What we do with cash gifts to Miriam

We put them away for her college education.

When she was born we opened up a 529 account with NJBest as well as a Treasury bond account with US Treasury. We also have a brokerage account.

We liquidated and closed her 529 a few weeks ago after it suffered some losses in the stock market. I reviewed the available investment options and realized that NJBest is not prudently managed. One thing I noticed was that their portfolio for a 17 year old is at least 30-40% in equities. At 17 the kid is either in college or a year or two away from entering it and having that much in stock is waaaay too much risk. With such a short horizon one wants to see a more stable investment configuration. When I say "prudent management" I mean being conscious of the markets and the time horizon and making tough decisions. NJBest is an epic failure at that. Even tax-deferred it makes no sense.

So, we decided to manage Miriam's college savings on our own. We liquidated and closed her 529, moved money out, matched the stock market losses out of our savings, and placed her portfolio with the US Treasury (for now). When rates on other investments improve we may reshuffle.