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Gifts That Keep on Giving

The holiday gift-giving season has arrived! As parents skim through their children’s wish list, I’m well aware that a college savings plan through College Savings Mississippi will be scribbled on very few. Nonetheless, if you’re a parent, grandparent, family friend, or acquaintance, I want to invite you to consider adding it to your shopping list.

In just a few months’ time, hundreds of Mississippi students will be receiving their college diplomas. For most, the calligraphy-filled document will be accompanied by something else: a bill worth an average of $33,000. For most, it will take a decade or more to pay back what they owe. That burden, however, can be lightened – if not altogether eliminated – by investing in a college savings plan.

College Savings Mississippi offers families two options. The first is a Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition (MPACT) plan, which lets families lock in today’s tuition rates and prepay college altogether. The other is a Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) plan, which is similar to a savings account that draws interest – except there are some great tax advantages for many families that come along with a MACS account! Regardless of your choice, giving the gift of an education will certainly be a gift that will keep giving for years to come.

We’ve heard from many families who find fun and creative ways to deliver a MACS or MPACT contribution as a gift. Some will slip a note into a book for the child. Others will wrap up a stuffed animal whose head has been topped with a graduation cap. And others will send the child on a scavenger hunt until they find the “treasure.”

However you choose to present it, the gift of a college degree is one of the most meaningful things you can offer a child. For more information about our plans, please visit treasury.ms.gov/collegesavings.

Have a warm and blessed Christmas!