tax advantages, particularly through the Pennsylvania state plan which offers up to a $19,000 tax deduction.

Notable Quote:
Mark [23:24]: "I would just recommend move it into a Pennsylvania plan because as a Pennsylvania resident you get a state income tax deduction."

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Actionable Recommendations [15:38 – 26:25]

Mark provides a clear action plan for Chris:

1. Maximize Retirement Contributions: Increase 401(k) contributions to 15-20% to take full advantage of retirement savings.
2. Optimize 529 Plans: Consolidate existing 529 accounts into the Pennsylvania plan to benefit from state tax deductions.
3. Build a Brokerage Account: Allocate a portion of the inheritance to a brokerage account for additional investment flexibility.
4. Estate Planning: Urges the completion of essential estate documents, such as wills and durable powers of attorney, to secure their family's future.

Notable Quote:
Mark [19:52]: "You have to have a plan that says, I leave you everything. Honey, you leave me everything."

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Final Thoughts and Encouragement [26:26 – 27:32]

As the conversation wraps up, Mark commends Chris for overcoming financial challenges and stresses the importance of diligent financial planning. He encourages listeners to reach out with similar financial queries and reinforces the show's commitment to providing actionable financial advice.

Notable Quote:
Mark [26:25]: "Change your work, change your wealth, change your life."

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Key Takeaways:

• Debt Management: Eliminating high-interest debt is crucial before focusing on long-term savings.
• Retirement Prioritization: Maximizing retirement contributions should be a primary financial goal.
• Educational Savings: Utilize state-specific 529 plans to take advantage of tax benefits while saving for college.
• Inheritance Utilization: When receiving a windfall, prioritize bolstering retirement funds and tax-advantaged savings accounts.
• Estate Planning: Ensure that estate documents are in place to protect and provide for your family.

This episode offers a comprehensive guide for families navigating the delicate balance between saving for retirement and funding their children's education. By sharing real-life scenarios and expert advice, Jill Schlesinger and Mark provide listeners with the tools needed to make informed financial decisions.

Transcript

[Jill Schlesinger]

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[Mark]

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[Mark]

Welcome to the Jill on Money Show. It's Monday, June 23rd and we are here answering your financial questions. If you have one, just go to our website jillonmoney.com, click the contact us button, write us a note and if you'd like to join us on the air, just check the box and Mark will do everything else. Hey, you know what the coolest thing is? Is that Mark makes me relevant in many ways. Just like kind of pushes me in directions that I'm not always used to. So a while back he's like, hey, let's move the free weekly newsletter to Substack. And I was like, okay, whatever that means. I mean, I know I subscribed to Substack, but I didn't know how he was going to do it. But the coolest thing is he's done it. So@the jillonmoney.com website, right above my big nose up top, it says podcast, video, radio. I hate that picture some that I Did have to highlight my big nose. I never look at this that much, but there it is. So it says podcast, video, radio, blog, newsletter. When you click on the newsletter link, you can subscribe to the substack. And what's so cool about that is that will also will sort of automatically get you the blog, right?

[Chris]

Correct.

[Mark]

Yep. As I write them. But if you want to go back and look at the blog posts, they're quite good, if I do say so myself. Anyway, if you have a question, this is a place where you go and you can also register for our webinars here. You can see videos, you can do all sorts of stuff. So if you guys have any sort of issue or anything else going on, just get in touch with us. We are here to help you out. We are here to help you work through whatever issue is on your mind. And that is what we're going to do with Chris, who joins us from outside Philadelphia. Hello, Chris. Welcome to the program.

[Chris]

Thanks so much for having me on, Jill.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Of course.

[Mark]

What's going on? What, what, what can we help you out with?

[Chris]

Okay, so my wife and I are finally at an interesting point in our lives. I'm 49. She's 47. We kind of just nailed down most of our debt, so our credit card balances are at zero. Any kind of revolving debt we had is. Is gone, which is fantastic. Obviously amazing, you know, month to month. And we. There's two major ones we have not yet paid down. That's our home, our mortgage, and then my wife's student loan from many, many moons ago. But that's primarily principal right now. Very little interest, so. And it's not that much of a monthly commitment.

