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  May 29, 2025 12:00 pm by Andrea PellegriniPodcastsEarnEducation
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  Making Cents of Money · Episode 111: 529 Day

  Happy 529 Day!

  Happy May 29 – also known as 529 Day, which celebrates 529 college savings programs! We partner with the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer to highlight the two nationally acclaimed 529 programs they manage: Bright Start and Bright Directions. Learn more about both in our latest episode of Making Cents of Money!

  You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

  Resources

  Government Resources & Tax Information

  • Internal Revenue Service. (2025). About Publication 970: Tax benefits for education. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 
  • Internal Revenue Service. (2024). 529 plans: Questions and answers. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 
  • Internal Revenue Service. (2025). American opportunity tax credit. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 
  • Internal Revenue Service. (2025). Lifetime learning credit. U.S. Department of the Treasury.

  Illinois 529 Plan Information

  • Illinois State Treasurer's Office. (2024). Bright Start college savings program. https://www.brightstart.com 
  • Illinois State Treasurer's Office. (2024). Bright Directions college savings program. https://www.brightdirections.com 
  • Flywire Corporation. (2022, February 8). Flywire partners with Ascensus to digitize 529 college savings plan payments [Press release]. 

  College Cost Planning Tools

  • College Board. (2024). Big Future: How much will college cost. 
  • College Board. (2024). Trends in college pricing and student aid 2024. 
  • U.S. News & World Report. (2024, Aug. 6). Net price calculator guide. 

  University of Illinois System Net Price Calculators

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Net price calculator.
  • University of Illinois Chicago. Financial aid net price calculator. 
  • University of Illinois Springfield. Net price calculator. 

  Research & Data

  • Sallie Mae. (2024). How America pays for college 2024. 
  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). Post-secondary employment outcomes (PSEO) database. 
  • Morningstar. (n.d.). Browse and compare 529 plans by state. Morningstar.
  • Kim, H. & Giles, M. (2025). The best 529 plans for 2025. Morningstar. 
  • Saving for College. (n.d.). Guide to 529 plans, saving for college and financial aid. Saving for College. 

  Investing Education Resources

  Video Resources

  • Pellegrini, A., & McKinley, A. (2025, February 6). Investing 101 - Wealth building basics [Video]. YouTube. 
  • McKinley, A., & Pellegrini, A. (2025, February 20). Investing 102 - Risks & rewards [Video]. YouTube. 

  U of I SMMC Blog Articles

  •  Annamalai, S. V. (2024, May 29). Mutual funds vs exchange traded funds. SMMC News & Events Blog. (A. Pellegrini, Ed.).
  • Owusu-Cyrus, R. (2025, February 6). How the Rule of 72 can help you build wealth—or sink deeper into debt. SMMC News & Events Blog.

  Relevant Previous Episodes

  • Choosing a financial professional (Ep. 25) 
  • Investing to reach financial goals (Ep. 57) 
  • World investor week (Ep. 71)

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