<prompt> Human: My wife is due in November and I am looking for a guaranteed way to invest 10000 dollars that he can use for college in 18 years, any ideas? By guaranteed I mean no risk. Like a CD or something.  <response>: The only guaranteed option is a CD. At current rates, you wont see better than 2.5, which is just enough to keep up with inflation on average. So you put in 10k today, itll be around 14-15k in 18 years, but at the same time 14-15k in 18 years will have the same purchasing power as 10k today.Now that guaranteed is out of the way, youve got basically three options:1. Put it in a 529. If you are 100 sure you want this to be for education, this is the best place for it. Research your state 529 options avoid anything thats insurance broker-sold; go for the individual plans to see if you can get a state tax benefit, and then pick the best plan based on that information. For example, Im in WA state, which has no state income tax and a terrible pre-paid 529 plan. So I have my childrens 529s in IL state, because its a Vanguard-invested dollar-amount plan and I have family in the state who could get a state income tax deduction if they wanted to contribute as a birthday gift.2. Open a UTMA investment account and invest the money as you see fit see the sidebar on investing. Note that there are tax complications with this approach, as well as FAFSA complications. And perhaps most importantly, the money reverts to the child on their 18th birthday, after which you have no control over it. If youre not sure you want to trust an 18 year old to do the right thing with this money, you might not want to do this.3. Invest it yourself in a standard taxable brokerage account, and then use the money to pay for his schooling. Or if he decides not to pursue higher education, you can choose to gift him the money or not then. Note that this has the worst tax impact and FAFSA impact of all of these options.Adding a fourth option, because it does need to be said: Put the money into your own retirement. Because if youre not already saving enough for your retirement, you should not be saving for your childs higher education. There are many ways to pay for that education, like scholarships, grants, military service, loans, etc. Theres only one way to pay for retirement, and thats to save for it. Dont think of this as a selfish act, though. Youre not giving him the gift of an education, but you are giving him the gift of not having to take care of you financially in your old age. A child should not have to take care of a parent in my view, so thats a much more valuable gift as I see it. 