Obtaining a college education is becoming more expensive than ever. Many students and their families will need to rely on loans, grants, and scholarships in order to fund it. Another major tool for saving for college is a 529, which is a designated college savings plan that has major tax benefits.  

The website Freshman Fund offers a free registry for your 529 account that others can donate to (hat tip to Smart Wallet). Whether you are a parent starting a 529 account for your young child or a high school student looking for some last-minute money for college, this site offers a great way to help grow your college savings.  

How does it work? When you sign up, you submit the name of the future college student, his or her birthday, the account owner's email address, and the 529 plan information. It will then link your Freshman Fund account to your 529 account. You can also add a picture and even special events to the profile, such as birthdays or graduation dates. There are various privacy settings, so you can make the profile viewable to the public, only to registered users, or not viewable by anyone but the account owner.  

Once you have created a Freshman Fund profile for yourself or your child and linked it to the 529 account, your registry is created, much like a wedding registry. Anyone can donate directly to your 529 account through the site. You can import your address book from your email account in order to send notifications to people who may want to donate to the 529 account. You can set email reminders to go out, such as on birthdays or special holidays. If you are eager to get as much funding for college as possible, ask that your family and friends donate to your college account instead of giving traditional presents on your birthday or during the holidays. Your loved ones will be thrilled to contribute to such a good cause rather than buying a physical gift that may never be used. A 529 is less wasteful and more useful!