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? The truth is, saving for your retirement and your child's education at the same time can be a challenge. But take heart — you may be able to reach both goals if you make some smart choices now.

The sun is shining, temperatures are rising, and the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance are in the air. It's graduation season again and, whether your graduates are finishing high school or college, you may be wondering if they are prepared with sufficient knowledge of personal financial skills to be successful. If you expected them to learn that information at school, you may be disappointed. As of May 4th of this year, only nineteen states required high school students to take a personal finance class before graduating (New York is not one of them), nor is it typically required in college.

On August 24, 2022, just a few days before federal student loan repayment was set to resume, President Biden announced a plan for additional student loan debt relief.

Going to college is a time of excitement, anticipation and new challenges combined with a dose of anxiety from the unknown. Navigating this new path of independent living can be overwhelming and scary at times. Many young people will have to make decisions for the first time about how to budget their money or consider various financial choices. Managing your money while in college shouldn’t add to the stress of college students, especially considering the effort and determination it takes to earn this money.

Sending a child to college is at the top of the wish list for many parents. A college education can open doors to many opportunities and help your child compete in today's competitive job market. But, the cost of college has risen exponentially over the years and getting started on saving can be a daunting task.

The time has come to pay back your student loans, now what? Dealing with student loan debt can be stressful and even frustrating for borrowers, however, now is the time to take control and alleviate that stress. First, create an inventory of your loans including loan type (private vs federal), balance, interest rate, payment amount, and repayment term. This can be done using your credit report through annualcreditreport.com for private loans or studentaid.gov for federal loans.

Now that your child is older and about to leave for college, it's time for you to make sure that they have enough financial knowledge to manage money while they are away.

As spring approaches with anticipation of warmer weather, so too does a new crop of recent college graduates. Unfortunately, along with diplomas comes staggering student loan debt. Student loan debt is at an all-time high of over $1.5 trillion, having an exponential effect on people’s lives. Young adults are delaying marriage, having children, purchasing homes, and most importantly saving for retirement. How borrowers manage their student loans after college is critical to laying the foundation of their adult financial lives.

529 plans were created 22 years ago, in 1996, to give people a tax advantaged way to save for college. Roth IRAs were created a year later, in 1997, to give people a tax advantaged way to save for retirement.

The decision to start a family is one of the most exciting, and daunting, decisions you can face. As you are swept up in the joy of planning for life with your new child, there are also many financial planning decisions to think about - including budgeting, estate planning, and insurance.

Younger parents are often faced with the difficult choice of taking care of long-term retirement needs or steering efforts toward ensuring future college expenses are handled. Both may be a long way off, but each will likely require significant savings and growth via intelligent investing.

Generally, the earlier you can pay off your student loans, the better off you'll be. You'll save interest and improve your debt-to-income ratio, a factor lenders consider when deciding whether to offer you credit, and your good payment record will be positively reflected in your credit history and credit score.

Your actual student loan payments aren't deductible, but the interest portion might be, thanks to the student loan interest deduction. In 2016, the maximum deduction is $2,500. You don't need to itemize to claim this deduction.

529 plans are savings vehicles tailor-made for college. Anyone can open an account, lifetime contribution limits are typically over $300,000, and 529 plans offer federal and sometimes state tax benefits if certain conditions are met. Here are some common questions on opening an account.

Choosing a way to save for your child’s education expenses may be your family’s first college planning decision, but it certainly won’t be the last. From making that first deposit, to selecting a college, to choosing a course of study,