Your 40s -- Don't Let Kids' College Expenses Derail Your Plan

Your finances should be stabilizing, with real financial breathing room. If you have children at or near college age, you can help them succeed without compromising your retirement.

  • The closer you get to retirement, the more every dollar counts. You may no longer have fixed payments for day care or a car loan. Use that money toward your retirement.
  • Before borrowing from your retirement savings to help with college expenses — and losing interest that can never be regained — look at student loans and other options available for funding higher education.
  • Your children will have many years to pay back the money they’ll borrow for college while the time you have to save for retirement is growing ever shorter.
  • Look into The Clara Abbott Scholarship program to help offset college costs. Contact the Educational Help Desk, a free Clara Abbott service, to explore ways to pay for your child's education. Call us at 866.326.2240 or email your questions to abbott@getintocollege.com.
  • Get regular “checkups” for your retirement accounts. You may want to find a financial advisor to help you ensure you are on the right path to retirement. The Foundation can help you find one through our Find a Financial Advisor class. 

Click here to see how saving in your 40s can lead to retirement savings.

Click here for
Tools, Links and Resources to help ensure you’re making the most of your investments in your 40s.


Re-evaluate your retirement contributions periodically, and when your income increases, give your savings a raise as well! 

You may want to consider meeting with a Clara Abbott Foundation consultant. Our financial consultants can provide you with tools to help you meet your financial goals, such as debt-assessment guides, goal-setting tools, budget methods and financial resources. 


The Clara Abbott Foundation can help you make good financial choices with a wide variety of free education classes and e-learning, geared to your particular decade of life. Below are some classes and e-learning modules you may find of interest in your 40s. Click here to view a complete list of classes and e-learning modules.

    Classes
    Tax-Smart Investing
    Financial Aid
    Affording Your Child’s Education

    e-learning
    Request Your Credit Report
    Organize Your Financial Records
    Prepare Your Spending Plan

Learn all about money and investing through our e-learning classes by clicking here.