Save for College or Retirement?

September 17, 2009
By Kevin Cafferty

In a blog post earlier this week, we linked to some blogs about saving for college. There's another side to the issue of saving for your kids' college education, and I thought you'd all be interested to see that presented as well (special thanks and shout-out to my officemate Joe for suggesting this topic.)

Personal finance guru Clark Howard, who has also featured MoneyAisle both on his radio show and CNN show, lays his opinion on the matter out pretty clearly:

Save for retirement before funding a child's education

Just remember that there are no scholarships for retirement.

But for college, there are grants, work-study, regular jobs, scholarships, loans, reducing your educational costs by going into public service or the military, going the community college route, etc.

U.S. News and World Report asks the same question:

Should You Save For College or Retirement?

How should you prioritize saving for your children's college education and funding your own retirement?

The prioritization is a very personal thing. Typically retirement comes first and education is a close second. There is only one way to save for retirement and that's for you to do it. There aren't many pensions left out there. Never leave 401(k) matching money on the table. That's free money. Fully save for retirement and if there is money left over, then save for education. There are a lot of ways to pay for education. There are loans. There are scholarships. There are grants. There are also so many ways students can keep costs down. Students can go in state and live at home. Too often we see people who haven't saved for education and use their retirement accounts. If you do that you may end up having to delay your retirement.

What do you think? Do you agree with Mr. Howard and the U.S. News and World Report financial advisor?

Add a Comment

  • Featured In:

  • The New York Times: Do I Hear 4%? On This Site, Banks Bid for Your Cash
  • CNN: Auction money for best rates
  • The Wall Street Journal: Want the Best CD Rates? Hold an Auction.
  • AARP Bulletin: Save a Buck: Find Highest Interest Rates Online
  • Safe CDs, checking accounts for investors scared of stocks
  • O: The Oprah Magazine
  • Boston Globe: Website lets banks bid for customers
  • CNBC: Banks Bid for Your Cash
  • MIT Technology Review
  • Money Magazine
  • Reader's Digest
  • FOX Business: Bidding for Your Money

Recent Awards: Finovate Best of Show and Online Banking Report Best of the Web