[Mark]

So how much is the. What's the total student loan balance?

[Chris]

I believe I have it right here. Give me one second. $4,600 is what she owes.

[Mark]

That's it?

[Chris]

That's it.

[Mark]

Okay, great. How much is your house worth?

[Chris]

Our house? It depends on who you're asking. Anywhere.

[Mark]

I'm asking you, baby.

[Chris]

About four to six hundred thousand.

[Mark]

Oh, come on. I'm going to say five hundred grand. Okay. What is the mortgage outstanding?

[Chris]

1, $194,000.

[Mark]

What's the mortgage interest rate?

[Chris]

It is at 3.35.

[Mark]

So we're not paying anything extra on that, are we?

[Chris]

We are not.

[Mark]

Good. Thank goodness. Okay, so old student loans going to get paid off. When you said you paid off your debt finally, like, what was the hole that you had dug yourselves into?

[Chris]

It was primarily credit card debt and then turning that into personal loans. To try to manage that. So after our first child was born about a year later I lost my job and I was making right around six figures. And I immediately without thinking went and got another job making about a quarter of that. Turns out I would have made a lot more actually on unemployment.

[Mark]

Interesting.

[Chris]

But then we had a second child because we were both working and had different schedules. My wife working overnights. We put them both into full time daycare, which was my entire take home salary, plus more. So that just kind of now we're, we're actually happy where they went. They're both fantastic students and children and they're going to be amazing people. But that.

[Mark]

When is a parent, Chris, when is a parent going to come on the show who says I have a horrible kid? I want that parent to come on.

[Chris]

I can share names with several people if you need that afterwards.

[Mark]

I mean, I'm just kidding. That's great. Okay, so how much debt did you accumulate during that weird time?

[Chris]

I would say close to 60, $70,000.

[Mark]

Wow.

[Chris]

Just over the years. Yeah.

[Mark]

Amazing. And you dug out so good for you. Congratulations, number one, everyone listening. Hey, this is like somebody who got to the other side of it. So Chris, how much money are you earning right now?

[Chris]

Combined we're at about 184,000.

[Mark]

And how old are the kids?

[Chris]

One is 17, he's going to be a senior and the other is 13 and she's going into the eighth grade.

[Mark]

Will 17 year old be heading to college, do you think?

[Chris]

Yes. And this is where we have a wonderful conundrum here. He is brilliant. He is literally top in his class in his junior year out of over 400 students. His SAT scores in ACT are near perfect. And the schools we're looking at, I mean these are reach schools for everybody, but they are Harvard, mit, Stanford, you know, schools like that. So he's going to get into a very good expensive school.

[Mark]

Now can I give you the good news on that?

[Chris]

Yes.

[Mark]

Those are schools that, I mean, despite all of the, everyone's craziness about these schools, a lot of these schools have big endowments. And if you make under 200, 250,000, which you guys do, chances are you're going to get a lot of this.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Paid for at those schools.

[Mark]

At those schools. I mean, it may not be the case if this kid goes to Penn State because that may not be the case. Right. But those schools. Yes, for sure.

[Chris]

Yep. So yeah, most college actually, I believe, actually every university in the country has to have a calculator on there. And you can just put in some quick numbers. So he would get significant. Fine. And this is just financial aid, not no merit based scholarships. Financial aid alone. You know, we'd be on the hook for anywhere between 25 to 35,000 a year at a private institution where it's, you know, 95,000 a year to go out of pocket state we would not qualify for. But again he'd be in the honors college and most likely he'd get some significant scholarships.

[Mark]

Okay, well that's good. So just without scholarship, that's. So that's Lumen. Have you saved any money for them or during this period were you not able to.

[Chris]

So we actually beef when. Right when he was born. We did set up a 529 for him that's got a. About 17,000 in it right now. And we literally just started one for my, for my daughter for a thousand.

