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College degree is still smart investment
Investing
money ladder

It’s “back-to-school” time. If you have young children, you may have been purchasing backpacks, pencils, notebooks and similar items.

But one day, you could be shopping for colleges — and when you do, you’ll find the bill is a little bit higher than the one you get from your local school-supply store. That’s why it’s never too soon to start saving.

Just how costly is college? For the 2014–15 school year, the average expense — tuition, fees, room and board — was $18,943 at a public four-year school and $42,419 at a four-year private school, according to the College Board. And if recent history is any guide, these numbers will likely keep climbing.

But there’s no need to panic. For one thing, your child may be eligible for loans, grants or scholarships. Still, you likely will end up shouldering some of the financial load, and you may ask yourself if it’s worth it. How much difference can a college degree make in the lives of your children?

Actually, college still seems to be a pretty good investment: The average college graduate will receive about
$1 million more in lifetime earnings than the average high-school graduate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. So when you assist your children in getting to college, you can be reasonably sure that you’re at least helping them start on the path toward a rewarding career.

How should you put away money for college? Unfortunately, more parents use a general savings account than any other method, according to Sallie Mae’s “How America Saves for College 2015” study. These accounts pay little or no interest and offer no tax benefits.

As an alternative, consider investing in a 529 plan. Contribution limits are quite high, and federal taxes won’t be assessed on earnings used for qualified higher-education expenses. (The earnings portion of withdrawals will be taxed, though, and can incur a 10 percent penalty if the withdrawals aren’t used for qualified expenses.) Furthermore, your 529 plan contributions may be deductible from your state taxes. But 529 plans vary, so be sure to check with your tax adviser regarding deductibility.

Another college-funding option is a Coverdell Education Savings Account, which, like a 529 plan, can generate tax-free earnings if the money is used for higher-education expenses. You can typically only put in a maximum of $2,000 per year to a Coverdell account, but it offers more flexibility in investment choices than a 529 plan.

You also could consider a custodial account, known as either the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. You can put up to $14,000 per year into a custodial account without incurring gift taxes, and earnings would be subject only to the “kiddie tax” — that is, the first $1,050 is tax-exempt, the next $1,050 will be taxed at the child’s tax rate, and just the amount more than $2,100 will be taxed at your tax rate. However, once your children reach the age of majority (either 18 or 21), they take control of the money and can do whatever they want with it — and their plans may not include college.

Don’t wait too long to begin funding whichever savings vehicle, or vehicles, you choose. Your children may be young today, but before you know it, they’ll be college-bound.

This article was written by Edward Jones and provided by Evans, an Edward Jones financial adviser.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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