I don’t know what it is about us (especially men) that we insist on going against the flow of things. But, for every ten families I do college planning with, there’ll be one who insists on non-traditional investments for their child’s college account. Over the years, I’ve seen everything from people planting timber to be harvested when their child goes to college to someone trying to corner the market on a certain baseball player’s rookie card.
Don’t get me wrong. These may be fun and unique investments when part of a much larger investment portfolio, but they are not the place for your child’s education fund. Besides the fact that most of these investments lose the tax-advantaged status other college accounts enjoy, they also seem to backfire as often as not.
With less than twenty years until you’re going to need your college funds, stick with the straight and narrow. Choose simple investments that get the job done; avoid investments never meant for college planning.
