Accounts
The account types that hold your kid's money — and how each one works.
Accounts
How to Open a Custodial Account for Your Kid: A Step-by-Step Guide
No account yet? The on-ramp: what a custodial account is, what to have ready, how to open one at Schwab, and how to fund it.
7 min readAccounts
Trump Accounts: How to Claim Your Child's $1,000 (2026 Update)
9 min readAccountsUTMA Accounts Explained: A Parent's Guide to Custodial Investing
6 min readAccountsCustodial Roth IRA for Kids: A Complete Guide for Parents
11 min readAccounts529 Plans Explained: A Parent's Guide to Tax-Free College Savings
8 min readStrategy
How to choose between accounts and make the most of what you open.
Strategy
529 vs. Roth IRA for Kids: Which Long-Term Account Wins?
Both are tax-advantaged. They optimize for completely different futures — here's the honest tradeoff.
7 min readStrategy
Trump Accounts vs. 529 vs. Roth IRA: Which One for Your Kid?
8 min readStrategyHow Custodial Accounts Affect Financial Aid (FAFSA)
8 min readStrategySaving and Investing for Grandchildren: Which Account Is Right?
8 min readStrategy529 vs. UTMA: Which Custodial Account Is Right for Your Kid?
7 min readTaxes
The tax rules that quietly shape every custodial dollar.
Taxes
The Kiddie Tax, Explained: What Every Custodial-Account Parent Should Know
Who it applies to, the 2026 thresholds, which accounts trigger it, and how to keep the bill small.
7 min readTaxes
Tax-Gain Harvesting in a UTMA: Resetting Cost Basis Tax-Free
8 min readTaxesFederally Tax-Free Isn't Always State Tax-Free: 529 Withdrawals and Your State
6 min readTaxesUTMA Taxes: Do You Pay Tax on a Custodial Account?
6 min readTaxesGift Tax and Custodial Accounts: The Annual Exclusion, Explained
6 min readBasics
Investing fundamentals in plain English — simple enough to learn and teach at the same time.
Basics
Compound Interest for Kids: The One Concept That Does the Heavy Lifting
Why time beats amount, the rule of 72, and how to make the snowball click at every age.
6 min readBasics
What Is an ETF? A Parent's Guide to the Building Block of Kids' Portfolios
6 min readBasicsWhat Is a Stock? A Kid-Friendly Explanation (That Parents Can Borrow)
5 min readBasicsWhat Is the Stock Market? Explained Simply for Kids
5 min readBasicsWhat Is a Dividend? A Simple Explanation for Kids
5 min readParenting
Turning the numbers into lessons your kids actually absorb.
Milestones
What to do at the moments that matter — birth, first job, turning 18.
Milestones
Your Kid Got Into College: How to Actually Use the 529
The payoff moment, done right: qualified expenses, the timing trap, scholarships, and what to do with what's left.
9 min readMilestones
What Happens When Your Child Turns 18: The Custodial Account Handoff
7 min readMilestonesThe Newborn Money Checklist: 7 Money Moves in Your Baby's First Year
6 min readMilestonesYour Teen's First Job: Earned Income and the Custodial Roth IRA
8 min readMilestonesHow to Help Your Teen Build Credit Before They Turn 18
7 min readTools
Look something up instead of reading about it.
Browse all 76 guides
Accounts
- How to Open a Custodial Account for Your Kid: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Trump Accounts: How to Claim Your Child's $1,000 (2026 Update)
- UTMA Accounts Explained: A Parent's Guide to Custodial Investing
- Custodial Roth IRA for Kids: A Complete Guide for Parents
- 529 Plans Explained: A Parent's Guide to Tax-Free College Savings
- UTMA vs. UGMA: What's the Difference (and Which One You Actually Have)?
- What Can UTMA Money Actually Be Used For? The Withdrawal Rules, Explained
- UTMA & UGMA Age of Majority by State: Full 50-State Table (2026)
- Brokerage Accounts for Kids: Custodial vs. Regular (and How to Choose)
- How to Open an Investment Account for a Grandchild
- How to Open a Savings Account for a Grandchild (and When to Pick a Better Account)
- How to Open a Custodial Roth IRA for Your Kid (Step by Step)
- Custodial Roth IRA Rules and Contribution Limits (2026)
- Best Custodial Accounts for Kids in 2026: An Honest Comparison
- Roth IRA for Grandchildren: How a Grandparent Can Fund One
- ABLE Accounts Explained: Saving for a Child With a Disability
- Kids' Accounts by State: UTMA Transfer Age & 529 Tax Rules
Strategy
- 529 vs. Roth IRA for Kids: Which Long-Term Account Wins?
