Mobile App Gives Middle-Class Americans a New Way to Save for College

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Middle-class American parents, many still reeling under the burden of the millennial student debt crisis, have a new way to save for their kids' college costs: a free mobile app from CollegeBacker.

Millennials are no strangers to college debt, which has doubled over the last 10 years and now stands at more than $1.7 trillion. When it comes to saving for their own kids' college costs, they are starting earlier than prior generations and turning to family and friends for help.¹

"The millennial generation does everything on their phones, so it made sense to launch our service as an app," said CollegeBacker CEO and founder Jordan Lee. "Our app makes it extremely easy to start a top-tier 529 college savings plan any time, anywhere, and then invite family and friends to contribute or send the gift of college savings to another family."

By using its unique gifting features, CollegeBacker families are saving an average of 43% more by soliciting gifts for birthdays or baby showers, holidays, and graduations. More than 50% of the CollegeBacker families who have been on the platform for a year have received gifts into their college funds, compared to an industry average of 1%-2%.

With the free CollegeBacker app, families can set up and fund their child's college plan in under 5 minutes, monitor the growth of their investment, customize beautiful gifting pages for their kids, and invite family and friends to make a lasting gift to their child's future with easy payment methods like credit/debit cards. CollegeBacker is currently available for iOS on the Apple App Store ? https://try.cbkr.co/iphone ? but will soon be available for Android as well.

By bringing free robo-advice and a seamless mobile app to the college savings industry, CollegeBacker is expanding the audience for 529 plans, with over 50% of its families self-identifying as low- or moderate-income.

"Surveys show 70% of Americans ? most in lower income brackets ? are still unaware of 529 college savings plans, even though the experts agree that it's the best way to save for a child's education," said Lee. "Like a retirement account for college, the investment can grow tax-free. We hope the availability of an easy-to-use app will raise 529 awareness and spur more families to start saving earlier."

About CollegeBacker
CollegeBacker is democratizing access to education with a free and easy way to invest tax-free for college and save more with gifts from family and friends. An SEC-registered investment adviser, CollegeBacker provides robo-advice to start investing with a top-tier 529 plan and portfolio. CollegeBacker is a venture-backed startup based in San Francisco that counts Princeton, Dartmouth and USC as investors. It has introduced thousands of low and moderate income American families to 529 plans, helped them save over $5 million for college, and helped their kids avoid over $15 million in student loans.

SOURCE CollegeBacker