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TL . I ininKoiiMii Money Smart walecia konrad Roth IRAs and planning for college costs Q. I have been paying into a state . prepaid tuition program, but now my daughter plans to go out of state. Is it too late to start saving into a Roth IRA for her? Can I use a Roth IRA to pay back student loans? Tony Rizzo. Las Vegas A Yes, it’s too late for you to save . into a Roth IRA for college ex penses. It’s better to use any extra cash to pay tuition bills directly, says Kalman Chany, author of Paying for College Withovi Going Broke. Then, shop for student and parent loans with the lowest interest rates. One place to begin is finaid.org, which has a good tutorial on college financing. But a Roth IRA sometimes makes sense for parents who have more time to contribute. The IRS lets you with draw contributions without penalty to cover qualified expenses, such as tui tion, fees, books, supplies, room and board. Paving back a college loan, how ever, doesn’t count. Still, if you dip into your Roth IRA earnings, you’ll owe taxes, so many ex perts suggest withdrawing only your contribution amount for college, leav ing the earnings to grow until age 59'A, when you can withdraw' them tax-free. usaweekend.com Main Office Advertising Office 7950 Jones Branch Dr. 535 Madison Ave. McLean, Va. 22107 New York, N.Y. 10022 Telephone: 800-487-2956 E-mail: usaw@usaweekend.com For reprints, call 800-872-0001. 4 USA WEEKEND • Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2007 Fit By JORGE CRUISE You can relax and stay fit through the holidays yM NE KEY to maintaining your ■ „ JB fitness during the holiday Lag season is to relax a little. “Be JR Wk ' realistic,” says celebrity fit- A ness trainer Gunnar Peter son. “Don’t judge yourself with your “bikini r”® goggles’ on it’s hal’d to peak physically '‘ mmk during the holidays.” He suggests that your Q body “may reward you for easing up on caloric restrictions and intense workouts.” But don’t confuse backing off with backsliding. “You owe it to yourself to keep J working out during the m stressful holiday season,” » Peterson says. MAKE TIME to wrork out ' in the morning, Peterson says; fewer people awake means fewer Gift Smart NATALIE ERMANN RUSSELL Treat yourself to a new electronic gadget With all the giving to others this sea son, it might be time to give something to yourself. There’s nothing like a little pick-me-up of the electronic variety. Here are a few gadgets to consider: ■ Apple's iPod Nano. The newest incar nation of this megahit, pictured beloiv, has a 2-inch screen that lets you watch movies and play video games, It’s super-small, so it’s B easy to carry. It comes j . in five vibrant colors and 9B starts at 5149. ; ■ Sony's Kitchen LCD TV. All those hours you’re spending in the kitchen dur ing the holidays will be less bor- ’ President & CEO • Marcia L. Bullard Publisher • Charles Gabrieison Executive Editor & VP • Jack Curry SVP/Advertising • Rob Harrison Dir./Finance • Edward Maxwell Dir./Human Resources • Bhavna Sharma Dir./Marketing • Sonia David Dir./Research • Frank Dolcimascolo To ask any USA WEEKEND columnist a quastion, visit usawookond.com. HELPFUL TIPS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE Nothing you can eat with your fingers j should pass $ k your lips. A Managing Editor Brenda Turner Creative Manager Casey Shaw Senior Editors: Craigh Barboza, Pamela Brown (Make A Difference Day), Carol Clurman, Constance Kurz, Lorrie Lynch, Priscilla Totten Copy Chief: Jill Golden Copy Editor Ali Cybulski Senior Writer Dennis McCafferty Associate Editors: Michele Hatty, TJ. Walter Assistant Editor: Kathy Rowings Fact Checker Elena Keithley Editorial Assistant: Reyhaneh Fathieh Design Director Leon Lawrence 111 Art Director Pamela Taylor Associate Art Director Christina Cook Senior Photo Editor David Baratz Deputy Photo Editor Sarah Claxton Online: Amelia Stephenson Office Coordinator Troy Artis distractions. And be sure to schedule workouts like appointments so thev take priority. KEEP WORKOUTS SIMPLE. “Do less of vv ” at ■ vou ’ vt ’ been doing, not something en tirely new," Peterson says. "Stack exer cises into a circuit to save time, or bump K\ up intensity and cut back on minutes.” i, f S M\' WATCH WHAT YOU EAT. Have some \ protein, like a lean beef patty, before you ■w'-' ix go out, Peterson says. “Also, no hors ’'fgff f d’oeuvTes you can eat with voui- fin- A / gers should pass your lips / this can save you 800 to 4fj|L 3,800 calories a night” Contact Jorge Cruise, author of the coming fitness book The 12-Second Sequence, at , 12xecond.com. ing with this TV (slash CD player, slash radio) that mounts under a kitchen cabi net. The 7-inch screen is large enough to watch A Charlie Brotm Christmas as you cut veggies. Available for $299.95, this TV includes a remote control, so you can flip while you saute. ■ Palm Treo 680 smartphone. Most “smartphones” let you send e-mails, surf the Web and B make calls, but this one > B — with its orange, red, m silver or white color op tions adds fun to be- I || ing smait. It’s $149.99 ' JjQH M with an AT&T plan (af *: ter the $l5O mail-in re bate) and $449.99 with m out a plan. Eat Smart JEAN CARPER Multivitamins fight depression in elderly A multivitamin/mineral pill has the power to relieve depression in eld erly patients, according to a new international study. Acutely ill, older medical patients on a normal hospital diet took either a supplement with 100% of their vitamin/mineral daily needs or a placebo once daily for six weeks. Symptoms of depression like sleep problems, loss of appetite, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness improved in the multivitamin takers after six weeks, regardless of their initial level of depression. The findings are consistent with studies linking folate and vitamin 812 deficiency with depression. C 3 Contributing Editors Pam Anderson, Ken Bums, Jean Carper, Stephen Covey, Jorge Cruise, Steve Dale, Kenneth C. Davis, Sharon Epperson, Dennie Hughes, Walecia Konrad. Lisa Ling, Lou Manfredini, Dr. Tedd Mitchell, Ann Pleshette Murphy, Cokie Roberts, Steve Roberts, Tavis Smiley, Terry Stickels MONEYSMART ILLUSTRATION' STEPHAN* CARTER, IMAGES COM/C ORBlS; TIT SMART PHOTO WANG LENG. ASTA IMAGES/JUPITER IMAGES Regional Directors/ Newspapers Charlie Williams Taaz Williams Luci Day a Copyright 2007 USA WEEKEND. A Gannett publication. Printed in the USA. Since 1953, your Family Weekly.