<prompt> Human: My wife and I have friends with a child turning 1 this week. Rather than get her another toy or game we would like to invest in her future in a more tangible way. We plan to start with 1000 and continue to build on that each birthday. I know that a 529 can only be used for education, or it gets penalized heavily. We intend to maintain control of whatever investment vehicle we end up using and if the child does not end up going to school I would like to avoid heavy penalties if possible. We dont have any children right now and its up in the air as to if we will or not. We are in North Carolina if that matters.  <response>: We plan to start with 1000You are a really good friend!!! : 