BabyMint College Savings
By: Karen Rinehart, CFP^®
The Henssler Financial Group Position Paper

BabyMint is a way to save for college by spending money. Every time you purchase an eligible good or service from a BabyMint company, a portion of the purchase price will be contributed to your BabyMint account. You are eligible to receive up to 20% of your purchase price depending on the arrangement the retailer has made with BabyMint. These accounts are non-interest bearing accounts. BabyMint accounts can make deposits to any 529 Plan account as long as the plan document indicates the plan will accept deposits from a third party. In order to maximize the benefit of a BabyMint account, it should be linked with a 529 Plan, Education Savings Account, mutual fund or money market account. If you link an account with an education savings account, BabyMint will deposit assets into your 529 account once the value equals $25. If you choose to have the rebates mailed to you directly, BabyMint will do this every quarter the account value equals $25. BabyMint is affiliated with 700 online and traditional retailers. Some benefits include:

• Savings can be made to a BabyMint account for any future college student.
  • A future college student can be anyone who is a U.S. citizen that wants a higher education.
  • Basically, it can be anyone whose higher education expenses you wish to pay.
  • Students can be added at any time.
• You only need one BabyMint account even if you have several students that you are saving for.
  • You can specify the percentage that you want contributed toward each student.
  • This is called allocating the assets.
• You have ultimate control over the account, and the student does not have access to it.
• There is no maximum rebate amount.
• BabyMint program offers matching scholarship credits, redeemable at 150 private colleges.
• BabyMint also allows you to direct your rebates to your student loan.

The first step in taking advantage of the BabyMint program is to enroll. Visit www.BabyMint.com to join for free. You can cancel your membership at any time. Family and friends can also register with BabyMint and direct contributions to your account for higher education expenses.

Once you register with BabyMint, there are several ways to begin saving, which are as follows:

BabyMint also offers a "Tuition Rewards Program." Through its partnership with SAGE Scholars, BabyMint members can receive tuition credits redeemable at 150 universities and colleges, in addition to merchant rebates. Tuition rewards are tuition reductions, that is, aid not based strictly on financial need. SAGE Scholars has negotiated with member colleges to automatically present a financial reward to families who save for college.

We suggest registering with BabyMint. This service is free and you can earn money for college while spending money on everyday items. For more information regarding this topic, please contact The Henssler Financial Group at 770-429-9166 or comments@henssler.com.