So college is in your future, where should you start when you think about saving and paying for college, this can be a daunting challenge.

Have you considered that paying for college could impact your retirement? How you save and pay for college should not involve how much you have saved for retirement.

We know that college tuitions, books, fees and housing continue to increase at a rate faster than inflation in general. So, based on current trends, the cost of sending just two kids to a private for a total of eight years will cost more than $360,000 if paid after taxes. This means that those in the 28 percent tax bracket need to earn more than $500,000 in order to meet the costs from cash flow.

With this in mind how you pay for college impacts how much you save for retirement. There are a number of strategies you can use to improve your chances at a better retirement and a solid education at a lower personal cost.

Here are just a few of the things that we discuss with you that you might be able to take advantage of:

• Encourage your pre-teen to open a Roth IRA with earnings from their paper route or other jobs.
• Consider hiring your child to work in your business or help with chores related to your investment property.
• Think about using a fixed income annuity to hold a portion of money for college to avoid the potential loss in principal that can happen with a 529 plan invested in mutual funds.
• Pursue private and merit-based scholarships.

We tailor our advice to your financial goals and college situation so the first place to start is to visit us to learn more about the services we offer.