Last weekend we took Zoe to the Buttonwood Zoo for the first time and I had all these funny flashes in my head of her getting into the cage with the monkeys and petting them! Honestly, lately with the way she has been running around and getting into things in a flash of a second, that is quite the possibility. Hah!

The weather was perfect this past weekend, which was a huge relief as it has been raining almost every other day this summer. The Buttonwood Zoo has a small selection of animals, train rides that go around the zoo, and a very beautiful rainforest-themed cafe. We walked around making animal sounds and waving to the people on the train rides.

While the baby was napping, we stopped at The U.Fund Dreams Tour tent to take a moment to chat with the team. (I had shared some details in the post here)

The tent offered a lot of insight about college savings, one topic that we have so many questions about, like when is a good time to start investing, how are the savings streamlined, what are the various saving options, how does the pre-tax benefit play in our overall strategy, etc.

Since this was a rather unfamiliar topic to us, it was nice having the opportunity to chat with someone in person and address our questions. We learned that most of the questions we asked were apparently the same as many people who are looking into this option!

While talking to the staff, they also mentioned helping to guide us through opening a college savings account. One of the best ideas I picked up from the discussion was to start a tradition of giving a contribution to Zoe’s college savings account for gifts on her birthday or special holidays. It might be a good idea to even ask your friends and relatives if they have a college savings plan set up for their kids, so you can make that practical gift, which will surely be beneficial and appreciated!

In addition, we learned that the funds can be utilized for other qualified expenses other than college tuition such as books, room, technology, etc. All of this information was very helpful in guiding us on how to evaluate our options pertaining to investing in the college savings plan.

If you missed the U.Fund Dreams Tour at the Buttonwood Zoo, it’s not too late. See the schedule of the tour at the bottom of this post, so you can find them at the various farms, festivals, zoos and fairs through October! It’s definitely a great way to make a day trip that is fun and educational!

A big thank you to Fidelity and MEFA for partnering on this post. I myself learned a lot of things while working on this and genuinely appreciate all the wonderful edification options provided by Fidelity and MEFA such as these tours. As always, all opinions shared in the post are my own.