[Mark]

Okay, that's fine. Because you were doing other stuff which is important. Now when you had all this debt, were you guys able to save for retirement or not?

[Chris]

No, because one of the things I had to do was dive into my 401k to help nail down some debt.

[Mark]

So was, is there any money left in retirement right now?

[Chris]

So there is. Luckily my wife was able to kind of ignore anything that was going on with her. And she has approximately 155,000 in her 401k and I have about 64,000.

[Mark]

Okay, so that's money. That's good. And now do you have some money in the bank?

[Chris]

So we are slowly starting to pile that up. But I'm about to get an inheritance, I would think within about a year or so. Both of my parents recently passed.

[Mark]

I'm sorry.

[Chris]

Oh, well, thank you. They had wonderful, long healthy lives, you know, until the end. But they were. My father was very successful, especially with help from my mother. So I'm looking to get right around 250, possibly $300,000.

[Mark]

Oh, okay. Anything else in your financial life that we should know about right now?

[Chris]

So with the kids again, they are the best kids on the planet. And being so good and brilliant and bright, they do get opportunities to go to travel for school programs. These aren't little like let's go to Florida for, you know, $1500. These are going to Switzerland to a physics camp for $7,000.

[Mark]

You know, by the way, Mark, when's the last time you were invited to physics camp?

[Chris]

That would be never.

[Mark]

I love that.

[Chris]

And I'm right there with you, Mark. This is, this is all new to me and my wife. Where like these things don't happen so to kids in Pennsylvania. So these are, again, wonderful problems to have. And we know my daughter is going to get similar opportunities. So we'd love to try to make sure that there's money set aside for them, that it's not tied up in any way where we can't access it. We'd love to be able to provide for them and still maintain just a normal, regular life. We have almost every subscription service you can think of, you know, Netflix, Disney plus, all of them. So our out of pocket per month is still up there and we love to eat out. So we'd love to continue our lifestyle now, save for the future and for our kids, you know.

[Mark]

But now, but now with. But with that credit card and personal loan debt wiped away, what is it that you think you do spend on a monthly basis?

[Chris]

I would, I would conservatively say we're right around 4 to 4,500 per month in just our regular expenses. So like our health insurance, car insurance, things like that outside.

[Mark]

But what if I have to pay for your damn kid to go to science or I mean, physics camp?

[Chris]

So luckily you don't have to pay for that, but I do. But that's going to be a good $8,000. He's a year, I would assume he went to, you know, with the Latin club. Yes, they still teach Latin and some kids still enjoy it. He went to Italy last year. That was a good $6,000. So.

[Mark]

So it's fair to say that that 5,000, if we really, if we wanted to incorporate the goodies, we'd make it 6,000, right?

[Chris]

Correct.

[Mark]

Okay, so let's say $6,000 is what you're looking at in your spend. So without your debt that you have to make those payments on, we have two things to make a decision about. One is how you're going to manage your cash flow going forward. And the other is how we're going to allocate the inheritance money. Is that right?

[Chris]

Correct.

[Mark]

Okay, so I guess that for, for right now, what is the percentage that you guys are each contributing to your 401ks?

[Chris]

I'm putting in right around 10%. Now for me, though, my company does not match.

[Mark]

Okay.

[Chris]

So I'm putting in 10%. And my wife right now I believe is putting in 6% and she is matched. But when we say we just nailed down our debt, it really just happened about a month or so ago. So we're waiting to see what our, I would call it almost disposable income is so that we Know how much more to start ramping that up to?

[Mark]

How much money do you think you were paying down on that debt every month? Do you have that number? Do you know what that is about?

[Chris]

Easily. Easily $3,000 each.

[Mark]

Oh, my God.

[Chris]

Combined. I'm sorry. Combined. About three grand.

[Mark]

Three grand. Okay, that's good, because now I know what you should put in. And your retirement account is held where? I know there's no match, but is it a decent plan?

[Chris]

It's with Fidelity, so that's good.

