TIDBITS - College Savings

* Retirement vs. College Saving. Those of us who are parents know this conflict very well – should we put aside money for retirement, or for college? It may come as a surprise, but a general rule of thumb with regard to this conflict is to put money aside for retirement first, and college second.

The reason behind this is that there are literally a boatload of ways to pay for college, such as grants, scholarships, work-study programs, student loans, parent loans, etc.. With this plethora of choices, it becomes clear that your student’s college funding needs can be met from quite a few angles, none of which should have a dramatic impact on your overall net worth (or your student’s).

On the other hand, no one will give you a scholarship to retire. It is solely up to you and your savings (coupled with Social Security and any available pensions).

* Congress has, as of the end of September, begun an oversight hearing on 529 plans. It is anticipated that this hearing will cover High Fees, Disclosure, Disparate Tax Treatment, and Questionable Broker Sales Practices, according to the title of the hearing. Stay tuned, I will pass along any significant developments that come from this hearing.
Some other Illinois universities’ costs:

* www.2save4college.com –I always welcome your feedback for new information that you’d like to see on any of my web sites. Use the “Contact Us” page on any web site to provide feedback.