My wife and I have been investing for our kids' college tuition since they were very young, and as of next year my oldest will be entering high school in the US. Since we started investing, we've been investing the money into a mixture of mutual funds inside of a 529 account, using a mix of US growth & income funds, as well as some international funds. The returns on the mutual funds have had their ups and downs over the years, but have performed well and we are happy with what we've earned so far.
Now that my daughter has about 4 years left until she would start using the money for higher education, I'm wondering when would be the best time to start moving some or all of the money into less volatile investments, such as a cash fund or money-market fund. We're on track to have about 50% of my daughter's total tuition expenses saved up in the next 4 years if the market continues earning, on average, what it's been earning in the past, but I'm concerned for the cyclical ups and downs the market can have in the short term. During our daughter's college years, my wife and I expect to be able to cash-flow about 25% of the tuition expenses, year over year, with her having to earn the rest as she goes. Currently, we have about 35% saved for the projected expenses for a 4 year degree in our state. I want to ensure, as best I can, that the value of the investments does not dip too low in the next 4 years, but also am considering that growth may continue as well.
With all that said, my question for the community is: When is the best time to start moving some of the invested money out of more volatile mutual funds into more stable funds, given that our daughter is projected to start using the money in 4 years, and has a projected 4 year degree ahead of her?
Submitted May 08, 2019 at 09:23AM by CalvinsDuplicate http://bit.ly/2Lwe3hW
