Saving for a grandchild I don't have

COLLEGE BOUND

DONALD:
I want to start saving for college for my grandchild that I do not have. What is the best way?

CLARK:
That is great optimism, Donald, because you've already decided that your to-be-born grandchild is going to be college material. Love that. Alright, the reality is, with a 529 college savings plan you are not allowed to open an account until there's someone to name as a beneficiary. But there's a way around the beneficiary issue.

Here's how you do it: You can set up a 529 account, college savings plan (tax free) and name yourself as beneficiary of the account you own. Then, when your grandchild is born, you simply change the beneficiary designation to that new bundle of joy, your new grandchild.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS IN THE WRONG HANDS

RYAN:
My lawyer accidently gave my social security number to a family member I cannot trust. This person also knows my birth date, address, employer etc. What is the best plan to "cover all my bases" and be sure that this information isn't used to open new credit cards or loans without my knowledge? Thanks

CLARK:
Ryan, if I ever knew somebody who was made-to-order for doing a credit freeze, you are the one. With a credit freeze, all this information in the hands of your relative does them no good to open accounts in your name. What you do is, you put in to place a freeze with Equifax, Transunion and Experian and once you have those freezes in place, and depending on the state and your situation, it's from zero dollars to ten dollars to put a credit freeze in place.

Once you put those in place you don't have to worry anymore, because each bureau assigns you a secret code that's even different for each bureau. So if this relative you don't trust goes to open a new credit card or whatever, and they don't know your secret code they're shut down cold.

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