(Radio Iowa) – With the Christmas shopping done for this year, Iowa’s State Treasurer says it’s time to think of a more long-term gift for your kids. Treasurer Roby Smith says the latest toy or hot game may soon loose its luster. “Sometimes those gifts, you know, toys get put away in January,” he says. He says you should think about starting or contributing to a college fund for your kids or grandkids. Smith oversees the state I-Save 529 plan that allows you to save money for educational expenses. “This is a way to help pay for college trade, school apprenticeships or other qualified education expenses down the road. So it’s a gift that you’re giving for the future and to make your loved one better opportunities in the future. So we encourage people to do that,” Smith says.

Smith says friends and family can also make a gift to your child’s education account. “Let’s imagine you have an account for your child so you have access to the app so you download the app and then you would receive a you gift code and then you could text or e-mail it to a family member that wanted to give the gift,” he says. “Once they receive that code then they just log in to a secure website and they make the gift. On the website and it goes straight into the I Save 529 account of your child.” Smith says there are several options for how the account invests the money. “They can choose to go with a more aggressive account, they could go with an aggressive return, they could go with a more conservative return. It just depends on what they want to look at as far as their risk tolerance,” Smith says.

Smith says you can deduct contributions to the I-Save 529 plan from your state income taxes. You can find out more about the plan at: ISave529.com.