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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Gifts for Close Family Members

I like giving gifts that will give back. I've given my sister the gift of a Roth IRA for Christmas one year. She now puts money in it on a regular basis and she's on her way to savings for retirement. Of course, you can only do this for a person you know well like your sibling or your child.

For my nephew that is coming soon, I was thinking of buying a small amount in an Educational Savings Account to kick start his college fund. Again, you must know the parents closely to make sure they won't already max out their child's ESA.

If you are the parent of a child, you can request for college fund contributions instead of gifts. Below is a link to a letter that you can use as a template. Stick the letter in the invitation and people can choose to contribute or bring a traditional gift. I think this works great if your child is small. If you hold a birthday party for a little one, you will receive more gifts than you will know what to do with, therefore, the gift of contributions is a great idea.

Child College Fund Contribution Request Letter

There are also savings bonds and traditional stock certificates that you can gift to a parent for them to place into a college fund. Can you think of another way to gift a college fund contribution to a child that you are not close to?

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