[Mark]

I'll take it. And what about your wife's?

[Chris]

I believe she's Fidelity as well.

[Mark]

Okay. And she will not be entitled to any pension. Either of you won't be, or you will be.

[Chris]

I don't believe she will be. I will not.

[Mark]

Okay. All right. You got these Fidelity plans. You got, let's say, three grand a month that we're talking about in free cash flow, okay? And so to me, that would mean that you're both going to go right to 15% immediately on your retirement funds. Immediately. Okay? That's what I would do. Then I would put everything else into your savings account. Right, because we want you to. As you said, you want to rebuild your emergency reserve. Okay. Then when this inheritance comes, you've got a big decision to make. Okay? First thing I would do is whatever. If you haven't rebuilt those emergency reserves enough so that you can cover six to 12 months of those living expenses. So you really want to have, like, let's just call it 50, 70 grand in a high yield savings account. Okay. And let's say you haven't done that yet, because, you know, I don't know when the inheritance is coming. Top off the account. So you have an emergency reserve of, you know, at least 50, I don't know, maybe 60 grand. Let's put 60 in there.

[Chris]

Okay, Can I stop you real quick? That was one of our goals, was to make sure we had that money. And about a month ago, I put $60,000 into a CD, getting under 4%.

[Mark]

Okay, great. So we don't even have to worry about that emergency reserve. So now we're talking about. Let's just say it's 250,000. Okay? So from there, I think the real question is how much money should we put in these 529 accounts? Let's say your son gets a scholarship. We don't want to, like, overfund him because it sounds to me like you really have a sense that, like, if he doesn't get a scholarship, if you're going to have you know, you're going to need $120,000 or so in an account for him, but I don't know about the 13 year old. Does the 13 year old show the same kind of academic prowess?

[Chris]

Yeah, she's actually, I don't want to say anything because they're here, they're home, but she's actually, her, her grades at the same age are a little bit better, so.

[Mark]

And she's a girl because she has. And I'm not favorites, but I, I understand. So Mark, what do you think that we should. Let's just say two kids. I mean it's hard to handicap the scholarship thing, but let's just say how that they're going to each require $120,000 of parental help if they don't get a scholarship. If they don't. But one of them might, both of them might. So how much money of the $250,000 inheritance should go towards the 529? What do you think, Mark?

[Chris]

Honestly, the kids are really not my focus on this. Oh. I mean these for like you said, based, based on the picture that he's painting, it sounds like both of these kids are. They're getting some money or maybe a lot of money. They may not have to foot a whole bunch of the bill. The priority for me is their retirement.

[Mark]

Okay. So after we put 15% immediately into retirement, which you could probably even go max it out to 20%. I think you'll get there pretty quickly. You want to max that out. And so once you max that out, then the question is what do we do with this 250 grand? Maybe we just open up, maybe we open up a brokerage account and use that as your supplemental retirement account. And if you felt like you wanted to put. I feel like the kids are a big focus. Mark doesn't care about the kids, but I know that you, Kris do. So maybe what I would do is why not put in 25 grand into your each of their accounts, okay. So that your son has his 17. And then maybe you put $25,000 in. And then in your daughter's, you can put another. Put 25 grand in there. Okay. So now instead of $250,000. $250,000, you open your brokerage account with $200,000. Okay. And listen, the money's there if you want it. You can see what happens with your son. Let's say that your son kills it and gets scholarships and doesn't need any of the money in the 529 that you put away for him. So then you'll have the money available for your daughter. If that's the case, and if there's no need for hers, then these accounts have been open. So we'll be able to move that money into a Roth IRA if neither of them uses any of the money. But if they're really smart, maybe they'll go to grad school, who knows? So let's do that. Mark, you're so clinical in this. Didn't you hear what Chris said? He can't stop talking about his fabulous kids. He's not going to do what we say to him.

[Chris]

Which tells me that they're probably in good shape.

