Personal finance tips: Beware of power-sucking appliances, and more

Three top pieces of financial advice — from how to earn a very early 529 gift to 401(k) changes coming in 2015

Piggy Bank
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A very early 529 gift

Why wait until a child is born to start a 529 college savings plan? asked Peter S. Green at The Wall Street Journal. Anyone hoping to become a grandparent one day can open a 529 to "get the savings ball rolling early." A future grandparent who designates the beneficiary as the future parent can contribute as much as $70,000 in a single year tax free (equal to five years' worth of contributions at $14,000). When the infant arrives, the account can be transferred into his or her name. Starting early has major benefits: A 529 plan opened with an initial gift of $14,000, five years before a child is born, funded with $500 every month, and earning interest at 3 percent compounded monthly, would yield $226,784 by the child's 18th birthday. The same plan started at birth would yield $167,336.

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Sergio Hernandez is business editor of The Week's print edition. He has previously worked for The DailyProPublica, the Village Voice, and Gawker.