Summer is almost over, and many a parent is already preparing for the back-to-school rush. If college is in your children’s future, you may also be wondering about the best way to save for this ever-increasing expense. One option is the 529 plan.

When Standard & Poor’s initially threatened to downgrade the U.S. credit rating, many commentators said that the rating agency was late to the party—that it wasn’t providing any new information. Now that the downgrade has actually occurred, the estimation remains valid; S&P is not telling us anything that we didn’t already know.