[Mark]

Yeah, exactly. So now you're going to watch your cash flow. But it seems to me that you're in this funny, not funny, unique situation. And I experienced this when I used to be a financial advisor a hundred years ago. If you had somebody that found religion on paying down debt, that is the exact same person who is able to save money because you've already done it. You've taken this cash flow, this three grand a month. You said, oh my God, I got to get out of this. You got yourself out of this. You. Now we're going to have all this cash flow. You're going to max out your retirement, you're going to open your brokerage account, you're going to work for 20 years or 15 years, whatever it is going to be, and you're going to just knock it out. You're going to say, I am going the same amount of diligence that I had with paying down my debt. I am now applying that to putting myself and my kids first, putting that money away and investing. So I think that's where I would head with this. Does that feel okay for you, Chris?

[Chris]

It does. There's one question, since I'm not matched, would it make more sense for me to put it into a Roth IRA or just keep it as a.

[Mark]

Can you use, can you do a Roth 401?

[Chris]

I honestly am not sure what that even is.

[Mark]

Okay, so you've got a 401 at work. Some organizations, your wife can check this out, also offer the ability to put money with an after tax dollar into a retirement account, which is a 401k. So in a pre tax like right now, you put money in, it comes out before it gets taxed and you're able to grow, grow, grow, boom, boom, boom. And then when you take it out in the future, you have to pay tax on it. But if It's a Roth 401K. You don't get a tax advantage today. But down the line, when you take the money out, there will be no tax that's due. I would still max out your retirement accounts anyway because I feel like it's a very easy way for you to like, it's like a very low friction way to save. But I think that it would really be helpful if as you look at your cash flow, you'll max out your retirement, then put money in a brokerage and go from there. And look, Fidelity's a great company that has tons of options. So I would stick to that plan just because it's easy.

[Chris]

Gotcha.

[Mark]

And do you guys. Do you guys. Wait a second. When you look at that 529 plan, that's a Pennsylvania plan.

[Chris]

So in the state of Pennsylvania, we are actually allowed to get 529 from anyone that offers one. And actually our broker set one up where we actually have four separate accounts. I believe two are in Ohio and two are in Pennsylvania.

[Mark]

Hold on a second. What is this broker doing for you?

[Chris]

He is just managing the funds and trying to get whatever the best rates are so that.

[Mark]

What funds are we talking about exactly?

[Chris]

The funds that we have. I do apologize. I don't have my login.

[Mark]

Like we're talking about your 401k that he does. They're not doing that, right?

[Chris]

No, no, no. This is for his five. For my son's 529.

[Mark]

Are you paying this guy to do this?

[Chris]

I think he's taking a small percentage.

[Mark]

Why are you doing this? Why can't you do this yourself? Is this some friend?

[Chris]

It was somebody who was recommended to us. We, we had no inclinations other than the 529s exist and what they're for. But how to actually manage it or keep an eye on it? We were in the dark on that.

[Mark]

Okay, so a 529 plan. A 529 is a section of the IRS code which allows states to establish their. A way to save for college on a tax preference basis. Each, as you said, like it does. You can use a plan from any one state. You don't have to use it in a specific way, but there is a. When you look at the. When you look at the 529 plan, think of it more as a way for you to save for college. And it's very easy. You can essentially throw money into a plan. It will grow without taxation. When the kid needs the money later for college or tuition or other expenses. There's no Tax due when you take it out. When you open up a 529 plan, what you can find is that there are usually plan options, right? Like it could be like, oh, I'm going to just put money based on how old my kid is. And it's kind of like almost like you would start to invest with a retirement account. Like there are different funds available and then there are target funds which, like in retirement accounts you have like a target based on your retirement date. With a 529 plan, it's a target based on the kid's age. Okay? So like if I go to the Pennsylvania 529 plan, because you've got a kid who's so close to college, you may not put a ton of money that's all invested in stocks because you might need the money sooner, right? But they have different portfolios. You could say, like, oh, put it all in safe stuff, Put it all in just interest bearing stuff. Put it in stocks and bonds and they've got different choices for you. Okay? Now this is very easy to do. I know that you can do this. Do you know why? Because when I look at someone like you, like, I know you've got a 401k plan. So you can easily be able to do this. You'll be able to say like, just like in my 401k, I've got some stock. I've got a stock plan, I've got a bond plan, I've got an international plan. You don't need someone to do this for you. You just don't. And the reason why, I mean, look, the guy might be very nice, okay? Truly. But I still feel like, why are you paying for that person? Why? Because in my mind this is money that you don't need to pay someone to do. What do you think?

