American split: Save for college or retirement?

Posted Oct 4th 2007 3:55PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Personal Finance

According to data from Country Insurance and Financials, Americans are evenly split on whether it is more important to save for college for their children, or their own retirement. Forty-three percent believe that college should be the priority, while another 43% believe retirement is more important.

To the first 43%: I admire your devotion to your children. Your spirit of self-sacrifice is heart-warming. Now let me explain to you why you're insane.

There are plenty of alternatives that can be explored if you have inadequate savings for your children's education. Obviously you would love to be able to pay for college, but kids can get low-interest loans and (heaven forbid) work during college and actually save money. Or, they could save a ton of money by going to a community college for a year or two and then transferring. Going to a public university instead of a private college can also have a soothing effect on the wallet.

In their book Yes, You Can Get a Financial Life, Ben Stein and Phil Demuth argue that parents should make their kids foot the bill for college. After all, college is a great investment, and doesn't it make sense for kids to put up the money for an investment that they will reap the benefits of? Why should parents scrimp and save, or forgo adequate retirement planning, so that kids can get such a valuable asset for free?

As Stein and Demuth write, "If Mom and Dad really believe they are doing something noble by depriving themselves so their kids can stay out all night drinking in Nassau during spring vacation, that has little do with rational thought." By paying for college, kids will value it more.

On the other hand, if you make the decision to forgo retirement planning to pay for college, where will that leave you? There will be no low-interest loans available for you to pay off, and you may be too old to want to share a room with other people, or get a part-time job. Frugality is a lifestyle best-suited to the young. Let your kids scrimp and save during their college years. It will do them some good.

Tags: College, Retirement