- Trump Accounts vs. 529 vs. Roth IRA: Which One for Your Kid?
- How Custodial Accounts Affect Financial Aid (FAFSA)
- Coast FIRE for Kids: Could You Set Your Child Up to Never Worry About Money?
- Saving and Investing for Grandchildren: Which Account Is Right?
- 529 vs. UTMA: Which Custodial Account Is Right for Your Kid?
- How to Start Investing for Your Child: A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Build Your Kid's First Investment Portfolio
- What Is the FIRE Movement? A Plain-English Guide (and the Kid Angle)
- Grandparent 529 vs. UTMA: Which Is Better for a Grandchild?
- How to See All Your Kid's Investment Accounts in One Place
- Best Investing & Financial Education Apps for Kids in 2026
- Greenlight Alternatives for Investing: 3 Better-Fit Options
- How to Use MemoryBank to Teach Kids About Money
- How to Start Investing as a Teenager
- How to Make Money as a Teen
- How to Make Money as a Kid
- Your Kid Got a Scholarship: What Happens to the 529?
- What If Your Kid Doesn't Go to College? Your 529 Options
- Which Account Should You Spend First?
Taxes
- The Kiddie Tax, Explained: What Every Custodial-Account Parent Should Know
- Tax-Gain Harvesting in a UTMA: Resetting Cost Basis Tax-Free
- Federally Tax-Free Isn't Always State Tax-Free: 529 Withdrawals and Your State
- UTMA Taxes: Do You Pay Tax on a Custodial Account?
- Gift Tax and Custodial Accounts: The Annual Exclusion, Explained
- Gifting Appreciated Stock to Grandkids: The Tax-Smart Way to Give
Basics
- Compound Interest for Kids: The One Concept That Does the Heavy Lifting
- What Is an ETF? A Parent's Guide to the Building Block of Kids' Portfolios
- What Is a Stock? A Kid-Friendly Explanation (That Parents Can Borrow)
- What Is the Stock Market? Explained Simply for Kids
- What Is a Dividend? A Simple Explanation for Kids
- What Is an Index Fund? The Simplest Way to Own the Whole Market
- Stocks vs. Bonds: Explained Simply for Kids
- What Is a Brokerage Account? A Parent's Plain-English Guide
- What Is a Mutual Fund? A Simple Guide for Parents
- Risk and Diversification, Explained for Kids
- Bull vs. Bear Market: Explained Simply for Kids
- What Is Inflation? Explained for Kids (and Why We Invest)
- How to Explain Inflation to Kids (Why a Dollar Buys Less)
- At What Age Can You Open a Brokerage Account?
- What Is a Kids' Investment Dashboard? (And Do You Need One?)
Parenting
- Teaching Kids to Invest, By Age: From 4 to 18
- Save, Spend, Give: The Three-Jar System for Teaching Kids About Money
- What to Tell Your Kid When the Market Drops
- The Allowance That Actually Teaches
- What to Do With Birthday and Holiday Money
- Be Your Kid's 401(k): The Parent Match
- How to Talk to Your Kids About a Recession
- The Grandparent Advantage: Give a Grandkid a Head Start That Sticks
- How to Explain Investing to Kids, at Every Age
- Financial Literacy for Kids: A Guide by Age
- Financial Literacy Curriculum for High School
- Personal Finance Lesson Plans for Every Grade
Milestones
- Your Kid Got Into College: How to Actually Use the 529
- What Happens When Your Child Turns 18: The Custodial Account Handoff
- The Newborn Money Checklist: 7 Money Moves in Your Baby's First Year
- Your Teen's First Job: Earned Income and the Custodial Roth IRA
- How to Help Your Teen Build Credit Before They Turn 18
- Kid Entrepreneur Spotlight: Zane Campbell, and the Move Most Teens Miss
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