Just before any flight takes off, your friendly steward/stewardess demonstrates how to use the oxygen mask “in the unlikely event of cabin depressurization.” What's the first thing you're told? “Apply the mask to yourself before you give it to a child or anyone else.” Are they advocating a selfish act? No. They realize your child is more likely to survive if you're conscious and the child is unconscious, rather than the other way around.
The same methodology can be applied to the retirement savings versus paying for college scenario. At some point, most parents will face this dilemma. (It's not an either/or proposition, but I'll be treating it that way for the purposes of this article.) Many financial professionals insist parents take care of themselves first before they tend to the children. They want parents to save for retirement before they spend a penny on their kids' education.
Is this smart?
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
