College Planning

Many parents today are caught in the middle of saving for their retirement and saving for college at the same time. If more money is put into one plan, the other will be lacking. They want to retire with comfort and still make sure their children get a good education.
In a perfect world, there would be enough savings for college without having to take from an IRA, and if you can get along with doing that then so much the better. But this is a difficult challenge with the high credit card rates and housing costs always on the rise. One advantage of taking from an IRA is that the money can go for any school related expense. The disadvantage is obviously that you will be taking from your retirement savings.
A financial professional can be the one to help you with this decision as he can point out unforeseen consequences that can have an effect on your retirement plan. Starting to save as early as possible will give you better odds when and if the time come that you have this situation.