Saving for Retirement and 大学 Costs at the Same Time

You want to retire comfortably when the time comes. You also want to help your child go to college. So how do you juggle the two? 事实是， saving for your retirement 和你的 child's education at the same time can be a challenge. 但是振作起来——如果你现在做出一些明智的选择，你也许能够实现这两个目标.

知道你的 retirement needs first

The first step is to determine your retirement needs. 回答以下问题可以帮助你开始:

How many years until you retire?

What standard of living do you hope to have in retirement? 例如, do you want to travel extensively, 还是你愿意呆在一个地方，过更简单的生活?

你或你的配偶希望退休后做兼职吗?

你期望得到多少社会保障福利? 估算未来社会保障福利的一种方法是使用社会保障局网站上的福利计算器, ssa.政府. 你也可以注册一个社会保障账户，这样你就可以查看你的在线社会保障报表. 你的月结单详细记录了你的收入, as well as estimates of retirement, 幸存者的, and disability benefits).

贵公司是否提供雇主赞助的退休计划或养老金计划? Do you participate? If so, what’s your balance? 你能估计一下退休时你的结余是多少吗?

Then look at the 大学需要

After you've considered your retirement needs, 问以下关于你孩子大学教育的问题. 许多在线计算器也可以帮助你预测你的退休收入需求和你孩子上大学的资金需求.

How many years until your child starts college?

Do you have more than one child whom you'll be saving for?

Does your child have any special academic, 运动, or artistic skills that could lead to a scholarship?

Do you expect your child to qualify for financial aid?

Will your child attend a public or private college? What's the expected cost?

Figure out what you can afford to put aside each month

After you know what your financial needs are, 下一步是确定你每个月能存多少钱. To do so, you'll need to prepare a detailed family 预算 that lists all your income and 费用. 记住, 虽然, 你能负担的金额可能会随着情况的变化而不断变化. 一旦你想出了一个金额，你需要决定如何分配你的资金.

Retirement takes 优先级

Though college is certainly an important goal, 如果你的资金有限，你可能应该关注你的退休生活. 慷慨的企业养老金已成为过去, the burden is primarily on you to fund your retirement. 但如果你等到孩子上了大学才开始存钱, 你将错过多年的潜在延税增长和你的钱的复利. 还记得, 你的孩子可以通过贷款(或者甚至是奖学金)上大学。, but there's no such thing as a retirement loan!

如果可能的话，为你的退休和孩子的大学学费存钱 at the same time

理想情况下，你应该同时追求这两个目标. 你现在存的大学学费就越多, 你或你的孩子以后需要借的钱就越少. 即使你只能为孩子的大学基金分配一小部分, say $50 or $100 a month, 你可能会惊讶于多年来你能积累多少. 例如, if you saved $100 every month and earned 8% annually, 你有18美元,415 in your child's college fund after 10 years. (此示例仅用于说明目的，并不代表具体的投资. 投资回报会波动，不能保证.)

如果你不确定如何在退休和大学之间分配你的资金, a professional financial planner may be able to help. 这个人也可以帮助你为每个目标选择合适的投资. 还记得, 仅仅因为你同时追求这两个目标并不一定意味着同样的投资是合适的. It may be appropriate to treat each goal independently.

帮助! I can't meet both goals

如果数字表明你负担不起你的孩子的教育或退休后你所期望的生活方式, you'll probably have to make some sacrifices. Here are some suggestions:

Increase your earnings now

你可以考虑增加目前工作的工作时间, finding another job with better pay, taking a second job, 或者让以前呆在家里的配偶重返职场.

Expect your child to contribute more money to college

Despite your best efforts, 你的孩子可能需要助学贷款或兼职工作来赚钱上大学.

Defer retirement

The longer you work, 你挣的钱越多，你需要动用退休储蓄的时间就越晚.

Send your child to a less expensive school

你可能梦想过你的孩子会跟随你的脚步，进入你的母校, or that they would attend an Ivy League school. 然而，除非你的孩子获得了奖学金，否则你可能需要降低你的期望. 不要感到内疚——一所不太知名的学院或州立大学可以以更低的成本为你的孩子提供类似的高质量教育.

Think of other creative ways to reduce education costs

你的孩子可以上当地的大学，住在家里以节省食宿费, 参加一个速成课程，在三年内毕业，而不是四年内, 充分利用合作教育，带薪实习与课程学习交替进行, 或者推迟一两年上大学，工作赚钱上大学.

Reduce your standard of living now or in retirement

为了以后有钱，你现在可以调整你的消费习惯. Or, you may want to consider cutting back in retirement.

Invest more aggressively

If you have several years until retirement or college, 你也许可以通过更激进的投资来赚更多的钱(但要记住，激进的投资意味着更大的损失风险). Note that no investment strategy can guarantee success.

Work part-time during retirement

对许多人来说，退休后做兼职正成为一种更受欢迎的选择, whether it's to support a certain lifestyle, stay involved with your local community, find satisfaction from work, gain insurance benefits, or help support a child's education. Some retirees choose to find jobs in the same professions, 而其他人则选择它作为做其他事情的机会, 也许是沉迷于他们早年无法探索的专业兴趣.