Kristin | Chantilly, Virginia

In the Vietnamese culture, family and friends shower children with money on the one-month and one-year anniversaries of their births. Called "lucky money," the gifts are intended to ensure the children’s good fortune.

When her son, Bill, was born in 2012, Kristin knew just how she wanted to use the lucky money he received: to help him avoid the student loans she had taken on to fund her education.

After careful research, Kristin and her husband Khang chose Virginia529 inVEST for Bill’s college savings. They liked the flexibility of the 529 savings program and the income tax deduction available to them as Virginia residents.

When daughter Emily was born in 2014, they opened a second inVEST account using her lucky money.

The family adds to the accounts regularly. Kristin appreciates the convenience of automatic transfers from her bank account so that saving for the children’s college education is "not something I have to think about each month."