Enrollment starts today for Florida prepaid college plan

Florida Prepaid is a program parents can enter their kids into, where the parent pays in a certain amount of money each month in order to save up for when the child goes to college.

“My parents put away the money from years ago so they had exponential amount of time to put away the money to securely put me through college,” said Guy Boston, who is a recipient of Florida prepaid.

The perk of signing up today is you are purchasing a guaranteed plan with fixed payment options to lock in future college costs for less.

Currently the tuition rate for Florida Gulf Coast, right here in Southwest Florida, sits at $200, and that is eligible at Florida State college or university.

Prepaid recipient, Guy Boston was fortunate enough to have his parent’s invest early, so now he won’t have the burden of student loans to get through college.

As of Friday, the open enrollment period begins, and there are a number of plans that can be invested in where you’ll pay a fixed monthly fee and know exactly the amount that’s needed to set aside.

There is also a 529 Plan that parents can use, but there are some difference in the 529 Plan and Florida Prepaid.

“The main difference between the 529 versus the prepaid is that the plan itself is not guaranteed at a set rate, but it offers flexibility for families that perhaps may not be able to afford a certain prepaid plan,” said Jorge Lopez, who is a Director of Financial aid.

529 is similar to purchasing stocks, you can invest as much as you can or want into a customized portfolio with low or high risks.

This is an option out of state student Abby Nolder wishes her parents would have invested in.

“I’m one of four children and we’re all going to college and it’s very expensive especially being an out of state student it’s more expensive, but my parents did save up a little bit so that was nice,” said Nolder.

It can be hard to tell which plan is right for you, so we attached a Florida Prepaid calculator so you can breakdown which payment plan is right for you and your child.