Moneywise: Put retirement before future college funding

It is more important to securely fund retirement accounts than to save heavily for a child’s college education, according to USA Today. This might sound selfish to those who think preparing their kids for the future is a more noble goal. But, in fact, it is wise. While children can take out student loans to pay for college, it is unlikely that parents can finance their way through retirement.

College students have many options to pay for their education and having a fully funded savings account might tempt the family to place less importance on free grants and scholarships that will often require more work up front but don’t have to be paid back.