529 Plan and College Savings

Posts Tagged ‘saving for college’

Question: Save for Retirement or Kid’s Education?

My wife and I have a disagreement. We have two kids (13 and 10 years old). We have a pretty good start on both retirement savings and college savings. However, she says we need to save more aggressively for college than for retirement, and I say we need to save more aggressively for retirement than for college (we are both 48 years old). My logic is that, if we fall short of our goal for college savings, there will always be an option to borrow at low interest rates. Borrowing for retirement will never be an option.

Your thoughts?

Answer: Save for retirement.
Encourage your children to get good grades and a scholarship &/or go to a state school.
If they need more money, they can borrow for it. They can also work.
Look, I know you want to provide the world for your children, but unless you have a guarantee that they will provide for you into your old age, then be ok with the fact that you taught them life skills, gave them some money for college & loved them unconditionally.
Also, don’t borrow for your children. If they don’t pay, you will be responsible.
Look at the cost of your local state school & save for 4 years of that (don’t forget books) plus a little extra for inflation if you want to cover more than you already have saved.

What’s more important: Saving for College or Retirement?