[Chris]

Again, I've never had anybody who, with your knowledge to explain this to me. So yeah, this is definitely something my wife and I are going to discuss about, you know, just now. How would we do this? Can we move into a different place?

[Mark]

Okay, very excellent question because here I am on the pa529.com plan, right? So it's on. This is the website pa529.com you can move money from the other plans into this 529. You can. Honestly, what I would do is I would just call them up, call that little 800 number up and try to get it going. By the way, one other like bit here which is Pennsylvania taxpayers, if you use this plan, Pennsylvania state income tax deduction. Now you're using the Ohio plan. But if you use your Pennsylvania plan, you listen to this. Pennsylvania taxpayers can deduct up to $19,000 in contributions per year from their Pennsylvania taxable income for the purposes of your state income taxes. So by using the Pennsylvania plan, you'll get a state income tax benefit. Now, you see, your guy, your nice guy, your friend of the friend may not have told you that.

[Chris]

I don't think he did.

[Mark]

Now, I don't want to slam this guy, but this guy stinks because this is not a good thing. This is. When I talk to people about, like, the difference between a financial advisor and a salesperson, this is it. This is saying, okay, the advice that Chris and his wife got from this guy was suitable for them. But if you were dealing with someone who was a fiduciary, they would have to tell you, hey, why are you having me do this? That's silly. You're foregoing a Pennsylvania state income tax deduction. Go do it yourself and go get your tax deduction.

[Chris]

All right.

[Mark]

All right. So now I need you to just kind of take a deep breath. I've given you a lot of information. You came out of this bad situation in some way. In the back of your mind, you're telling yourselves we're not really good about money because we got into this problem, which is not true. But I want you to be very careful about the kind of people you're choosing to work with in the future. Okay?

[Chris]

Understood.

[Mark]

Last but not least, do you and your wife have your estate documents completed?

[Chris]

No.

[Mark]

Bad boy. Did you say you were going to get. You knew you were going to get scolded for that, right?

[Chris]

Yeah, but I mean that. This is like every conversation I have, so.

[Mark]

All right, well, I mean, I think it would be so great if you could maybe check your make, Maybe check your benefits to see if you can perhaps have a benefit that would pay for legal expenses for you or your wife. But otherwise, you don't need a huge, big estate plan. You need something that says, I leave you everything. Honey, you leave me everything. And you're my health care proxy. You're my durable power of attorney, and move on. Okay?

[Chris]

Got it.

[Mark]

Good. Okay. So that said, I think we're done here. So I want you to know that we are happy to help you as you move forward. Maybe when you get the inheritance, we talk again. But if you have any other questions, just give us a holler, okay?

[Chris]

Gotcha. And again, thank you so much.

[Mark]

Of course. All right, gang. Do you have a 529 plan that was sold to you by somebody and it's not your state plan. Give us a holler. That's a that to me. There better be a good reason why that's happening. So give us a Holler. Go to jillonmoney.com Click the contact Us button and write us that note if you want to join us live, check the box. Mark will do everything else. Don't forget to sign up for the free weekly newsletter right there front door of the website right now. You can subscribe to us on the Odyssey app or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Don't forget to try to lift someone up. It's the beginning of the week. I mean, just do something nice today that has nothing to do with you. Change your work, change your wealth, change your life. Thank you for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.

[Jill Schlesinger]

Buying a home in California can certainly feel intimidating. We hear from listeners all the time time throughout the state and they want to know where can they even start? Many of them find that turning to.

[Mark]

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[Jill Schlesinger]

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